tephen,' said Miss Anne; 'but I will tell you
about God. When He gave His commandments to mankind that they might obey
them, He proclaimed His own name at the same time. Listen to His name,
Martha: "The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering,
and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands,
forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin." If you would not go to Him
for mercy when you did not feel your need of it, He was keeping it for
you against this time; saving and treasuring it up for you, "that He
might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness towards us,
through Christ Jesus." He is waiting to pardon your iniquity, for
Christ's sake. Do you wish to be forgiven now? Do you feel that you are a
sinful girl, Martha?'

'I have thought of nothing else all day long,' whispered Martha; 'I have
helped to kill little Nan by my sins.'

'Yes,' said Miss Anne mournfully; 'if, like Stephen, you had opened your
heart to the gentle teaching of the Holy Spirit, if you had looked to
Jesus, trusted in Him, and followed Him, this grief would not have come
upon you and upon all of us. For Bess would not have persuaded you to
leave your own duties, and little Nan would have been alive still.'

'Oh, I knew I'd killed her!' cried a voice behind them; and, looking
round, Miss Anne saw that the door had been softly opened, and Bess had
crept in unheard. Her face was swollen with weeping, and she stood
wringing her hands, as she cast a fearful glance at the white-covered
table in the corner.

'Come here, Bess,' said Miss Anne; and the girl crept to them, and sat
down on the ground at their feet. Miss Anne talked long with them about
little Nan's death, until they shed many tears in true contrition of
heart for their sinfulness; and when they appeared to feel their own
utter helplessness, she explained to them, in such simple and easy
language as Bess could understand, how they could obtain salvation
through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. After which they all knelt down;
and Miss Anne prayed earnestly for the weeping and heart-broken girls,
who, as yet, hardly knew how they could frame any prayers for themselves.

When Miss Anne left the cabin the night was quite dark but the snow which
lay unmelted on the mountains showed their outlines plainly with a pale
gleaming of light though the sky was overcast with more snow-clouds. Her
heart was full of sadness for Stephen, who was wandering, no one