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LITTLE WILLIE. 






A TRUE STQRy. 










"GOD GAVE HE TOOK HE WILL RESTORE.' 
HE DOETH ALL THINGS WELL." 




PUBLISHED BY THE 
AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY, 

150 NASSAU-STREET, NEW YORK. 



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""TT-TP. NT^W YOR.K 

JL J,A i *- x 

PUBLIC L1BRABY 



AOTOil. LTWTOX AND 

TiLDEN y-T ^DATIONS 

R ' 1943 L 



LITTLE WILLIE. 



CHAPTER I. 

LITTLE WILLIE, some stories of 
whose short life I am going to tell 
you, was born in Quebec on the 4th 
of January, 1838. I suppose you 
know where Quebec is ; if not, look 
on the map of Canada, and you will 
find it on the banks of the broad 
river St. Lawrence. It is a beautiful 
old city, built on the heights above 
the river, with strong walls all round 
it, and great iron gates, through 
which Willie used to pass every day 



43 X 79 7 



4 LITTLE WILLIE. 

when lie grew old enough to go to 
school. 

Willie's mother died when he was 
a very little baby; but before he was 
old enough to understand tho loss, 
God gave him another, a good, kind 
mother, who loved him dearly, and 
did all she could to make him good 
and happy. 

He had a brother named Charlie, 
and two sisters. He was the youngest 
of them all. When Willie was three 
years old, one Sabbath-day when 
their father had to leave them to go 
and preach, Charlie was called to be 
with Jesus; and his little body was 
buried beside his mother's, in a quiet 
graveyard in Quebec. Willie and his 
sisters were too young to understand 
what death meant, or to remember 
Charlie, though they often spoke of 
him : but I believe that Willie knows 



LITTLE WILLIE. 5 

him now ; and they may have talked 
of those few years they were on earth 
together, in that happy home where 
there are no more partings. 

The year after Charlie's death, 
Willie's parents took him and his 
sisters to see their new grandparents 
and aunts, who lived in a beautiful 
village in Massachusetts. There were 
not railroads all the way then as there 
are now, and the journey took nearly 
a week. They went part of the way 
by steam-boat, and part by cars, 
stage-coaches, and canal-boats, all of 
which were new and delightful to the 
children. 

It was Willie's first journey, and 
when he arrived at G- -, he saw 
his grandparents for the first time. 
They drove up to the door in the 
stage in the evening, glad to have 
reached their journey's end; and I 



6 LITTLE WILLIE. 

do n't know that "Willie noticed how 
the house looked on the outside. 
But many a time after that, he looked 
eagerly from the same stage for the 
white house with the beautiful wood- 
bine over the porch. 

After a short time his father and 
mother left Willie and his sisters with 
their grandparents and aunts, and 
went to visit other places. His par- 
ents were gone several weeks, and 
Willie's sisters went to a little school 
that was very near. He was too 
young to study much, but sometimes 
he went with them. 

One day when he was there, the 
teacher, as she often did, took him in 
her lap while she heard the other 
children say their lessons. There he 
fell asleep, and when school was 
done he was still sleeping soundly. 
The teacher would not wake him, 



LITTLE WILLIE. 7 

but told his sisters they might go, 
and she would bring him home her- 
self when he woke. 

So they went home ; and there they 
found a little feast prepared for them 
in the garden by a little girl who lived 
with their grandmother. They did 
not want to eat it without Willie; 
and so they waited a little while, and 
then ran over to the school-house to 
see if he was n't awake. But he was 
still sleeping, and the teacher would 
not wake him. Perhaps she liked to 
have his little rosy cheek resting on 
her arm ; or she may have had a dis- 
like to waking anyone suddenly, even 
a child. However that might be, his 
sisters had to leave him, and so they 
went home and had their feast with- 
out him, saving some of the good 
things for him. 

Willie was a bright, merry, loving 



8 LITTLE WILLIE. 

little fellow, and his grandparents 
and aunts soon were very fond of 
him. His grandfather used to play 
with him, and they often walked out 
together in the garden and in the 
village. It was a pleasant sight, the 
tall, venerable, white-haired grand- 
father hand in hand with the little 
golden-haired boy, who hardly more 
than reached to his knee. One of 
Willie's aunts lived in a city not far 
from G- -, and she sent him a note 
inviting him to make her a visit. I 
have the note now. It is written on 
pretty little note-paper, with a bor- 
der of green flowers. Here is what 
was written in it : 

" May 10, 1842. 

"DEAR WILLIE I shall be very 
happy to see you in L- - whenever 
your papa and mamma think it best 
for you to come. The old rabbits 



LITTLE WILLIE. 9 

* 

have had some more little ones, and 
there are now fourteen or fifteen of 
them, which your uncle will show you 
when you come. 

" Your affectionate aunt, 

" REBEKAH." 

Was n't that a nice note for a little 
boy only four years old to receive ? 
The kind aunt who wrote it is now, 
we believe, with Willie in heaven. 

Willie went to see her, and took 
the journey alone, his parents put- 
ting him into the stage, and intrust- 
ing him to the care of the driver. 
When he arrived at L he was 
full of delight, and cried out, " I 've 
came, aunt Rebekah, I 've came." 
So he saw the rabbits and had a fine 
time. 

I wish I could tell you of all the 
pleasant days of that delightful visit, 
but it was so long ago that most of 



10 LITTLE WILLIE. 



its pleasures are forgotten. You who 
have grandfathers and grandmothers 
whom you love to visit, can imagine 
how pleasant it was. 

