"We certainly have a treasure in the house now, in comparison with which
all the grandeur of the world counts as nothing," said the mother. "You
are, indeed, good children, and I appreciate your self-sacrificing
spirit. I consider that more acceptable than a great collection of
paintings. The love which you have shown for your departed father and
for me affords me unbounded joy. Come now, let us hang the picture at
once."

Often all three would stand before the painting and gather from it such
joy and strength that the work of the day seemed lightened and
brightened.

"When you study with exactness the details of a beautiful landscape,"
said the mother, "you will find more and more to admire at each view. So
it is with reading. We learn much that may befall us in life from
books, and by thinking and reviewing the good and the beautiful in the
lives of others we may better know how to act under the changing scenes
of life."




Chapter III

The Discovery


With the returning spring, the mother received an urgent letter from her
best friend, a widow, who lived in the country. This friend had been
seriously ill for some time, and her life was despaired of. She was