read and a cup of water for dinner. But he did not suffer nearly so
much from this as he had done from having grieved his dear parents; for
he had before this been brought to repent, and he felt that God, and
his father and mother, had forgiven him.

John Cooper never again grieved his father and mother by doing wrong,
and never forgot the lesson he had learned, when Tom Jones led him
astray, as long as he lived.

[Illustration: SUNDAY MORNING]

When John Cooper became a man, there were bad times, and he could not
get a living at the trade to which he had been brought up: so he went
for a horse-soldier. And before he went, his father and mother gave him
their blessing, and he prayed with all his heart that God would bless
the old people, and preserve them; and said he would let them have as
much of his pay as ever he could.

It was a sad day for him and his parents when he went away. They had
never been parted for so long a time before, and he was now going to
India, from whence he could not return for some years. But they could
not help it; so they all said that it was God's will that they should
part, and it was their duty to bear it as well as they could.

After John was gone, the old people never missed a day but they prayed
to God to keep their son, both in his soul and body, from all evil. They
were very poor, and were now too old to work much; but with what they
got of John's pay, they had enough just to live upon, and above all they
had thankful hearts, which made them happy. Yet they often wished for
John's return; sometimes too they were fearful lest he should be killed
or wounded in the wars; but when they felt thus, they always tried to
put their trust in God.

When John had been away ten years, he came back one day, safe and sound,
as his father and mother were standing at the door of the cottage. You
may judge how they all felt, and how many questions his fond mother
asked him, as to where he had been, and how he had got on.

The next day was Sunday, and both John and his parents were glad of it,
for they wished to go to church to offer up their thanks to God, who had
kept John safe through many dangers, had saved the lives of the old
people, and had now brought them to each other again.

It was a fine bright morning in Spring, just such a one as it had been
nearly twenty years before, when Tom Jones had tempted John Cooper to
keep away from school, and to go into the wood to take birds' nests.
Jo