She had resolved to open school with devotional exercises, as the trustee had assured her there would be no objection to such a course. None of the children brought their Bibles the first day, but in compliance with her request there was quite a show of Bibles the next morning. One or two said they had none, and these were allowed to "look over" with those who were willing to share their books with them. Alice gave out the chapter which she had selected for their reading, and one little girl looked up in surprise to see them all finding the place, and asked with a puzzled expression:
"Is it alike in all the books?" And then she as well as others had to be shown how to find the chapter. And Alice explained that the Bible was the word of God, and the books they had brought were all copies of the words which God had given to his people. When she asked how many knew the Lord's Prayer, only three raised their hands. And as for the Ten Commandments, the most of the children had never heard of them. And Alice thought, "surely here is work for some one."
During that week she tried to teach them the Lord's Prayer, but as they made slow progress in the few moments which she felt that she had a right to use in that way, she thought of a plan.
"How many of you would like to come here Sunday afternoon and be taught about God and the Bible?"
Almost every hand went up, and the appointment was made and kept, too.
And every Sunday afternoon all through the summer Alice Merwyn spent an hour in the dingy little country schoolhouse surrounded by a group of children who soon came to hang upon her words as well as upon her chair.
"Dear me! I should think you had enough of those children through the week without going there these hot Sunday afternoons!" said May Andrus, the daughter of the lady with whom Alice boarded.
"Well, it seems that they do not have enough of me!" replied Alice, laughing a little.
"But they have no right to your Sundays!" said May.
"I differ with you; I think they have the best right."