I must tell you one little thing 
that I do n't think Willie remembers 
as very pleasant, for it was rather 
naughty. One day some cake was 
missing from the closet. A nice cake 
that his grandmother had made and 
put away for tea was broken round 
the edges. Willie's mother called 
him, and asked him if he knew who 
broke it. He looked up in a funny 
way, and said, " I think it must have 
been a mouse." He meant that he 
was the naughty little mouse him- 
self, and felt quite ashamed of it. 

On the fourth of July there was a 
Sabbath-school celebration in G- -, 
and Willie went to it. It was in a 
beautiful grove, and seats were placed 



LITTLE WILLIE. 11 

under the trees for the children. This 
was Willie's first Fourth of July cele- 
bration, for they do not keep that day 
in Canada, but keep the Queen's birth- 
day on the twenty-fourth of May. 

At last the pleasant visit was over, 
and Willie said good-by to his grand- 
parents and aunts and all the little 
friends he had found in G- -, and 
went home to Quebec. 

On the way home they stopped at 
Saratoga for a few days, and then 
went up the beautiful lakes, lake 
Champlain and lake George, in a 
steam-boat. The last place they 
stopped at was Montreal, and from 
there they went in a steam-boat again 
down the St. Lawrence to Quebec. 
Then came the pleasant meeting with 
old friends, and I have no doubt Wil- 
lie had plenty to tell his little play- 
mates of his wonderful journey. 



12 LITTLE WILLIE. 

Willie did not go again to the same 
home he had left. The old house in 
which he lived when he was a very 
little boy had been rebuilt and en- 
larged, and he went there instead. 
In this house he lived till he was 
seven years old, and they were very 
happy years. With a beautiful home, 
two sisters to play with, and kind 
parents to give him every thing that 
was good for him, and above all, to 
teach him about Jesus Christ and 
heaven, I think he had every thing 
a child needs to make him happy. 

But I must tell you about that 
home and some of its pleasures in 
another chapter. 



LITTLE WILLIE. 13 



CHAPTEE II. 



WILLIE'S new home was a large 
stone house, with a pleasant garden 
round it. From the windows there 
was a very wide and beautiful view. 
There you could see the St. LawTence 
and Charles rivers in the distance ; 
and beyond these the blue mountains 
shutting in the horizon. In front of 
the house were trees and grass and 
flower-beds. 

Willie had his own little garden, 
and so had his sisters three little 
square gardens in a row, with little 
paths between, scarcely a foot wide. 
Willie liked to hoe or dig in his gar- 
den ; and indeed he likecj digging so 
well, that he never had any flowers. 
He sowed seeds, but before they had 



14 LITTLE WILLIE. 

time to sprout, lie dug them up. It 
was his great delight to make a great 
hole, to see, as he said, if he could 
find any gold or silver. As you may 
suppose, he never found either ; but 
he found pleasure, and that did as 
well. 

Besides his little garden, there were 
other amusements for Willie out of 
doors. There was the swing behind 
the barn ; and in haying-time, the 
sweet hay to play in. In front of the 
house was a lawn, bordered with 
flower-beds, and here on the fresh 
grass Willie and his sisters often 
played. 

One day, when his father and moth- 
er were away on a visit to the United 
States, the three children, with two 
of their young neighbors, went out 
there to play. They proposed to 
play blind-man' s-buff. This was a 



LITTLE WILLIE. 15 

dangerous game to play in that place, 
but the children did not think of that. 
They played very happily for some 
time, till at last it was Willie's turn 
to be blinded. In the fulness of his 
mirth and fun, he frequently threw 
himself down on the grass. As he 
came near the edge of the grass, the 
others called to him, " You are near 
the fence, Willie; take care." But 
it was too late -just at that moment 
he threw himself down again; and 
instead of falling as before on the 
soft grass, he came violently against 
the fence, striking his nose. He 
screamed with pain, and the other 
children gathered round him, trying 
to comfort him, thinking the pain 
would soon be over. But Martha, 
their nurse, saw that he was badly 
hurt, and carried him into the house, 
and sent for the doctor. 



16 LITTLE WILLIE. 

The two little visitors went quietly 
and sadly home, and his sisters crept 
up to their room terribly frightened, 
and listened anxiously for the doc- 
tor's coming. It was a dreadful hurt, 
and poor little Willie's face was very 
black for weeks after it. His nurse 
and his sisters watched him anxious- 
ly, hoping he would not look so badly 
when his father and mother came 
home ; and felt quite comforted when 
they thought he looked much better. 
But his parents, not having seen him 
when he was worse, were quite shock- 
ed to see his face in such a state, 
although they had been told of it 
in letters from home. I do n't 
think that Willie and his sisters ever 
played blind-man's-buff out of doors 
again. 

Another day the children spent 
out on the grass was all pleasant, 



LITTLE WILLIE. 17 

and had no such painful ending. It 
was in haying-tiine, and they played 
in the hay as children like to, throw- 
ing it at each other, and burying 
each other in it. When they were 
tired of this, they built houses of it 
for themselves, making a hollow 
square with a little pile of hay for a 
seat. Then they made another for 
the two little kittens, and put them 
in it, and covered it with hay spread 
on sticks for a roof. I do n't know 
how the kitties Jiked it, but they were 
good little things, and did not resist. 
After the kitties were safely estab- 
lished in their house or prison, as 
I suppose they thought it the chil- 
dren made a larger house for Mar- 
tha, and asked her to come out and 
sit in her house and tell them a story. 
So she came to her house, and they 
each sat in their smaller houses, and 

2 



18 LITTLE WILLIE. 

listened, while she told them some 
very pretty stories. 

In winter Willie had other amuse- 
ments in the garden. He and his 
sisters for they were always together 
in all such things made great snow- 
men, and then snow-balled them 
down. One day they made a throne 
on the top of a high snow-drift for 
their elder sister, and called her an 
Eastern princess, and pretended that 
the large feathery snow-flakes which 
were falling, were pearls and dia- 
monds. 

The children had an Indian sled 
a kind which I never saw here. It 
was merely a long strip of very light 
tough wood, curled up at one end. 
Four or five persons could sit on it 
at once, and it would go over the 
light, fresh snow. "Willie's father 
and mother often went with the chil- 



It 



LITTLE WILLIE. 19 

dren to slide, and Willie never en- 
joyed it so much if they were not 
with him. There was a field just 
behind their garden, which was a 
fine place for sliding down hill ; and 
there was another still better, further 
off, where they sometimes went. 

The winters in Quebec are very 
long and cold ; but I do n't think 
Willie got tired of them, there were 
so many pleasures connected with 
the deep snow. Besides making 
snow-men and houses, and sliding, 
there were pleasant sleigh-rides. 

One winter, while the St. Law- 
rence, which is a mile wide opposite 
Quebec, was frozen over, so that peo- 
ple could drive across, Willie's par- 
ents took him and his sisters across 
the river to Point Levi which is an 
Indian village. They saw a very 
pretty sight men and boys skating, 



20 LITTLE WILLIE. 

sleighs going in every direction, and 
pretty ice-boats flying about on the 
river. These ice-boats are made 
with skates or runners, and have 
sails, like common sail-boats, and 
they go very fast. 

The snow often was so deep, that 
the children could walk over high 
fences that they could not see over 
in the summer. One beautiful moon- 
light evening, Martha took them on 
a sled they had with three seats, and 
drew them all round the** garden on 
the top of the high snow-drifts. 

But we have stayed out in the cold 
and snow long enough ; so now let 
us go into the house, and see what 
Willie did there. 



LITTLE WILLIE. 21 



CHAPTEE III. 

WILLIE'S "good times' 1 were not 
all out of doors. Often in the win- 
ter evenings, when it was getting 
dark, they would all gather in the 
parlor, where a bright fire was blaz- 
ing, and have a frolic. 

Sometimes his father would pre- 
tend to be a bear, and chase the 
children laughing and screaming 
round the room ; sometimes he would 
take one of them on his shoulder and 
run round after the other two, or 
afte"r their shadow on the wall, while 
they held on with a little hand grasp- 
ing his thick hair. 

Then his mother would play some 
merry tune on the piano, which Wil- 
lie always liked very much. Besides 



22 LITTLE WILLIE. 

these.things, there were many pleas- 
ing and instructive games which 
their mother had brought home with 
her when she had been to New York 
or Boston. 

When Willie was a very little boy 
he had a wooden horse, with which 
he had some of his favorite parlor 
plays. He would go out of the room, 
shutting himself up in a little dark 
space between the parlor and dining- 
room, and when he came back he 
found this horse doing some funny 
thing. Sometimes he was seated on 
the music-stool, playing on the piano ; 
then seated on the sofa ; and once he 
had opened a little closet where "the 
cake-basket was kept, and was eat- 
ing cake. I suppose you can guess 
who put the horse in these funny 
places for his amusement. It was 
his mother. 



LITTLE WILLIE. 23 

One rainy-day pleasure which the 
children liked very much, was play- 
ing with a bag of small shells. They 
were kept in a little closet under a 
bookcase in the dining-room, and as 
they were not brought out very often, 
they were considered a great treas- 
ure. A large tray was placed on the 
table, up to which the children drew 
their chairs; and on this tray they 
formed the shells into words, and all 
sorts of figures. Out of the same 
little closet came also a pile of Bible 
pictures, which Willie's mother after- 
wards gave him to paste into a scrap- 
book. 

These were a few of Willie's par- 
lor amusements; but besides these, 
there were all his plays up stairs in 
the great garret, which was the chil- 
dren's summer play-room. There 
they had another swing, which their 



24 LITTLE WILLIE. 

father put up for them, and here they 
kept all their common playthings, 
and passed many a pleasant hour. 

It would be impossible for me to 
tell you of ah 1 Willie's pleasures and 
plays in his happy home, of his 
pleasant rides with his parents, of 
his birthday parties and visits, and 
the thousand forgotten pleasures 
which every year brought to him; 
but I will try to tell you a few more. 

Not far from Willie's home were 
the " Plains of Abraham," where the 
English general Wolfe defeated the 
French under Montcalm in the year 
1759. The English came up the St. 
Lawrence river in their ships, but 
could not get into the city because it 
is built on a steep precipice 350 feet 
high. But one night when it was very 
dark, Wolfe and his men climbed up 
a steep place caMed the Heights of 



LITTLE WILLIE 25 

v 

Abraham, and in the morning the 
French, to their amazement, found 
the English army drawn up in battle 
array upon the plains behind the city. 
They fought bravely, but the English 
conquered. Wolfe and Montcalm, the 
two generals, were both killed; but 
the news of his victory came to Wolfe 
just before he died. 

