r, just then, the one thing in earth or sky, she
whispered to herself what she felt to be the truth.

"It is his last Sunday with us. Before another my Ted will have entered
that city where there is no need of the sun, of which God Himself is the
light. My happy Ted! but oh, how shall we live without him?"

She was right. Ted did not live to see Christmas or his birthday.
Sweetly and peacefully, trusting God in death as he had trusted Him in
life, the little fellow fearlessly entered the dark valley--the valley
of the _shadow_ of death only, for who can doubt that to such as Ted
what _seems_ death is but the entrance to fuller life?

So, children, I will not say that this was the _end_ of the simple life
I have told you of--and in yet another way Ted lives--in the hearts of
all that loved him his sweet memory can never die. And if I have been
able to make any among you feel that you too love him, I cannot tell
you how glad I shall be.

They laid him in a pretty corner of the little cemetery from which can
be seen the old church Ted loved so well, and the beautiful chase, where
he so often walked. And even in those midwinter days his little friend
Gertrude found flowers for his grave. It was all she could do to show
her love for him, she said, crying bitterly, for she might not see him
to bid him good-bye, and her heart was very sore.

So it was with Christmas roses that the grave of our Christmas child was
decked.

_Printed by_ R. & R. CLARK, _Edinburgh_.

* * * * *

Transcriber's note:

Missing punctuation has been added. The following additional changes
were made to the text:

In chapter 4, the misprint "Hs" was changed to read "He" in the sentence:

HE would not leave the least shred of paper or even crumbs about

In chapter 10, the word "other" was changed to "another" in the sentence:

(...) he would not take the round of the Skensdale farm for
ANOTHER three or four days at least

***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A CHRISTMAS CHILD***

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