it then. Well,
Dick was just ready to cry; but he looks at me, and sees a smile on my
face, and toddles off into the garden; and an hour after I went and took
him a great blunt knife as he couldn't hurt himself with, and he was
soon as happy as a king, rooting about in the cabbage-bed with it. I
did it because I loved him; and he came to understand that, after a bit.
And that's the way our heavenly Father deals with all his loving and
obedient children."

There was a little murmur of approval when Bradly ceased, which was very
distasteful to Foster, who began to move off, growling out that, "it was
no use arguing with a man who was quite behind the age, and couldn't
appreciate nor understand the difficulties and conclusions of deeper
thinkers."

"Just one word more, friends, on this subject," said Bradly, not
noticing his opponent's last disparaging remarks. "William said, a
little while ago, as it's all fancy on my part when I gave him my own
experience about answers to prayer. Well, if it's fancy, it's a very
pleasant fancy, and a very profitable fancy too; and I should like him
to tell me what his learned scientific authors, that he brags so much
about, has to give me instead of it, if I take their word for it as it's
all fancy, and give over praying. Now, suppose I'm told as there's a
man living over at Sunnyside as is able and willing to give me
everything I want, if I only ask him. I go to his door, and knock; but
he don't let me see him. I say through the keyhole, `I want a loaf of
bread.' He opens the door just so far as to make room for his hand, and
there's a loaf of bread in it for me. I go to him again, and tell him
through the door as I wants some medicine to cure one of my children as
is sick. The hand is put out with medicine in it, and the medicine
makes a cure. I go again, and say I want a letter of recommendation for
my son to get a place as porter on the railway. There's no hand put out
this time; but I hear a voice say, `Come every day for a week.' So I go
every day, and knock; and the last day the hand's put out, and it gives
me a letter to a gentleman, who puts my son into a situation twice as
good as the one I asked for him. Now, suppose I'd gone on in this way
for years, always getting what I asked for, or something better instead,
do you think any one would ever persuade me as it were only fancy after
all; that the friend I called on so often wasn't my friend at all, that
he'd n