he schoolroom
at the hour appointed, and with a cold bow took the chair Donal placed
for her.

"Now, Davie," said Donal, "what have you done since our last lesson?"

Davie stared.

"You didn't tell me to do anything, Mr. Grant!"

"No; but what then did I give you the lesson for? Where is the good of
such a lesson if it makes no difference to you! What was it I told
you?"

Davie, who had never thought about it since, the lesson having been
broken off before Donal could bring it to its natural fruit,
considered, and said,

"That Jesus Christ rose from the dead."

"Well--where is the good of knowing that?"

Davie was silent; he knew no good of knowing it, neither could imagine
any. The Catechism, of which he had learned about half, suggested
nothing.

"Come, Davie, I will help you: is Jesus dead, or is he alive?"

Davie considered.

"Alive," he answered.

"What does he do?"

Davie did not know.

"What did he die for?"

Here Davie had an answer--a cut and dried one:

"To take away our sins," he said.

"Then what does he live for?"

Davie was once more silent.

"Do you think if a man died for a thing, he would be likely to forget
it the minute he rose again?"

"No, sir."

"Do you not think he would just go on doing the same thing as before?"

"I do, sir."

"Then, as he died to take away our sins, he lives to take them away!"

"Yes, sir."

"What are sins, Davie?"

"Bad things, sir."

"Yes; the bad things we think, and the bad things we feel, and the bad
things we do. Have you any sins, Davie?"

"Yes; I am very wicked."

"Oh! are you? How do you know it?"

"Arkie told me."

"What is being wicked?"

"Doing bad things."

"What bad things do you do?"

"I don't know, sir."

"Then you don't know that you are wicked; you only know that Arkie told
you so!"

Lady Arctura drew herself up; but Donal was too intent to perceive the
offence he had given.

"I will tell you," Donal went on, "something you did wicked to-day."
Davie grew rosy red. "When we find out one wicked thing we do, it is a
beginning to finding out all the wicked things we do. Some people
would rather not find them out, but have them hidden from themselves
and from God too. But let us find them out, everyone of them, that we
may ask Jesus to take them away, and help Jesus to take them away, by
fighting them with all our strength.--This morning you pulled the
little pup's ears till he screamed." Davie hung hi