Ever since this victory Canada has 
belonged to the English. There is a 
monument on the spot where Wolfe 
fell, and also one in the city, with his 
name on one side and Montcalm' s on 
the other. Willie often saw both 
these monuments, for he frequently 
went to walk on the Plains of Abra- 
ham. There he went on the queen's 
birthday to see the soldiers parade, 
and he liked very much to hear the 
music, and see the soldiers marching 
and firing off their guns. 



26 LITTLE WILLIE. 

j 

. Below these heights, on the low 
ground near the river, was the part 
of the lower town called the Cove. 
A steep road in one place, and a long 
flight of steps in another, led down 
to these suburbs. Willie did not 
often go down there, but once his 
mother took him and his sisters to 
see an infant-school that was held 
there for the poor little children. 
The children were seated on benches 
raised one above another. There 
were some very little children there ; 
and one, who was almost a babe, the 
teacher carried in her arms. They 
marched round and sung some little 
hymns, and then Willie's mother and 
a lady who came with them gave 
each of the poor little children a 
large cake. 

Another interesting place Willie's 
mother took him to visit was the 



LITTLE WILLIE. 27 

Museum, where lie saw a great white 
bear, a reindeer, and other animals ; 
all stuffed, but looking as if they 
were alive. 

Once he and his sisters went to 
walk in the "governor's garden," a 
beautiful place, full of trees and 
flowers. It was not open to the 
public, but some of his mother's 
friends could go there ; and they al- 
lowed the children to go, telling them 
not to touch any thing. Willie's sis- 
ters were very much afraid he would 
forget, and be put in prison for it; 
but I don't think he touched any 
thing, except some snail-shells which 
he found in the path. Even these 
he put down again. 

But another excursion, which the 
children took with their parents and 
some other friends, was still more 
delightful. I have told you of their 



28 LITTLE WILLIE. 

going to Point Levi in a sleigh in 
the winter. One beautiful summer 
day they went across the river in a 
horse-boat that is, a boat which, 
instead of being rowed, or having 
sails, had paddles moved by horses 
walking round and round on the 
deck. They got out of the boat 
when it reached the Point Levi side 
of the river, and went into the vil- 
lage. There they saw the Indian 
women, ate some nice bread and ma- 
ple sugar, and after spending a pleas- 
ant hour or two, got into the boat 
again, and. had a delightful sail home. 
Sometimes Willie went with his 
parents to see the beautiful falls of 
Montmorenci, which are only a few 
miles from Quebec. Once he went 
in winter, when all, except the falls 
themselves, was frozen. The spray 
as it fell formed a high cone of ice, 



LITTLE WILLIE. 29 

and Willie watched the boys as they 
climbed up its steep sides by means 
of notches they had cut in it, and 
then slid down on their little sleds. 

Willie's childhood, you see, was 
very bright and sunny, but some- 
times little clouds came up in his 
sky, as they do in every child's. 
There must always be some disap- 
pointments and trials even in a hap- 
py child's life, but they are soon for- 
gotten, and the pleasant parts re- 
main most clear in the memory. 

The clouds generally come from 
some naughty feeling or action, 
though not always. Now Willie was 
not always good, any more than other 
children ; but when he had been 
naughty he was truly sorry, and he 
knew that the only way to be happy 
again was to confess his sin, and ask 
the forgiveness of God. 



30 LITTLE WILLIE. 



CHAPTEE IV. 

I HAYE told you something about 
Willie's home, and many things he 
did, and now I must tell you a little 
more about him. He could hardly 
be called a pretty boy, but he had 
such a bright, pleasant face, that it 
was a pleasure to look at him. He 
had light hair and blue eyes, and an 
open, happy, loving look. He loved 
his parents very dearly; and when 
his mother had been away, he always 
ran to meet her when he heard her 
coming, not content till he had show- 
ed her any little new thing he might 
have, and told her all he had been 
doing. 

He was very generous, giving away 
any of his playthings if he saw his 



LITTLE WILLIE. 31 

sisters or little friends wanted them ; 
and when asked to do any thing, he 

*/ 

would answer, "With pleasure." 
This expression he learned from a 
Sunday-school teacher whom he lov- 
ed; but it was not a mere form of 
words, it was really a pleasure to 
him to be useful. 

He was remarkably polite to every 
one. Once, when his parents were 
out, one of his former teachers called 
to see him. Willie left his play, and 
received him in the parlor like a lit- 
tle gentleman ; and after talking with 
him for some time, called his sisters 
and introduced them to him, and 
wanted them to play to him. His 
sisters had only just begun to take 
lessons on the piano, and of course 
could not play well ; but as he could 
not play at all, I suppose he thought 
they could. 



32 LITTLE WILLIE. 

A Mend, after his death, told his 
mother that about a week before he 
died she saw him passing her house. 
A little girl had fallen down, and 
instead of passing by, he stopped, 
helped her up gently, smoothed her 
dress, and led her so that she should 
not fall again. 

Another characteristic of li ttle Wil- 
lie was obedience. I cannot say that 
he never disobeyed his parents ; but 
as a general thing he not only obey- 
ed, but did it cheerfully and quickly. 

Willie's life was not all play, as 
you might suppose from the last 
chapter. If it had been, I do n't 
think he would have been nearly so 
happy. 

