cousin--expressed some anxiety for their provisions for the morrow,
Catharine, who had early listened with trusting piety of heart to the
teaching of her father, when he read portions from the holy Word of
God, gently laid her hand upon her brother's head, which rested on her
knees, as he sat upon the grass beside her, and said, in a low and
earnest tone, "'Consider the fowls of the air: they sow not, neither
do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth
them. Are ye not much better than they?' Surely, my brother, God
careth for us as much as for the wild creatures that have no sense to
praise and glorify his holy name. God cares for the creatures he has
made, and supplies them with knowledge where they shall find food when
they hunger and thirst. So I have heard my father say; and surely our
father knows, for is he not a wise man, Hector?"

"I remember," said Louis thoughtfully, "hearing my mother repeat the
words of a good old man she knew when she lived in Quebec. 'When you
are in trouble, Mathilde,' he used to say to her, 'kneel down and ask
God's help, nothing doubting but that he has the power as well as the
will to serve you, if it be for your good; for he is able to bring all
things to pass. It is our own want of faith that prevents our prayers
from being heard.' And, truly, I think the wise old man was right," he
added.

It was strange to hear grave words like these from the lips of the
giddy Louis. Possibly they had the greater weight on that account. And
Hector, looking up with a serious air, replied, "Your mother's friend
was a good man, Louis. Our want of trust in God's power must displease
him. And when we think of all the great and glorious things he has
made,--that blue sky, those sparkling stars, the beautiful moon that
is now shining down upon us, and the hills and waters, the mighty