mire and dirt. She remembered that she was not always kind to the girls she met in the market. This morning she had pushed one down, and struck another with her basket in order to get served first with the cresses, and scarcely a day passed but she was guilty of some such offence. Telling lies, too-she was often guilty of that, and had thought nothing of it, being rather proud of her cleverness if it was the means of her gaining an extra halfpenny. Stealing, she was not often guilty of, because she had not the opportunity, but of the other two faults mentioned by the stranger she felt it would be very hard to give them up, although she resolved to do so if the Lord Jesus loved her and wished her to do so.

She dared not venture home that night with her cresses unsold, and only three half-pence for her father, and so she carried her basket--after buying some bread for her supper-into an archway where she knew she would not be disturbed until the men came in the morning to open the market. Cold and comfortless as her resting place was, without either bed or covering of any kind, she was soon fast asleep-her last thought being about the kind friend who loved her, and her little grimy hand pressed upon the precious sixpence which she regarded as a pledge of it. Her first thoughts on waking were on the same subject; but before she had finished rearranging her basket, so as to make her cresses appear as if fresh gathered, she remembered the words of the stranger, and she wondered what she should say if asked whether they were fresh. They looked so, for they were still wet from the rain of yesterday; but people did ask sometimes in spite of their appearance. Annie hoped they would not this morning, but if they did, she had made up her mind what to do. She would not displease her new and only Friend by telling a lie; no, she could not do that now. His love was too precious, and she was too anxious to show her gratitude to him for loving such a poor little desolate girl, to think of doing anything she knew he would not like.

Full of these thoughts Annie started on her rounds as soon as it was light enough for her to do so. "Watercresses, watercresses!" again sounded through the chill morning air, and Annie hoped she should soon find a customer, for she was very hungry, and longed to be able to buy some bread. Presently a door opened, and a crosslooking woman beckoned to her. Annie ran across in

stantly, her face brightening as she glanced at the baker's shop close by.

"Are they fresh ?" asked the woman, sharply, taking up a bunch and looking at them.

66

Yes," Annie hesitated, "'em was yesterday," she hastened to add, the colour mounting to her pale cheek as she saw the frown gather on the woman's face.

"I wanted two penn'orth. Fresh yesterday, indeed! Ain't you got any o' this morning ?”

but

The temptation was very strong to say "yes," and gather up a bunch of those she had untied for the purpose; she put up her hand and felt the sixpence, and the thought of the love of which that was the pledge gave her courage to resist it. No; badly as she wanted her breakfast, she would not do what the stranger had told her would displease the Lord Jesus, and so, looking up with swimming eyes, she said, "I ain't bought any this morning, but these are very good."

"I dare say they are for them that likes stale things," said the woman in an angry tone, and she went in and shut the door with a bang. Poor Annie was sadly disappointed at losing such a good customer, and as she wearily trudged along, and no one else came to call her, she began to wonder whether there might not be some mistake, whether she could be required to give up this habit which would cost her so much. She was now in a painful state of indecision. Faint from hunger and cold, she yet felt unwilling to say her cresses were fresh, to displease the unknown Friend who loved her and had so recently sent to tell her of his love. And yet again she thought if this was true, and he could see and know everything and how hungry she was, would he mind her doing just so now and then?

She could not settle the question, and at length resolved to watch near the house where she had seen the gentleman, to try and see him again and ask him to tell her more about the Lord Jesus, that she might know for a certainty what she ought to do. Then remembering that she had been told she might ask the Lord Jesus for whatever she wanted, she sat down on a door-step, and resting her hands on her basket whispered half aloud, "O Lord Jesus, I'm very hungry and can't sell my cresses because I mustn't tell a lie. Please give me something to eat, and tell me what to do, and help me to love you because you love me." Annie stopped because she did not know what more to say,

but as she lifted her head she saw a workman from the building opposite coming towards her.

66

Here, my girl, give us two penn'orth o' cresses quick," he said, throwing the halfpence into her basket: "are they fresh," he added.

Annie hesitated. "I couldn't buy any this morning," she said, slowly, "but I think these are good."

"Oh, then you had no luck yesterday," he said, laughing; "but these 'll do; give us another penn'orth, and come round here about six to-night and you'll sell a good lot to the other men."

Annie took up the threepence and looked after the man as he hurried back to his work. How wonderful it all seemed! She had only just asked the Lord Jesus for what she wanted, and it came directly. But still the desire remained in her heart to know more of this wonderful Friend, and she resolved to watch that afternoon for the stranger she had seen the day before.

