"It"s up there," said little Mabel, pointing up to the sky; "up so high, Christie. The little stars live in heaven; I used to think they were the angels" eyes, but nurse says it"s silly to think that."
"I like the stars," said Christie.
"Yes," said Mabel, "so do I; and you"ll see them all when you go to heaven, Christie, I"m sure you will."
"What is heaven like, Miss Mabel?" asked Christie.
"Oh, it"s so nice," said little Mabel; "they have white dresses on, and the streets are all gold, Christie, all gold and shining. And Jesus is there, Christie; wouldn"t you like to see Jesus?" she added, in a whisper.
"I don"t know," said Christie, in a bewildered tone; "I don"t know much about Him."
"Don"t you love Jesus, Christie?" said Mabel, with a very grave, sorrowful face, and with tears in her large brown eyes, "Oh, organ-boy, don"t you love Jesus?"
"No," said Christie; "I know so little about Him, Miss Mabel."
"But you can"t go to heaven if you don"t love Jesus, Christie. Oh! I"m so sorry,--you won"t have a home at all; what _will_ you do?" and the tears ran down little Mabel"s cheeks.
But just then the bell rang for dinner, and nurse"s voice called the children in.
Christie walked on very thoughtfully. He was thinking of little Mabel"s words, and of little Mabel"s tears. "You can"t go to heaven if you don"t love Jesus," she had said; "and then you won"t have a home at all." It was a new thought for Christie, and a very sad thought. What if he should never, never know anything of "Home, sweet Home"? And then came the remembrance of poor old Treffy, his dear old master, who had only another month to live. Did he love Jesus? He had never heard old Treffy mention His name; and what if Treffy should die, and never go to heaven at all, but go to the other place! Christie had heard of h.e.l.l; he did not know much about it, and he had always fancied it was for very bad people. He must tell Treffy about Mabel"s words. Perhaps, after all, his old master did love Jesus. Christie hoped very much that he did. He longed for evening to come, that he might go home and ask him.
The afternoon was still more close and sultry than the morning had been, and little Christie was very weary. The organ was heavy for him at all times, and it seemed heavier than usual to-day. He was obliged to sit down to rest for a few minutes on a doorstep in one of the back streets about half a mile from the court where old Treffy lived. As he was sitting there, with his organ resting against the wall, two women met each other just in front of the doorstep, and after asking most affectionately after each other"s health they began to talk, and Christie could not help hearing every word they said.
"What"s that place?" said one of them, looking across the road at a long, low building with a board in front of it.
"Oh; that"s our new mission-room, Mrs. West," said the other; "it belongs to the church at the corner of Melville Street. A young man comes and preaches there every Sunday night; I like to hear him, I do,"
she went on, "he puts it so plain."
"Puts what plain, Mrs. Smith?" said her friend.
"Oh, all about heaven, and how we"re to get there, and about Jesus and what He"s done for us. He"s a kind man, is Mr. Wilton; he came to see our Tommy when he was badly. Do you know him, Mrs. West?"
"No," said Mrs. West; "maybe I"ll come to-morrow; what time is it?"
"It begins at seven o"clock every Sunday," said Mrs. Smith; "and you needn"t bother about your clothes, there"s no one there but poor folks like ourselves."
"Well, I"ll come, Mrs. Smith. Good day." And the two parted.
And little Christie had heard all they said, and had firmly made up his mind to be at the mission-room the next evening at seven o"clock. He must lose no time in making out what Treffy wanted to know. One day of the month was gone already.
"Master Treffy," said Christie, that night "do you love Jesus?"
"Jesus!" said the old man; "no, Christie, I can"t say I do. I suppose I ought to; good folks do, don"t they?"
"Master Treffy," said Christie, solemnly, "if you don"t love Jesus, you can"t go to heaven, and you"ll never have a home any more,--never any more."
"Ay, ay, Christie, that"s true, I"m afraid. When I was a little chap no bigger than you, I used to hear tell about these things, but I gave no heed to them then, and I"ve forgotten all I ever heard. I"ve been thinking a deal lately since I was took so bad, and some of it seems to come back to me. But I can"t rightly mind what I was told. It"s a bad job, Christie, a bad job."
