“I will try to do better another time, mother,” replied Clara, “and in this case I believe I was a little selfish; but I do not believe that forgetfulness is always selfishness.”
“Not always, perhaps; but very often,” said Mrs. Gray. “If we love our neighbor as ourselves, we shall remember his desires as well as we do our own. It is a poor excuse for any fault to say, ‘I forgot to do right.’ Now, tie on your bonnet, Clara, and we will take a short walk this fine afternoon.”
“Oh, thank you, mother! I love to walk with you; and will you tell me where father has gone, and all about it, as you said you would do when you were at leisure.”
“I will,” replied her mother. “We will take the pleasant retired path which leads through the woods, and when we reach our favorite seat we will rest ourselves, and talk about your father’s journey.”
Clara always found a walk with her mother instructive as well as delightful; for Mrs. Gray allowed nothing to escape her observation, but made even the most trifling objects the means of conveying pleasant and useful information. A simple flower, or blade of grass, often served to impress upon Clara’s mind the wisdom and beauty which is visible in all the works of the Lord; and the music of the birds never fell unheeded upon her ear, but elevated her affections to her Heavenly Father, without whom not even a sparrow falleth to the ground. From her earliest childhood her mother had endeavored to give her habits of observation, and had taught her to regard nothing which the Lord has made as too trifling to be instructive and useful, if examined with proper attention.
“Anna Lee has collected specimens of a great many different kinds of leaves, mother,” said Clara, as she plucked a large oak leaf from a tree which they were passing, and admired its deep green and smooth glossy surface. “She has a very large book quite full, and yet she tells me that she has never been able to find two leaves exactly alike.”
“She will never find two leaves alike, Clara. There are no two things in creation that are exactly alike.”
“Why, mother, how can you know?” exclaimed Clara, in surprise. “There may be two things alike which you have never seen.”
“No, Clara, this cannot be. The Lord is infinite, and therefore there is an infinite variety in all things that He has made. There is not given any thing the same as another, and neither can be given to eternity.”
“Not even two blades of grass, mother?” asked Clara.