ieve, doubtfully. "Father was reading this
morning about people who had eyes, but could not see."

Hepsa looked at her a moment, and then nodded her head towards her, and
said, speaking low as to a third person, "She's cracked a little, I
think;" then, as she looked towards the fence, she remembered the garden
which was behind it, and asked Genevieve for some flowers. But Genevieve
only said "O, yes," and went on to say, "Of course you can't see God,
Hepsa! He lives in the skies."

"I shouldn't think he would come down here, then. I wouldn't!"

"But, Hepsa, God loves us; then, too, he is everywhere at once."

"Mercy!" said Hepsa to herself, in a low tone. "Worse and worse!"

"And he made everything you see, Hepsa, and a great deal more beside,"
continued Genevieve.

"There, there!" said Hepsa, impatiently; "don't talk any more; it sounds
odd." Genevieve looked at Hepsa, and the wild, petulant look of her
face grieved and shocked her so much, that she burst into tears.

"What is the matter?" said Hepsa. "I thought you were going to get me
the flowers."

"And so I will," said Genevieve, wiping up her tears as well as she
could; and she ran into the garden, and picked a large bunch of flowers.
There were the sweet mignonette and heliotrope, the pink verbena, and
the beautiful white scented verbena, the gay phlox, the pure candytuft,
bits of lemon blossoms, and the faithful pansies. It was such a
beautiful bunch as to melt poor Hepsa's heart to gratitude.

"I do think I should love to kiss you," she said to Genevieve, "if my
face were not so dirty, and you look _so_ clean."

"I don't care!" said Genevieve, and so she kissed Hepsa and said,
"Hepsa, I wish you would never again talk so about God, for I love him
very dearly, and so do my father and mother."

Hepsa began to think Genevieve was not crazy, and so she became more
serious.

"But did you never read about Him, Hepsa?" asked Genevieve.

"No, indeed; I can't read at all!" exclaimed Hepsa, astonished at
Genevieve's questions.

"Not read! Why, Hepsa, why don't you go to school?"

"I can't; mother keeps me at home to tend the baby while she goes to
washing."

A bright thought came into Genevieve's little head.

"Where do you live?" she asked.

"O, away down that lane, the other side of the village! I work nearly
all the time, some way or other."

"Have you any father?"

"Yes;" and Hepsa looked as though she did not love him better than she
loved