As soon as he was old enough he 
went to school with his sisters, but 
before this he had learned to read at 
home. The school was more than a 



LITTLE WILLIE. 33 

mile from where he lived, and within 
the walls of the city. It was oppo 
site the esplanade - - an enclosure 
where the soldiers parade. The 
wall of the city slopes down to this 
esplanade, in a grassy bank, having 
a broad path at the top, where it is 
very pleasant to walk. Above this 
the stone wall rises a few feet, with 
openings for the guns at short dis- 
tances apart. At the foot of the 
slope there used to lie a row of great 
guns, with heaps of great round can- 
non-balls beside them. Willie often 
passed through this esplanade on his 
way to school with his sisters, as it 
was rather shorter and pleasanter 
than the street. 

At school Willie learned very fast, 
and soon was farther advanced in 
his studies than his sister, who was 
a year and a half older. 

3 



34 LITTLE WILLIE. 

He went also to Sunday-school, 
and lie liked to tell his mother what 
he learned there. Here is a little 
note which he wrote to her when he 
was not more than six years old. It 
is written on a little scrap of paper, 
in a large hand. 

"MY DEAR MAMMA- -When Mr. 
F- - asked whether many were go- 
ing to heaven, some of them said that 
many did go to heaven, and others 
said few. And he said that he 
thought that he heard Jesus say to 
the man, 'You ought to have asked 
me to forgive your sins.' 

" I am your affectionate son, 

W. N. A." 

If you will read Luke 13 : 23, 24, 
you will see what he alludes to in 
this note, and who the " man " men- 
tioned there was. 

Willie's mother used to talk to him 



LITTLE WILLIE. 35 

and liis sisters every Sunday evening 
about loving God, and preparing for 
heaven ; and the children always en- 
joyed these talks. They said hymns- 
to her, and they also prayed togeth- 
er little Willie beginning, because 
he was the youngest, with his simple 
childlike petitions. I think when 
Willie looks back upon the years he 
spent on earth, those Sabbath-even- 
ing hours seem the brightest and 
best. 

Willie liked to read, and his moth- 
er brought home pretty books for 
him whenever she had been away. 
One of his favorites was the " Infant's 
Progress," which is a story of three 
little children named Humble-mind, 
Playful, and Peace, who went on a 
pilgrimage like Christian in the " Pil- 
grim's Progress." 

I will copy a note that a kind lady 



36 LITTLE WILLIE. 

wrote to him about some books. She 
was a very dear friend of liis mother, 
and a very intelligent Christian lady. 
She savs : 

*t 

" MY DEAK WILLIE It pleased me 
to hear that you liked my little 
books, as likewise to receive your 
kind note. Whenever you have time 
I should like to hear from yourself 
why you wish to become like Nathan 
Dickerman. He suffered great pain 
and long sickness : little boys do not 
usually think it pleasant to be thus, 
and I wonder you would not rather 
prefer to be like some of the other 
children whose histories you have 
read, who were not so much afflicted. 
Will you think upon this matter, and 
give me your reason ? Your mamma 
will, no doubt, be so kind as to read 
this for you, as I think you will not 
be able to understand my writing. 



LITTLE WILLIE. 37 

I tied up three books for you when 
your mamina was here to-day, and 
afterwards forgot to give her the 
parcel, which now accompanies this. 
My love to your sisters. 

" Your affectionate friend, 

S. A. G." 

Willie could not have been more 
than seven years old when this note 
was written. I wish I could give you 
his answer. I think I know why 
he wished to be like little Nathan. 
It was because Nathan was a good 
Christian child, one of the good 
Shepherd's little lambs, and Willie 
knew that that was the happiest 
thing to be, even if he was sick and 
suffering. 

Jesus leads his lambs through very 
different paths. Some have to go 
over rocks and among thorns, and 
some in " green pastures and beside 



38 LITTLE WILLIE. 

tlie still waters." The Shepherd 
knows what path is best for each 
lamb ; and if they are His, he will 
lead them safely, and they shall 
reach their home at last, where there 
are no rocks or thorns. 

Little Nathan had to go by the 
thorny way, and little Willie by the 
smooth and pleasant road ; but they 
reached the same end, and we believe 
are happy now together. 



LITTLE WILLIE. 39 



CHAPTEE Y. 

WILLIE had many little playmates 
besides his sisters. Among these 
were the two little girls who lived 
next door, and who played that game 
of blind-man's-buff with him that 
ended so badly. His school-teacher 
also had several little girls and boys, 
who often came to see him ; but his 
and his sisters' chief friend was a lit- 
tle girl named Mary. 

He must have known her as soon 
as he knew anybody out of his own 
family, and they often visited each 
other. All her birthdays Willie and 
his sisters spent with her; and all 
their birthdays she spent with them, 
and many other days besides. Wil- 
lie liked very much to go to see her ; 



40 LITTLE WILLIE. 

especially in summer, when they lived 
in their country-house. There was 
first the pleasant drive through a 
part of the city he seldom saw, then 
over a long bridge, and through the 
pleasant country. "When he got there, 
there were little Mary and her kind 
parents to welcome him, and her lit- 
tle room full of pretty playthings to 
play with. Then, out of doors, there 
was the pretty stream which ran be- 
hind the house, with its little bridge ; 
the hill where wild strawberries grew, 
and the beautiful great dog named 
Lion. 

Many other kind friends and pleas- 
ant playmates Willie had, but I can- 
not tell you of them all. 

