"Girlie," she said softly, "it is almost eleven, but before you go, I want to ask you to forgive me for being, as you think, unkind and nasty. Listen, Ellice. When your mother engaged me to come here as your governess, she offered me a salary in exchange for giving so many hours a day to teaching you. I agreed to her wishes, and I should not be honourable if I took her money and did not fulfil my promise to do the very best I could for you—can you understand that?"
"But I don't want to be taught," muttered the child; "I can teach myself when I am older."
"If you were allowed to do as you wish, you would find presently, when you were growing up, you would be despised by all the other girls of education, because of your ignorance; you would be behind them probably in everything. I don't think you would like that. From what I have seen of you, I believe you would want to be first rather than last. Isn't that so?"
A half-murmured assent greeted this last.
"Can't you see, child, I want to help you? But you must be willing, and try too if we are to succeed. How proud your dear father will be if his daughter grows up bright and intelligent, and is able to be a companion to him some day! He cares ever so much about that; he has told me so."
A slight movement indicated Ellice was listening.
"There is something else he cares about; he wants you to grow up sweet and gentle, and to get over these selfish ways—do you know, trying to please and help others always makes people happier than trying to please themselves. You do it, and see. It just makes people love you. Then there is one other thing I want to say; you are very fond of flowers. I know you look at the garden when you go out, and bury your face in the sweetness of the lavender bed, and smell the fragrance of the roses. Just think how God loved you when He made the flowers so sweet to please you—and gave you your garden and the woods and everything nice you love best. You remember the hymn you sing sometimes:
"'All things bright and beautiful,
The great God made them all.'
"All things—and for you—and in His word to us He sends you this message—this morning: 'Study to show yourself a workman approved of God.' He has done so much for us, dear—He has given us every good thing we possess. He came to this earth to die for us—to win our love and our allegiance, and He asks us to show our gratitude by making a life-study of how to prove our love to Him, as good workmen. He wants our best. Ellice, shall we both make up our minds to try to give Him that always, to fight against our tempers, our selfishness; to do even the dry lessons as well as we can, to please Him? I have to try too—all the grown-up people who love Him have to fight this battle with self. It is difficult sometimes, and we often fail, but God has promised to give us His Holy Spirit, to enable us to be brave and strong to do good, if we ask Him."
Margaret paused a moment as she gently stroked the child's bowed head with her hand. Then: