"And you think you love Jesus to-night, Kitty?"
Kitty felt a great awe for the minister, and her "Yes, sir," was low, and spoken in a timid voice.
"What makes you think so?"
"I--I don"t know; only I pray, and He hears me, and I like to."
"Well, now, Kitty, almost the first thing which people think of after they have found Jesus, is something to do for Him; they begin to look around to see what they can find. What are you going to do?"
"I don"t know, sir; I haven"t got anything I can do."
"Ah, that"s a mistake! you can find plenty of work if you look for it; only don"t look too far, because it is the little bits of things which come right in your way that Jesus wants you to do. When you brush up the room, and set the table neatly, and brighten the fire, and do little thoughtful things that help your mother, then you are pleasing Jesus, doing work for Him. Isn"t it pleasant to think that in all those little things He is watching over you, and that you make Him glad when you do them well? Do you know that one of G.o.d"s commands is, "Honour thy father and thy mother"?"
"No," said Kitty softly.
"It is; those are the very words; Edward can find them for you in the Bible; and honour means more than obey; it means, try to please them in the very smallest things."
They were very near the corner where Mr. Holbrook must leave them. He laid his hand gently on Tip"s shoulder, as he said, "Speaking of Bible verses, Edward, I have one for you this evening, in the Saviour"s own words: "Whosoever shall confess Me before men, him will I also confess before My Father which is in heaven." Good-night."
Tip understood him, and there was a bright look in his eyes. The two walked on in silence for a little. Presently Kitty said, "I guess Mr.
Holbrook don"t know just how mother is, or he wouldn"t talk so."
"Yes, but," said Tip quickly, "G.o.d knew all about it always, you know; and yet He said that verse."
"So He did," answered Kitty gravely.
CHAPTER XVII.
"Behold how great a matter a little fire kindleth."
"Bah," said Will Bailey, "you"re fooling, Howard Minturn!"
"As true as I live, I"m not," answered Howard earnestly; "you can ask Mr. Burrows."
"What"s up?" inquired Ellis Holbrook, joining the two.
"Why, Howard is telling the biggest yarn you ever heard: he says Tip Lewis went to prayer-meeting last night and made a prayer."
"Tip Lewis!" and Ellis Holbrook"s voice was full, not only of surprise, but scorn; "I should like to hear him."
"Well, it"s true," repeated Howard. "My father told us about it this morning, and he said it was a good prayer too; he said, Ellis, that your father couldn"t keep the tears out of his eyes when he heard him; and Mr.
Burrows walked up town with father, and told him that Tip had changed wonderfully, that he was one of the best boys in school."
"Well," said Will Bailey, "if Tip Lewis has turned saint, I"ll give up.
Why, he"s the meanest scamp in town; my father says he"s had enough for anything."
"Oh, well now," answered Ellis, "there"s no use in being stupid enough not to see that what Mr. Burrows says is true. I never saw any one change as he has in my life, but I"ll be hanged if I like him as well as I did before he was so awful good; he"s too nice for anything now-a-days."
"Especially when he trips _you_, the minister"s son, up, about twisting the Bible."
Ellis"s face glowed, but he was an honest boy. "He was right enough about that," he said promptly; "my father says it"s wrong. But, if it will do you any good to know it, I haven"t liked Tip so well since."
"Say, Tip," said Will Bailey, hailing him at recess, "come here and give an account of yourself. They say you turned parson last night; did you?"
"No," said Tip, with the greatest good humour, "I didn"t."
"Didn"t you speak in meeting?"
A quiet gravity spread itself over Tip"s face. "I prayed in meeting," he answered soberly.
"Oh, well, what did you pray for? Come, let"s know."
"I prayed for _you_." Tip spoke with quiet dignity.
"Humph! Now, that"s clever, certainly. Much obliged."
And Will said no more.
Certainly the boys had never talked so much about any prayer-meeting in their lives as they did about this one. So that was the way it commenced; such a little fire kindled it. Tip didn"t know it; he never found it out; probably he never will, until he takes his crown in heaven. From the humble little prayer which Tip had offered sprang the first buddings of the great revival which G.o.d sent down to them.
"Say," said Howard Minturn to Ellis on the next Thursday evening, "let"s go over to prayer-meeting to-night. I really am dreadfully anxious to hear Tip speak."
"No," answered Ellis, speaking hastily, more hastily than he often did to Howard. "I"m sure I don"t care in the least to hear him, and I have enough to do without going there."
Howard was _determined_ to go, and to find company.
"Will, let"s go to meeting to-night," he said, the next time he came across Will Bailey.
Will looked at him in amazement. "What for?"
"To hear Tip."
"Oh!" said Will; "good! I"ll go. Let"s get a lot of the boys and go over; just to encourage him, you know."
And they went. Tip and Kitty were there again; and again, with Tip, the struggle had to be gone through; his coward spirit whispered to him that the boys would only make fun of him if he said a word, and it would do more harm than good. His conscience answered, "Whosoever will deny Me on earth, him will I also deny before My Father which is in heaven." The solemn words conquered, and again Tip knelt down and prayed.
"My!" said Mr. Minturn, talking with his wife after they reached home; "when I thought of the bringing up which that boy has had,--no bringing up about it, he has just _come_ up, the easiest way he could,--but when I heard him pray to-night, and then thought of our boy, who has been prayed for and watched over every day since he was born, I declare I felt as though I would give all I"m worth to have Howard stand where Tip Lewis does now."
Howard heard this, as he waited in the sitting-room for his father and mother; heard it in great amazement, and at first it made him indignant.
The idea of comparing _him_ with Tip Lewis! Then it made him sorrowful: his father"s tones were _so_ sad; after all that had been done for him, it _was_ hard that he should disappoint his parents.
He listened to his father"s prayer that night very closely, and its earnestness brought the tears to his eyes. Altogether, Howard went to school the next morning with a somewhat sober face, and took no part whatever in the boys" fun over the meeting.
Mr. Burrows" heart had been warmed by the voice of prayer from one of his scholars, and he began to pray and long for others of them to work also; and the great G.o.d, who knows the beginning and the end, led his first words of anxiety to Howard Minturn. They stood at the desk, teacher and scholar, Howard bending over his slate.