"Just as I am, without one plea,
Save that thy blood was shed for me,
And that thou bid'st me come to thee,
O Lamb of God! I come.
"Just as I am, and waiting not
To rid my soul of one dark blot,
To thee, whose blood can cleanse each spot,
O Lamb of God! I come.
"Just as I am thou wilt receive,
Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve,
Because thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God! I come.
"Just as I am,--thy love unknown
Has broken every barrier down;
Now to be thine, yea, thine alone
O Lamb of God! I come."
When she had sung one verse, Maggie joined in, and Bessie lay
listening. When they were through, Mrs. Stanton put Bessie down in a
corner of the lounge, and said the children must have some lunch. First
she rang the bell, and then went to a little cupboard at the side of
the fireplace and brought out two small white plates, which Maggie and
Bessie knew quite well. Presently the waiter came to the door to know
what Mrs. Stanton wanted. This was James, the head waiter. He knew
Maggie and Bessie, and they were great favorites with him. His wife
washed for some of the ladies in the hotel, and once when she came
there with some clothes, she brought her little girl with her, and left
her in the hall with her father, who was busy there. She was a _very_
little girl, and could just walk alone, and while she was toddling
about after her father, she fell down and knocked her head against the
corner of a door. She cried very hard, and James tried to quiet her,
lest she should disturb some of the boarders. But she had a great bump
on her head, and she did not see any reason why she should be still
when it hurt her so. She was still crying when Maggie and Bessie came
through the hall. Each had a stick of candy, which some one had just
given them. When they heard the little one crying, they stopped to ask
what ailed her.
"I'll give her my candy," said Maggie.
"Yes, do," said Bessie, "and I'll give you half of mine."
The child stopped crying when she had the nice stick of candy. James
was very much pleased, and after that he was always glad to wait upon
our little girls. He had just now heard the story of Bessie's trouble,
for Miss Ellery had taken pains to spread it through the house, so
vexed was she at Miss Adams, and James had been by when she was telling
some of the ladies. He felt very sorry for Bessie, and wished that he
could do something for her. When he came to answer Mrs. Stanton's ring,
she asked him to bring some bread and butter.
"Is it for the little ladies, ma'am?" asked James. Mrs. Stanton said,
"Yes," and James asked if they would not like toast better. Two or
three times when Maggie and Bessie had taken tea with their grandmamma,
he had noticed that Bessie always asked for toast. Mrs. Stanton
thanked him and said yes, for she thought perhaps Bessie would eat
toast when she would not eat bread.
"But can I have it at this time of the day?" she said.
"No fear, ma'am," said James. "You shall have it, if I make it myself;"
and with a nod to the children, he went away.
Bessie sat quiet in a corner of the sofa, still looking very grave.
"Don't you feel happy now, Bessie?" said Maggie, creeping close to her,
and putting her arm around her. "I am sure Jesus will forgive you."
"Yes, I think he will," said Bessie; "but I can't help being sorry
'cause I was so naughty."
"You was not half so bad as Miss Adams, if you did get into a passion,"
said Maggie, "and I don't believe he'll forgive her."
"Oh, Maggie!" said Bessie.
"Well, I don't believe she'll ask him."
"Then I'll ask him," said Bessie.
"Now, Bessie, don't you do it!"
"But I ought to ask him, if I want him to forgive me," said Bessie.
"When we say 'Our Father in heaven,' we say 'Forgive us our sins as we
forgive those that sin against us.' I think Miss Adams sinned against
me a little bit; don't you, Maggie?"
"No, I don't," said Maggie. "No little bit about it. _I_ think she
sinned against you a great bit,--as much as the whole ocean."
"Then if I want Jesus to forgive me, I ought to forgive her, and to
ask him to forgive her too. I think I ought. I'm going to ask mamma
to-night."
"_I_ sha'n't do it, I know," said Maggie. "I wish I was as tall as she
is; no,--as tall as papa or Colonel Rush, and oh! wouldn't she get it
then!"
"What would you do?" asked Bessie.
"I don't know,--something. Oh, yes! don't you know the pictures of
Bluebeard's wives, where they're all hanging up by their hair? I'd
just hang her up that way, and then _her_ hair would be nicely pulled.
And I'd get the boys to come and poke her with sticks." Maggie said
this, shaking her head with a very determined look.
The idea of Miss Adams hanging up by her hair made Bessie laugh; but
in a moment she looked grave again. "I don't believe that's yight,
Maggie," she said.
"I don't care," said Maggie. "I'm going to say it."
Just then James came back, and they forgot Miss Adams for a while. He
brought a nice plate of toast and some butter. Grandmamma spread two
pieces of toast and laid them on the little plates, and then went back
again to the famous cupboard and brought out--oh, delicious!--a box of
guava jelly. She put a spoonful on each plate, and gave them to the
children. "Now, remember," she said, "the jelly goes with the toast."
Bessie looked rather doubtfully at her toast. "Grandmamma, I don't feel
very hungry."
"But you must eat something, Bessie; it is long after your luncheon
time, and it will not do for you to go until dinner without eating.
Mamma will think I did not take good care of you."
But the toast tasted so good with the guava jelly that Bessie eat the
whole of hers and even asked for more, to grandma's great pleasure.
When she brought it to her with some more jelly, she saw that Bessie
had still some of the sweetmeats left on her plate. "Don't you like
your jelly, dear?" she asked.
"Yes, ma'am," said Bessie, "but I didn't know if I could eat all the
toast, and I thought perhaps you only wanted me to eat just so much
share of the guava as I eat a share of the toast; so I eat that first
to be sure."
Grandma smiled, but she did not praise her honest little granddaughter,
for she did not think it best.
When Aunt Annie heard Miss Ellery tell how Bessie had been treated, she
was very angry, and said some things about Miss Adams and Mr. Lovatt
which her mother did not wish to have her say before the children. She
told her so, speaking in French; so Annie said no more just then; but
as soon as Bessie ceased crying, she ran out to tell Miss Adams what
she thought of her conduct. But happily Miss Adams was not to be found,
and before Annie saw her again, her mother had persuaded her that it
was better to say nothing about it.
But now when she could not find Miss Adams, she went off to Mrs.
Rush's room and told her and the colonel the whole story. The colonel
was angry enough to please even Annie. He said so much, and grew so
excited, that Mrs. Rush was sorry Annie had told him. He was far more
displeased than he would have been with any insult to himself, and
when, soon after, he met Mr. Lovatt in the hall, he spoke so severely
and angrily to him that Mr. Lovatt was much offended. Very high words
passed between the two gentlemen, and the quarrel might have become
serious, if Mr. Howard had not interfered.
Miss Adams heard all this, and when she found how much trouble and
confusion she had caused by her cruel thoughtlessness, she felt rather
ashamed, and wished she had not tormented the little child who had
never done her any harm. But this was not the last of it, for Miss
Adams was to be punished a little by the last person who meant to do
it.