his medicine, and handed it to him. "Now
drink this up, like a good boy," she said, "then I will bring you some
beef tea soon."

Charlie rather unwillingly, and with a wry face, drank the mixture. As
he gave her back the glass, his eye rested on a picture that had been
hidden before by the curtain; it was a ship and some small boats at sea.
In a moment the something that he had been trying to remember flashed
upon him, and burying his face in the pillow to shut out the picture, he
sobbed out, "Oh, father, father!"

Mrs. Heedman stood quietly by, waiting until the first burst of grief
was over, and asking in her heart for the help of God's Holy Spirit to
teach her what she had best say to comfort him. Presently the heavy sobs
almost ceased; but Charlie did not move or speak. She took his hand in
hers smoothing and caressing it, as if to assure him of her sympathy.

"Charlie dear," she said gently, "it is very sad, and very hard to bear,
is it not?" Charlie did not speak. She sat down beside him, still
keeping his hand in hers, and went on speaking.

"Last year, when my own dear little boy died--you remember Tom, don't
you, Charlie? Well, when he was taken from me, I thought my heart would
have broken; it seemed as if I should never be happy again. I felt sad
and ill, and weary of everything, just as you feel now." Charlie turned
towards her, and looked interested. "For some weeks I was very unhappy,
and thought no one had such a trouble as mine; but afterwards I learned
how wrong it was of me to find fault with God's will; and when I began
to count up all the blessings I had received, and remembered all that my
dear Lord Jesus Christ had done and suffered for me, I felt sure that He
who loved me so much would not let me suffer any pain or sorrow that was
not necessary for my good."

Charlie was listening attentively; he quite understood all Mrs. Heedman
said. His mother had often read to him out of the Bible, and spoken to
him of the Saviour.

Mrs. Heedman went on: "You must remember, Charlie, that you are now one
of God's very dear children. We are all His children, but He has
especial love and care for those whom He has been obliged to leave
without any earthly parents. God promises in His own holy book, the
Bible, that He will be 'a Father to the fatherless;' that He will
relieve the fatherless; that He will help the fatherless; and that if
the fatherless cry unto Him, He will surely hear their cry. When you ar