Every summer Willie's father and 
mother went to the United States to 
visit their friends, and they had to 
leave the children at home. They 



LITTLE WILLIE. 41 

could trust them safely to the care 
of Martha, who you must have seen 
from what I have told you was very 
kind to them. And the friend who 
wrote the note given in the last chap- 
ter often spent part of the time of 
their parents' absence with them. 

Once, when they were gone more 
than a month, a minister from the 
United States came to preach for 
their father while he was gone ; and 
stayed with the children. He was 
very kind, and liked to have them 
with him when they were not at 
school, and Willie was very fond of 
him. He used to give them pieces 
of paper and a pen or pencil, and 
let them write notes or draw in his 
study, which was their great delight. 
When their father was at home they 
did not often play in the study, 
though they sometimes went in and 



42 LITTLE WILLIE. 

admired the rows of books, and above 
all, the stuffed owl that stood on the 
top of one of the book-cases. But 
when their father was ready to play 
with them, he usually came out into 
the parlor; so they were especially 
pleased when they were admitted 
freely by this minister. 

When he went away, he gave them 
each a pretty present. He gave Wil- 
lie a hobby-horse, which was a horse's 
head at the end of a stick, and his 
sisters a pretty table and chairs for 
their baby-house. When Willie's 
parents left Quebec they went to live 
in the city where this gentleman lived, 
and so the children saw him again. 
And when dear little Willie died, he 
made an address at his funeral, 

During the last absence of his par- 
ents from Quebec, occurred the most 
exciting events in Willie's life the 



LITTLE WILLIE. 43 

two great fires of 1845. The first 
began in the daytime ; and as it 
was not very near his home, it did 
not interest him so much. But he 
watched the clouds of smoke in the 
afternoon, and saw the whole sky 
red at night with the flames. Hun- 
dreds of houses were burnt, and 
thousands of people left without any 
home. 

The next fire occurred just a month 
after the first, and was chiefly in the 
night. The flames began where they 
had left off before, and spread very 
rapidly in the direction of Willie's 
home. Many neighbors came in, 
thinking that as that house was built 
of stone, it would be safer than theirs ; 
but about the middle of the night the 
fire had come within a few houses of 
them. Martha woke the children, 
who had been asleep in bed, and 



44 LITTLE WILLIE. 

dressed them, that they might be 
ready to leave the house. One of 
his sisters was away, but Willie and 
his other sister were soon dressed. 
Then they looked about to see what 
they could save, and after some con- 
sultation Willie got his school-satchel 
and put in it their night-clothes, three 
Bibles his own and his sisters' and 
their purses. These things he carried 
with him wherever he went, till he 
came home again. Some friends from 
the city, knowing that their parents 
were away, came to take care of the 
children, and with great difficulty pro- 
cured a carriage to take them within 
the walls, where the fire had not 
reached. 

That must have been a strange 
ride in the middle of the night, but 
almost as light as day from the flames 
of whole streets on fire. Along the 



LITTLE WILLIE. 45 

road, as they went, they saw groups 
of poor people sitting, with the few 
things they had saved around them, 
having no place to go to. But Wil- 
lie and his sister were better off, for 
they were taken to a friend's house 
and put to bed. They made a bed 
for Willie on a trunk, as there was 
no other place for him. 

Happily the wind changed sudden- 
ly, and their house was saved; but 
Willie and his sister did not go back 
to it immediately. Another friend 
took them out to a beautiful house 
in the country, and there they made 
a very pleasant visit. In the hurry 
of that night, by some curious mis- 
take, Willie was dressed in an old 
suit of clothes, that had been put 
away as too bad for him to wear, 
and there was no time for him to 
change ; so he had to make his visit 



46 LITTLE WILLIE. 

looking very shabby, but I do n't be- 
lieve he minded it much. 

His other sister was making a visit 
at their friend Mary's house, which 
was several miles away, and she 
knew nothing of the fire till morning. 
Then she could see the smoke of the 
still burning ruins, and their own 
house in the distance still standing, 
though the smoke was very near it. 

It was sad to ride through the 
streets, and see nothing but ruins for 
miles. Every house Willie used to 
pass on the way to school, up to the 
gates of the city, was gone. The 
Catholic church near his house was 
filled with poor families, making it 
their home till they could find an- 
other. 

Long before this time, all those 
streets have been rebuilt. But Wil- 
lie never saw the new houses ; for 



LITTLE WILLIE. 47 

very soon after the fire his parents 
came home, only to sell the house 
and take the children with them to 
live in Massachusetts. Willie and 
his sisters were very sorry to hear 
that they were to leave that pleasant 
home, and shed some tears ; but they 
soon wiped them away, in anticipa- 
tion of the journey and seeing their 
friends in G- - again. 

Their grandparents and aunt had 
been to Quebec to see them once, but 
it was so far they could not go often. 
With a mixture of pleasure and sor- 
row therefore, they prepared to leave 
Canada, and said good-bye to all the 
pleasant rooms, to their little gardens, 
and to all their friends. Little Mary 
went down to the steam-boat to bid 
them good-bye, and so did many oth- 
er friends. The bell rang, the boat 
started, and Willie had seen the last 



48 LITTLE WILLIE. 

of his native place and childhood's 
happy home. The children were put 
to bed in the little berths, and in the 
morning found themselves in Mon- 
treal. Here they made a short visit, 
and then went on their way. 

