beautiful than the Queen's home, of a good time coming to her whohad always, always, all her life had bad times.
And Dick, though he was a thief, might share in the good time, and somight Jenks.
Our Saviour gave of His good times to thieves, and sinners, and poorpeople, if only they wanted them, and of course they had only to hear ofthem to want them.
"May I come down, Flo?" called out Janey's voice at this juncture, atthe cellar door. "Father 'ave beat me hawful; may I come down and setby yer a bit?"
The lame girl was sobbing loudly, and without waiting for Flo's replyshe scrambled down the ladder and threw herself on the bed by thechild's side.
"There now," she said, panting out her passionate words, "'ee 'ave mehall black and blue, and my lame leg 'urt worse nor hever; and I wish'ee wor in prison, I do; and I wish I wor dead, I do."
"Oh! Janey," said Flo, with a great gasp of longing, "_wouldn't_ it benice to be dead?"
This corroboration of her desire startled Janey into quiet, and into asubdued--
"_What_, Flo Darrell?"
"To be dead, Janey, and 'avin' a good time?"
"Well," said Janey, recovering herself with a laugh, "wen I'm downhaltogether in the dumps, as I wor a minute ago, I wishes fur it, butmost times I 'ates the bear thought o' it--ugh!"
"That's cause yer doesn't know, Janey, no more nor I did till to-day.Plenty of wittles, plenty of clothes, plenty of pretty things, plenty oflove, all in the good time as we poor folks have arter we are dead."
Janey gave her companion an angry push.
"There now, ef yer ain't more than hagriwating, a comin' on me wid yerold game of s'posin', and me fairly clemmed wid the 'unger. There's nogood time fur me, nor never will be, I reckon," and she again lifted upher voice and wept.
"There's Our--Father--chart--'eaven," began Flo, but Janey stopped her.
"I don't want 'im--one father's too much fur me." Flo was silent--shewould tell no more of her sweet message to unbelieving ears.
After a time she spoke in a different tone.
"Janey?"
"Well?"
"I'd like fur to 'ear the Glory song."
Janey had a good voice, and desired nothing better than to listen toherself. She complied readily.
"`I'm glad I hever saw the day, Sing glory, glory, glory, When first Ilarned to read and pray, Sing glory, glory, glory.'
"Why, Flo! my 'eart alive! Flo, 'ere's Scamp."
"Sing it again," murmured Flo.
And Janey did sing it again, and again, and yet again, until the darkcellar seemed to grow full of it, and to be lit up and brightened by it,and to its music the sick and weary child went to sleep.
CHAPTER TWELVE.
I WAS AN HUNGERED AND YE GAVE ME MEAT.
All through the night Flo had visions of bright, and clean, and lovelythings. She dreamt that she had left the cellar for ever, that all themusty, ragged boots and shoes were mended, and paid for, and gone, andthat instead of earning her bread in that hard and wretched way, God hadcome and placed her in a beautiful room, looking out on green fields,such as mother had told her of, and given her pure white dresses to makefor the angels.
And God looked so kind, and so like what she had imagined her own fatherto look like, that she had ventured to ask Him what had become of Dick,and God had told her that He Himself was taking care of Dick, and HeHimself had placed him in a good school, and all would be well with him.And she thought she sat by the open window and made the angels dresses,and was, oh! so very, very happy; and Scamp lay at her feet, and wasalso happy; and Mrs Jenks was in the room, ready whenever she liked totell her more about God, and she too was happy.
Yes, they all were happy, with a happiness Flo had never conceivedpossible hitherto, and she felt that it was not the nice room, nor thelovely view, nor the pleasant occupation that made her happy, but justbecause God was near. At last the morning came, and she awoke to findthat it all was only a dream.
