“6. Because prayer benefits the heart.
“7. Because the wisest and best men pray.”
The lesson was one of much interest to Jessie. She had learned something of the value of prayer during the past few months. She had often secretly poured her troubles into the gracious ear that is ever ready to hear, and had found comfort in doing so. Her heart warmly responded to all the motives to pray that had been mentioned, and but for her diffidence in alluding to her own religious feelings, she would have suggested an eighth motive, viz., “Because it is delightful to pray.”
Before retiring at night, Jessie copied into her journal the foregoing list of motives for prayer, adding the eighth. She then knelt down, as was her daily habit, and offered to her Maker the homage of a grateful heart.
CHAPTER IX.
RAINY-DAY DIVERSIONS.
The dull Sabbath morning mentioned in the last chapter, proved the beginning of one of those long and dreary storms, not unusual in the spring of the year. The sun did not show himself for half an hour during the whole week, but snow, sleet, rain, drizzle, high winds, and leaden skies, had everything their own way. The old people said it was the “equinoctial,” or “line” storm; and their opinion was not in the least disturbed, if Marcus suggested that many scientific men believed the notion of such a storm to be a popular delusion. It certainly was not a very auspicious time to express any doubts on this point—in the midst of a seven days’ storm, happening in the very week of the equinox; so Marcus, without seriously doubting that the men of science were right, concluded it were wiser to postpone any argument on the subject until a dryer season.
The younger members of Mrs. Page’s family found little chance for out-door sports, during this tedious storm. Still, the time did not pass heavily with them. All but Kate and Otis had their regular daily work to perform; but as it was divided among several pairs of hands, it was not very arduous, at this season of the year. Jessie’s work, however, was an exception, for she insisted upon devoting most of her time, when released from study, to household duties. On Wednesday and Saturday afternoons, Marcus frequently invited Oscar and Ronald to help him about some extra job or other; but all such jobs were now finished up, as far as they could be until the season should open for out-door operations. The farming tools had been put in complete order, the potatoes sorted for planting, the cellar cleaned out, and when Wednesday afternoon came, with a pouring rain, Marcus told the boys they must amuse themselves as best they could, as he had nothing for them to do.
For awhile, the state of things was rather dull indoors as well as out. Marcus and Oscar were reading. Kate sat down to practise a music lesson, but the notes which her fingers called forth were so dull and spiritless, that she soon abandoned the attempt. Otis sat looking dreamily out of the window, towards the distant hills just visible through the rain. Ronald, after trying in vain to get somebody to go out to the barn and “have some fun,” went alone; but he evidently did not find what he went after, for he soon returned, repeating, on the way, a queer alliterative exercise in rapid pronunciation he had recently learned for his own amusement. It was as follows, only each line was repeated in four different ways, as indicated at the beginning:
“Andrew Airpump asked his aunt her ailment,
Did Andrew, etc.,