So ended Willie's life in Quebec. 
In the next chapter you will find him 
in a new home. 



LITTLE WILLIE. 49 



CHAPTEE VI. 

WHEN Willie left Quebec lie went 
first to his grandfather's, to stay till 
a new home should be ready for him. 
There he met again the friends he 
had known on his former visit. Be- 
sides these, there was a little cousin 
staying there whom he had not seen 
before, and the four children had 
very pleasant times together. On 
Sabbath afternoons, Willie's mother 
took them all to her pleasant room, 
and read in the Bible and talked 
with them. 

After a short time his sisters went 
to school in G- , and he was sent 
away to a school in a little village 
near the city where his home was 
to be. This school, and the house 

4 



50 LITTLE WILLIE. 

where lie boarded, were beautifully 
situated on a hill overlooking a lovely 
river, and were surrounded with 
fields and groves, where he could 
play with the other boys. It was 
a very kind family with whom he 
boarded, and though he did not like 
leaving his mother, still he had a 
pleasant time. After his parents and 
sisters were settled in the new house, 
he used to come home to spend the 
Sabbath ; and sometimes his mother 
and sisters went to see him, or to 
walk home with him. 

He did not remain there long, but 
came home and went to school with 
his sisters. And now Willie found 
new friends and new pleasures. His 
greatest delight was to go and see 
his grandparents ; which he could do 
often, as they lived only fourteen 
miles away, instead of several hun- 



PU: 



.-iDATJ: 
R L 



LITTLE WILLIE. 51 

dred, as when lie was in Quebec. 
One very pleasant visit he made with 
only his youngest sister. They gen- 
erally played together; but one day 
he went out alone, and was gone 
several hours, and as his sister did 
not know where he was, she could 
not go for him. When he came 
home she asked him where he had 
been, and he said, to see a little girl 
who lived near, and that he had a 
very nice time. So they agreed to 
go together the next day ; and when 
morning came they started off to the 
place, where his sister had never 
been. The little girl had a squirrel, 
in a cage that could whirl round and 
round. The children first played 
with the squirrel, and fed it with 
walnuts ; and then they got a large 
umbrella and opened it for a house, 
and had seats under it. There they 



52 LITTLE WILLIE. 

played house-keeping, with the little 
girl's doll for their baby, and the 
squirrel's nuts for their meals. 

Another day when it was very 
cold, their grandmother gave them 
some sticks and knives, and seated 
them by the stove to amuse them- 
selves. It was both the children's 
great delight to do any thing like 
carpentering, and nothing pleased 
them more than to have a knife and 
some wood and a hammer and a few 
nails. 

So in various pleasures passed a 
week or two, and then the stage 
came for the children, and they were 
put in, Willie on the high seat with 
the driver, and his sister, much 
against her wishes, inside; and so 
they went safely home. 

Their mother was not at home 
when they arrived, and Willie waited 



LITTLE WILLIE. 53 

impatiently to show her his new 
playthings, and to tell her about his 
visit. As soon as he heard her at 
the door he ran to meet her, and 
clasped her round her knees, for he 
could reach no higher, crying, " Oh, 
come and see my playthings, mam- 
ma." So he drew her into the din- 
ing-room, where all his treasures 
were spread out on the table, and 
showed her every one. 

Willie's older sister was growing 
too large to care for the same plays 
he did, and liked better to read 
stories ; but he and his younger sis- 
ter still enjoyed playing together. 
They had two drawers in a table in 
the dining-room, where they kept a 
few playthings for evening use ; and 
they would sit at opposite ends of 
the table and have fine times to- 
gether. 



54 LITTLE WILLIE. 

The garden round his new home 
was much smaller than the Quebec 
one, but there was plenty of room 
for all his plays. Then opposite the 
house was a large square field, where. 
he often played. One evening -when 
the snow was on the ground, he and 
his sisters went out there to run 
about, and stayed until it was nearly 
dark. They pretended they were 
travellers, and that the little risings 
in the field were the Alps, over which 
they were journeying. Then when 
it was time for them to go in, they 
still continued their play by saying 
that their home was a beautiful 
castle, and their father and mother 
the king and queen, and admiring 
the splendid rooms and the feast 
spread for them. 

Not far from Willie's home was a 
beautiful river, and he sometimes 



LITTLE WILLIE. 55 

went to play upon its pleasant banks. 
There he and his sisters always 
found something they thought very 
pretty. Even in winter and very 
early spring there were shining and 
pretty-colored stones, soft green 
moss, and branohes of mountain lau- 
rel and other evergreens, with which 
they came home laden. And when 
the first warm days came, there were 
the sweet little violets and hous- 
tonias. 

Willie went to Sunday-school in 
his father's new church, as he had 
done in Quebec ; and I will tell you 
a story about a little book which was 
given to him there. The superin- 
tendent one Sabbath gave each child 
in the school a tract entitled, " Why 
should I study the Bible?" Some 
weeks afterwards, Willie's mother 
found in the pocket of his little 



56 LITTLE WILLIE. 

jacket this tract, all torn and creased. 
She said, "I am afraid, Willie, you 
did'nt care much for this tract. Did 
you read it?" " Oh yes, mamma," 
he said. She asked him a few ques- 
tions about it, and found that he 
knew it almost by heart. Then she 
asked him how it came to be so torn 
and spoiled. He said he had taken 
it to school to lend it to the boys. 
This made his sister quite ashamed, 
for she had not even read hers once ; 
and Willie, who was younger, had 
not only studied his, but had tried 
to do good with it. 

