“No, papa, and it was a very happy day till then. Oh, I am sorry for poor Rosie!”
“So am I; yet feel most thankful that the bitten one was not either of my beloved children. I think, too, that Rosie will recover, and at some not very distant day be none the worse for what has occurred.
“And the presence of mind, the promptness to act in an emergency, and the unselfish kindness shown by my dear eldest daughter, are a very great gratification to me.”
“Papa,” she said, her eyes shining with joy, “it is sweeter than the sweetest music to hear such words from you.”
He caressed her silently for a moment. Then he said, “You have made a good beginning of this new year of yours. I hope, my darling, you will go on being cheerful, pleasant-tempered and obedient, and doing any and every noble, unselfish deed for which you may have opportunity. These anniversaries are milestones on the road we are traveling, and at each one we should make a determined effort to press forward with redoubled energy towards the goal the Bible sets before us; to forsake evil ways, and to seek to be the children of God, honoring and serving him more and more faithfully as we draw nearer and nearer our journey’s end. ‘The path of the just is as the shining light that shineth more and more unto the perfect day!’ Ah, my dear child, the longing desire of my heart is to see you treading that path.”
CHAPTER XVIII.
“Grandma Elsie” sat by the bedside gazing with much motherly solicitude upon the sleeping face of her youngest daughter. She had sat thus for hours, sending up silent petitions on the child’s behalf, till now night’s shadows had fled away, the sun had risen above the tree tops, and a gentle breeze was stirring the lace curtains at the windows and wafting through the room delicious scents from the garden below.
Presently Rosie moved slightly, then opened her eyes and looked up into the sweet face bending over her.
“Mamma, I—I’m not going to die?” she queried in low, tremulous tones.
“I trust not; Cousin Arthur thinks the danger is past. My darling, thank God, as your mother does, for your spared life, and oh, devote it to his service.”