"Yes, it is very apt to make people fretful and impatient; and, besides that, my dear, the habit of borrowing trouble shows a want of faith in our heavenly Father, and is a disobeying of an express command: 'Take therefore no thought for to-morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.' You know who said that, Percy."
"Our Lord," answered Percy, reverently.
"We know that our heavenly Father is perfectly wise and good and all-powerful," continued Aunt Ackerman. "And we know that he loves us, and has promised to give us all things that we need, if we seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. We know of course that he does, and permits many things which seem to us very mysterious; but we must be content to leave all such things to him."
"We don't always know how things will turn out when we do our very best," observed Percy.
"No, we never know exactly; and all we can do is to 'do our very best,' as you say, and leave the result with him. Our Lord says we are not to be anxious even about such necessary things as food and clothes, you know. You see how unhappy poor Cousin Sarah makes herself: and her mother is just so. They are always sure that something dreadful is going to happen. They have a nice house; but they take no comfort in it, because they are afraid it will burn down, or that somebody will break into it. The last time I was there; Mrs. McArthur and Sarah went all around the house with a candle, to see that there were no robbers concealed in any of the rooms or closets. Then they went around again without a light, to be sure that they had not dropped any sparks; and, finally, Mrs. McArthur made another round, to be sure that all the doors were fastened. They have a beautiful garden; but they are always certain that the buds will be killed, or the fruit stolen, or that the grapes won't ripen. They are afraid of keeping a man-servant, for fear of being robbed, or of doing without one, because they feel so unprotected. I don't tell you these things to make you laugh at your cousins, my dear,—though I allow that one cannot always help doing so; but I want you to see what such a disposition is likely to grow to, unless it is taken in time."
Percy had plenty of chances to see this during the week that she spent with Cousin Sarah, and the lesson did her a great deal of good. All the girls noticed the change in her when she came back to school. She did not reform her fault all at once, of course, but her eyes were opened to see that it was a fault; and that, as Blandina said, was half the battle.
THE END.