She was still in the cellar, she must get up as usual, she must work asusual at her old thankless work, the work that barely kept starvationfrom the door. She felt very faint and hungry, but she remembered thatshe had two shillings of the money she had earned on the Derby Daylocked away in the box where she usually kept mother's old bonnet. Shewould get up at once and buy some breakfast for herself and Scamp. Shecalled the dog and told him what she was about to do, and, to judge fromthe way he wagged his tail and rubbed his head against her hands, heunderstood her, and was pleased with her intention. Nay, more, to hurryher movements, he placed himself under the ladder, mounted a few rungs,came down again, and finally darted from the ladder to her, and from herto the ladder, uttering short impatient barks.
What ailed Flo? She was hungry, very hungry, but how slowly she rosefrom her bed. She removed her head from the pillow, she steadiedherself on her elbow--how strange, and weak, and giddy she felt. Shelay down again, it was only a passing weakness; then once more shetried, back came that overpowering sense of sickness and giddiness.Well, it _should_ not conquer her this time; happen what might, she_must_ get up. She tried to put her right foot to the ground, but agreat, sharp cry of agony brought Scamp to her side in consternation,and brought also beads of pain to her brow.
No, hungry as she was, she could not walk, by no possible means couldshe even stand.
She lay perfectly still for a moment or two, suffering so intensely thatevery breath was an agony. At last this passed, and she was able torealise her position a little. In truth it was not a pleasant one.
Even the night before, she had been in great need, she had longed muchfor a drink, her pain had brought on intense thirst, she had meant toask Janey to put a cup, and a jug of cold water, by her side before sheleft, but the sweetness of Janey's song had caused her to fall asleepbefore she had made known her request, and the lame girl had gone awayunconscious that anything was the matter with her. It was highlyprobable that she might not pay Flo a visit for days; unless her fathergave her another beating, or some quite unexpected event occurred, thechances were that she would not come.
And now Flo needed meat and drink, and nursing, as she had never neededthem in all her life before. Though pale and delicate-looking, she hadhitherto been possessed of a certain wiry strength, which those littlewithered city children, with every one of health's necessariesapparently denied them, in some strange way seem to have.
She had never gone through severe pain before; and never, with all herprivations, had she known the hunger and thirst which now tormented her.
Scamp, seeing that she had changed her mind about going out, fixed onher one or two reproachful glances, and then in a very discontentedmanner resigned himself to his fate, and to a few more hours' sleep.
And Flo lay and wondered what was going to become of her. She was veryill, she knew. She was alternately hot and then cold, she wasalternately tortured by pangs of the most acute hunger, and then deadlysickness seemed to make the bare thought of food insupportable.
She wondered what was to be her fate. Was she to lie there, a littlemore sick, a little more weak, a little more hungry and thirsty, in alittle more pain, until at last she died, as mother had died? Well,what then?
Only last night she had thought dying a good thing, the best thing. Itwas bidding good-bye to all that now troubled her, it was beginning atonce the good time God had put by so carefully for little outcastchildren like her. If only it would come at once, this kind, beautifulDeath--if only she had not to walk the dark bit of road between now andthen, between now and the blessed moment when God would take her in Hisarms to Heaven.
But Flo had been too long with the poor, with the very, very poor, hadseen too many such die, not to know well that dying was often a verylong business, a business so long, and so sad, that, though the dyingwere suffering just as much as she now suffered, yet many weary hours,sometimes many weary days, had to be passed before relief and succourcame to them; before kind Death came and took away all their sorrows andgave them rest, a
nd sleep, and a good time. And this long period ofwaiting, even though the end was such brightness, felt very terrible tothe lonely child. Then, suddenly, words Mrs Jenks had said to heryesterday came into her head.
"When you want food, or anything else very bad, and you don't know howto get it, then is the time to ask God for it. All you have to do is tosay up your want, whatever it be, in as few, and small, and simple wordsas you like, and though you speaks down in your dark cellar, God willhear you up in Heaven, and if 'tis any way possible He'll give you whatyou want."
Flo remembered these words of Mrs Jenks' now with great and suddengladness. If ever a time of need and sore want had come to any one ithad come to her now.
What a good thing to have a Father like God to