THE WIFE AND CHILDREN BEGAN TO BE ANXIOUS.
Did they forget? One November morning the fisherman went out in his boat as usual; later in the day the clouds gathered as for a storm, and the wife and children began to be anxious. As the afternoon hours waned the sky grew darker, and the wind howled about the little cottage. It was already past the hour when the father might have been expected, and poor Mrs. Byrnes soothed the fretful baby and turned her eyes anxiously towards the window which looked seaward. The children peered out into the gathering darkness, but no sail was in sight; indeed it soon became so dark that they could not see far from the house. Little Nell placed a lamp in the window and Bob replenished the fire. Then he slipped away. A bit of the conversation which the younger ones had carried on as they stood gazing out over the waters, had given him an idea.
"Don't you know," said Nell, "how Miss Vinton said 'the sea is His and He made it?'"
"Yes; and you know she told us the pretty story of how the people were afraid and Jesus said to the waves, 'be still.' I liked that story!" said the little brother.
"I wish He would say so to the waves now," returned Nell.
"Maybe He would if he were here," was the reply. "Maybe He would. I wish he was here."
Bob hearing this remembered more of the teachings of the young lady of whom they had all been so fond, and as soon as he could, he slipped away and went up into the loft where the children slept. There in the darkness and chill he knelt down and asked Jesus to make the winds and waves "be still." Repeating this, his first prayer, again and again, he at length arose with a calm in his heart. Going down stairs his mother said: "Seems to me the wind does not blow quite so hard."
Bob smiled and whispered, "I shouldn't wonder if He heard! I didn't know as he would hear me, but Miss Vinton said He would."