“Yes.”
“No, Maddy, the evil spirit was not permitted to do the baby harm: the loving angel appointed to be the guardian of its infantile life did not depart.”
“But you said that the bad spirit knew that her time would come?” interrupted Madeline.
Florence sighed. “Am I bearing her beyond her depth?” she said, questioning with herself. There was a moment or two of silence. Then she resumed:—
“The baby had a good mother, and to her mind the angel was all the while suggesting right ways of influencing her precious darling; and so, as the babe grew older, its mind clearer, and its experience wider, that loving mother was a partner with the angel in guarding it from evil and in sowing in its young mind the seeds of goodness. Now, Maddy, just think for a moment of the mind of a babe as a garden all prepared in the spring-time for seeds. If true thoughts and gentle and good affections are sown in this garden, good and beautiful plants will spring up; but, if false thoughts and bad affections are scattered upon the ground, poisonous weeds will grow. You can see that?”
“Oh, yes,” answered Madeline.
“Well, as I was saying, the baby had a good mother; and she sowed good seeds in its infantile mind, and as these began to grow the angel saw pure and beautiful things there, and so kept very near. If weeds had been suffered to spring up in this garden and hide or destroy the heavenly plants, the angel would have been repelled by these evil things, while the bad spirit, seeing in them what was delightful, would have approached, and hurt the baby by stimulating them to a more rapid growth. Do you understand my meaning?”
“I think so.”
“One of the first things that was taught to this baby, as its mind began to open, was the existence of God.”
Florence spoke low and reverently, while her eyes were fixed upon the countenance of her attentive listener. She saw a slight impulse strike the child’s features, and a flush of sudden feeling veil them.