"Why, I knew that the man who wrote that book would help any one--he couldn"t have written the book if he hadn"t been made to help people--and I asked him how I could begin."
"What did he answer?"
"He said: "Seize every chance to prove your mind the master of your own body first, and when you are thoroughly master of yourself, you can master all else.""
"What did he mean?"
"Well, I took it that he meant me to do anything that I thought of, right off, and that if I got in the habit of sweeping all work out of my small way, I"d soon be given a chance at big work in a big way."
"And were you?"
"Yes. I began to get through so quick--I lived with an uncle and helped his wife with the sewing and the children--that I had some spare time, and I went into the kitchen and learned to cook. Then one of the children was ill, and the doctor thought I"d make a good nurse, so he got me into a hospital, and I met a woman there who had all the books that I wanted to read and who just took hold and helped me right out. I saw that I didn"t want to be a sick-nurse, because there"s such a lot of humbug and such a lot that"s silly, and my friend said that I was one who would evolve opportunities--"
"What does that mean?"
"Evolve means to sort of develop out of the world and yourself together at the same time."
"I don"t understand."
"Why, if you want anything, you want it because it"s there, and you can get it if you"ve got the strength and perseverance to build a road to it."
"_What!_"
"I mean just what I say. We can get anything, if we have sufficient will-power to build a way right straight to it."
"Suppose I want to marry a millionaire?"
"It would mean a lot of well-directed effort, and the effort would slowly train you to want something much better than to live rich and idle." Jane paused a minute, and Emily looked at her curiously. "If you want to marry a millionaire bad enough to start in and make yourself all over new, you"ll have such control over your future that I think you"ll get something much better than a millionaire."
"I never heard any one like you in all my life," said Emily Mead.
"I"d be so glad to help you straight along," Jane said. "I"ve got two books with me, and you can read one and then the other. Then you"ll get where you can get the meaning out of the Bible, and then you"ll begin to see the meaning of everything. The world gets so wonderful. You see miracles everywhere. You feel so well. The sun shines so bright. Life becomes so lovely."
Emily looked at her with real wonder.
"How did you happen to come here?" she asked.
"Oh, that came long after all the rest of the story. One day I remembered that my mother had two sisters, and I wrote to them. My letter arrived just as Aunt Matilda"s arm began to trouble her, and she asked me if I could come for a visit. You see that was another opportunity I evolved."
Emily seized her hand impulsively. "I"m so glad that you came. I"m going to try, and you"ll help me?"
"Yes, indeed, I will. Would you like one of the books right now?"
"Oh, I should."
"I"ll get it for you, and then I"ll tell you some day about the doctor I met and his Sunshine Order."
They went towards the house. "You mustn"t expect to understand everything right off, you know," Jane said to her gently. "You see this is all new to you, and that means that you can"t any more understand right off than you could paint a picture right off. You have to learn gradually."
"But I mean to learn," said Emily.
They went in the door, and Jane ran upstairs and fetched the book.
"There!" she said, "you read it, and I"ll help you all I can. You see the thing is to learn with your whole heart to do G.o.d"s will, and then, in some strange, subtle way, you get to feel what is coming and to sort of shape all. It"s so fascinating and thrilling to realize that what you want is marching towards you as fast as you can march towards it."
"What do you want?" Emily asked.
"I want to do exactly what I"m doing," said Jane, very quietly. "I"ve pa.s.sed wanting anything else. I want lots of chances to teach and help,--that"s all."
"Don"t you want to marry?"
"Oh, no,--I want to be able to teach and help everywhere. I don"t want things for myself, somehow."
"How strange!"
They went into the sitting-room.
"Oh, Jane," Susan cried, "how I have enjoyed hearing about everybody in town! Sister never told me about Eddy King"s running off with the store cash or Mrs. Wilton"s daughter going to cooking-school, or one thing."
"We must be going," said Mrs. Mead, rising; "we"ll come again, though.
It"s good to see you up, Mrs. Ralston, and I only hope you may stay up.
You know Katie Croft"s mother-in-law got up just as you have and then had a stroke that night."
"Oh, is old Mrs. Croft dead?"
"No, she isn"t," said Mrs. Mead; "if she was, she wouldn"t be such a warning as she is."
"Dear, dear," said Susan, "think of all I"ve missed. Has she got it just in her legs or all over? Matilda never told me."
"Legs," said Mrs. Mead, "and it"s affected her temper. Katie has an awful time with her."
"Dear, dear," said Susan again,--"and, oh, Jane, a boy I"ve known since he was a baby has had his skull j.a.panned and nearly died. Matilda"s never told me a thing!"
"Well, she didn"t know much, you know," said Mrs. Mead; "she kept herself about as close as she kept you. We were given to understand pretty plainly that we weren"t wanted to call."
"Think of that now," said Susan, "and me up-stairs, feeling all my friends had forgot me!"
"Everybody"ll come now," said Mrs. Mead; "folks will be glad to see you so well. We were told you never got up and hardly ate enough to keep a cat."
"An ordinary cat," corrected Emily; "Miss Matilda"s always told what a lot your cat ate."
"He is an eater," said Susan, crinkling a bit about the eyes; "but I eat, too, now, I can tell you."
After they were gone, Jane came back into the sitting-room. Her aunt was standing by the window. "It"s so beautiful to be down-stairs," she said, without turning. "My goodness, and to think that only a week ago I laid up-stairs wanting to die."
"You can thank Aunt Matilda that you didn"t die," said Jane, going and putting her arm around her. "If she had kept you thinking of all the illnesses in town, you"d have died long ago. Sick thoughts are more catching than diseases. But we don"t need to talk of that now."
"No, indeed we don"t," said Susan, "for there"s Mr. Rath coming."