CHAPTER V.
NO SIN IN THE CITY BRIGHT.
It had been a close, sultry day, and it was a still more oppressive night. It was long before Christie could get to sleep, and when at last he had sunk into a troubled slumber, he was waked suddenly by a loud peal of thunder, which made the old attic shake from end to end.
Old Treffy raised himself in bed, and Christie crept to his side. It was an awful storm; the lightning flashed into the attic, lighting up for a moment every corner of it, and showing Christie old Treffy"s white and trembling face. Then all was dark again, and there came the heavy roll of the thunder, which sounded like the noise of falling houses, and which made old Treffy shake from head to foot. Christie never remembered such a storm before, and he was very much afraid. He knelt very close to his old master, and took hold of his trembling hand.
"Are you frightened, Master Treffy?" he asked at last, as a vivid flash again darted into the room.
"Yes, Christie, boy," said old Treffy; "I don"t know how it is; I used not to be afraid of a storm, but I am to-night."
Poor Christie did not speak, so Treffy went on:--
"The lightning seems like G.o.d looking at me, Christie, and the thunder seems like G.o.d"s voice, and I am afraid of Him. I don"t love Him, Christie; I don"t love Him."
And again the lightning flashed and the thunder rolled, and again old Treffy shook from head to foot.
"I shouldn"t like to die to-night, Christie," he said; "and the lightning comes so very near me. Christie, boy, do you know what sin is?" he whispered.
"Yes," said Christie; "it"s doing wrong things, isn"t it?"
"Yes," said Treffy, "and I"ve done a many of them, Christie; and it"s thinking bad thoughts, and I"ve thought a many of them, Christie; and it"s saying bad words, and I"ve said a many of them, Christie. But I never cared about it before to-night."
"How did you come to care about it to-night?" asked Christie.
"I"ve had a dream, Christie, boy, and it has made me tremble."
"Tell me it, Master Treffy," pleaded Christie.
"I was thinking of what you said about loving Jesus, and I fell asleep, and I thought I was standing before a beautiful gate; it was made of gold, Christie, and over the gate there was some shining letters. I spelt them out, and they were, "Home, sweet Home," Christie, and I said to myself, "I"ve found it at last; I wish Christie was here." But just then someone opened the gate, and said, "What do you want, old man?" "I want to come in," I said. "I"m very tired, and I want to be at home."
But he shut the gate, and said to me very gravely and sorrowfully, "No sin can come in here." And Christie, I felt as if I was nothing but sin, so I turned round and walked away, and it grew very dark. And just then came the thunder, and I awoke; I can"t forget it, Christie; I can"t forget it," said old Treffy.
And still the lightning flashed and the thunder rolled, and still old Treffy trembled.
Christie could not comfort him, for he was very much afraid himself; but he pressed very close up to his side, and did not leave him till the storm was over, and there was no sound but the heavy downpour of the rain on the roof of the attic. Then he crept back to bed and fell asleep.
The next morning it all seemed like a bad dream. The sun was shining brightly, and Christie rose and opened the attic window. Every thing looked fresh and clean after the rain. The dull heavy feeling was gone out of the air, and the little sparrows were chirping in the eaves. It was Sunday morning, and on Sunday evening Christie was to hear the clergyman preach in the mission-room. Oh! how he wished it was seven o"clock, that he might go and find out what old Treffy wanted to know!
The poor old man seemed very restless and unhappy all that long spring day. Christie never left him, for it was only on Sunday that he could watch beside his dear old master. He could see that old Treffy had not forgotten his dream, though he did not speak of it again.
And at last the long, weary day wore away, and at six o"clock Christie washed himself and prepared to depart.
"Be sure you mind every word he says, Christie, boy," said old Treffy, earnestly.
The mission-room was only just open when little Christie arrived. A woman was inside lighting the gas and preparing the place for the congregation. Christie peeped shyly in at the door, and she caught sight of him and ordered him off.