Taking up her basket she now hurried on to the nearest baker's shop, where she bought some bread, only a small piece, however, for she must save some to replenish her stock, which she hoped to dispose of to the workmen, which would then enable her to go home and take something to her father, when she might hope for a shelter for the night. As soon as her bread was eaten she hurried to the market for a fresh supply of cresses, and then back again to watch for the "servant of the Lord Jesus."

Hour after hour did she patiently wait within sight of the large covered doorway, but he did not appear; and at length Annie had to retrace her steps to be in time for her customers from the building. They soon began to pour out, and Annie stood close by calling as loud as she could Watercresses, fine watercresses!" She had soon disposed of her whole stock, and with a light basket and a lighter heart she once more visited the baker's shop and then trudged home.

66

The miserable garret where they lived she found had been almost stripped of its few articles of furniture, and from these circumstances she knew that if she did not hide it her father would take all her money, leaving nothing with which to purchase the next day's stock of cresses; and so her first care was to divide the little store of halfpence, putting her father's on to the shelf and carefully concealing the rest in one of the many slits in her frock.

Then her precious sixpence was taken out of its hidingplace and rubbed and admired, not for its own sake, valuable as it was, but for the sake of Him who she believed had sent it to her. As she gazed at its brightness she thought of what had been told her the day before of her Friend's former poverty, and it was a source of inexpressible comfort to her to think that he could thus feel for her when she was cold and hungry, and tired and lonely.

After putting her sixpence away with the halfpence in her frock, she crept under the thin coverlet that concealed the heap of straw in the corner and in a few minutes was sound asleep, so sound that she did not hear her father's heavy, unsteady footstep as it ascended the stairs, or the muttered imprecation against herself when he found what a small sum had been left for him. Neither did she feel the rough push her head received as he pulled away her few clothes which served for a pillow. She slept quietly through it all, and woke the next morning with a strange new feeling of joy at her heart, and her first words were to whisper to herself, “The Lord Jesus loves me." But her joy was soon clouded, for on turning to put on her few rags of clothes she found them scattered about the room and her frock gone. She understood how it was in a moment, and a bitter feeling of anger crept into her heart as she glanced at the other corner where her father was lying. He had taken it away and sold it at the rag-shop, and with it her precious sixpence, if he had not first discovered it. Annie had had her clothes taken to the same place before, but they had never contained anything so precious; and as this thought took possession of her mind she sat down on her miserable bed and burst into tears.

But crying would not get her breakfast or bring her frock back, Annie knew, and so she presently wiped her eyes, and putting on the few clothes that were left her, she wrapped her old shawl about her shoulders and went out. Her old occupation of crossing-sweeping must be taken up now until she could get a few halfpence to buy another stock of cresses. This could easily be done, as she still possessed the remains of her old broom; and so, taking it from its hiding-place behind her straw, she set out to commence her day's work, sadly dispirited and cast down. The more she thought of her loss the more she grieved over it. She even forgot her hunger in her sorrow and anger against her father, who had been the cause of it all.

A crossing near a broad open piece of waste ground was the spot she had always chosen, and here she went to-day. Two or three halfpence were soon dropped into her open hand, which bought her breakfast, and Annie thought she was going to have a good day," and formed the resolution upon the spot to stay here until she got enough to buy back her old frock. She wanted it to wear, but more than that she wanted it for her precious sixpence, for she thought it was most likely her father had satisfied himself with the halfpence without searching further, and thus it had escaped observation. But Annie's success did not turn out to be very great to-day, and she was thinking sadly of this towards the close of the afternoon, when her attention was attracted by the sound of singing in the open square close by. At first she did not notice this, but when she saw a crowd slowly gathering round to listen to what was now being spoken she ran across to listen too. "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled." The words came clear and full upon her as she came up, but the next minute she and her, broom were roughly elbowed out of the way and she could hear no more. But she had heard enough to raise her curiosity. "Hunger and thirst." She was hungry and thirsty, and the stranger had said that the Lord Jesus had often been hungry and thirsty. Could it be anything about him? Annie dodged and dived and tried to get through the crowd, but her broom prevented her.

At length, as she was being rudely repulsed, she caught the name she was so anxious to hear; and then, leaving her broom to take care of itself, she pushed her way through until at length she stood in front of the speaker. What wonderful things did she then hear! She stood there with eyes dilated and mouth extended, eagerly listening to the wondrous tale of the love of Jesus as it fell from the speaker's lips, not hearing or seeing anything else until he stopped, when she saw that the crowd had almost entirely dispersed and that it was beginning to rain. The preacher, too, was about to move away, when Annie, fearful lest it should be the last chance she should ever get of hearing more about her Friend, ran after him, and seizing him by the coat said, "Please, sir, are you a servant of the Lord Jesus?" The missionary looked down in surprise both at the question and the questioner. "I trust I am, my little girl," he said at length.