I have that tract before me now, 
soiled and creased and worn, but 
more valuable than many a more 
beautiful thing. 

Willie had a Bible of which he 
was very fond, and he read in it 
every day. When he was quite a 



LITTLE WILLIE. 57 

little boy lie wanted to have one of 
his own, and saved up his money to 
buy it with. His mother bought 
three, and gave him his choice. He 
chose a large one, very plainly bound, 
because it had references. The oth- 
er two, which were smaller and pret- 
tier on the outside, his mother gave 
to his sisters. I have Willie's Bible 
now, with his dear name in it, and 
the marks of his constant use of it. 
The leaves are loosened at the fifth 
chapter of Matthew, which he learnt 
to say at Sunday-school or to his 
mother. 

He had a pretty little room to him- 
self in his new home, and he was 
very much delighted when the furni- 
ture for it came home. It was so 
small that the little bed filled one 
half of it. In the other half was a 
small bureau and one chair. Here 



58 LITTLE WILLIE. 

he kept his precious Bible, and a 
few other books; and there every 
night and morning he knelt in prayer. 
So passed the happy days till he 
was eight years old. He was the 
sunshine of the house, his parents' 
hope and joy, and the loving, merry 
playmate of his sisters. He was try- 
ing to do good. He liked to have 
little books to give to children ; and 
the boy who lived with them as 
waiter told "Willie's mother that one 
Sunday when he was left at home 
with Willie, who was unwell, Willie 
talked to him about being a Chris- 
tian, and I believe prayed with him. 
He was preparing to go and live 
with Jesus ; but none of us knew 
how soon he was to be called, for he 
was full of life and health and mirth. 



LITTLE WILLIE. 59 



CHAPTER VII. 

I HAVE come now to Willie's last 
Sabbath on earth ; though none could 
haye guessed then that, if one of the 
family was to be taken, it would be 
the youngest and one in such perfect 
health. 

I can tell you of that last Sabbath 
evening, by copying an account of it 
written by his mother a short time 
afterwards. 

" The children were around me as 
usual for our Sabbath evening talk, 
and "Willie seemed unusually delight- 
ed that the hour had come. There 
was a peculiar degree of solemnity 
and attention in his manner, and he 
seemed more inclined than usual to 
utter his own thoughts about spirit- 



60 LITTLE WILLIE. 

ual tilings. He spoke particularly 
of the joys of heaven, and said, * If I 
go there, mamma, I shall sing; and 
I shall be with all good people ; and 
I shall see Charlie. But,' added he, 
with a sort of shudder, ' if I should 
live to be nine years old without lov- 
ing God, and then should die and be 
miserable for ever, it would be dread- 
ful, would n't it, mamma?' I replied, 
' It would indeed, "Willie ; but I hope 
it will not be so ; you can love God 
now better than if you wait till you 
are nine years old. God is ready to 
give you his Holy Spirit. He loves 
to have little children give him their 
hearts; and you can do it now, better 
than at any other time.' 

" With great earnestness of man- 
ner he immediately replied, ' I will 
try. Couldn't we have a little pray- 
er?' I said, ' Yes, dear, you may 



LITTLE WILLIE. 61 

pray now.' He immediately dropped 
on his knees by my side, and offered 
a few simple, heart-felt petitions, 
thanking God for his privileges, and 
praying to be made a good boy, to 
be kept from temptation, and to have 
his sins forgiven for Christ's sake. 

" After he rose from his knees, I 
questioned him as to the way of sal- 
vation, and asked him whether, if he 
tried to be as good as he possibly 
could, he thought he could be good 
enough to get to heaven. He said, 
' No.' I said, ' Then how do you ex- 
pect to go there ?' ' Because Christ 
died for sinners,' he immediately re- 
plied. Presently he said, ' Mamma, 
I wish you would give me a motto to 
think of this week, as you used to do 
last- summer.' I said, ' Well, Willie, 
can you not choose one for yourself 
this time?' He said, 'I think this 



62 LITTLE WILLIE. 

would be a good one, not for this 
week only, but for always ; w ould n't 
it, mamina ? Thou God seest me.' 

" I replied, ' A very good one ;' 
when he said, 'Now we must have 
a rule to go by.' I said, ' You may 
choose that too ;' when he immediate- 
ly said, ' Do unto others as ye would 
that they should do unto you.' 

" 'I think he would be a Christian, 
if he does both those; wouldn't he, 
mamma?' said his- sister who was 
standing by our side. 

" Soon after this, Willie desired 
more prayer, when I told him I feared 
it would be repetition, as he had just 
expressed his wants to God. He re- 
plied, ' Oh no, mamma. I left out 
some things I ought to have remem- 
bered.' ' What did you leave out ?' ' I 
did not pray for my companions, nor 
for the missionaries,' he answered. 



LITTLE WILLIE. 63 

" We conversed together about two 
hours a longer time than usual, on 
account of his peculiar attention and 
apparent tenderness of feeling. After 
he had retired to his room alone, his 
door being open, I heard his voice 
in supplicating earnest prayer. I 
listened with delight, and heard him 
utter these expressions : ' O God, keep 
me from temptation ; make me un- 
derstand the instructions I receive; 
make me remember always, ' Thou 
God seest me,' etc. For full five 
minutes, I should think, he was en- 
gaged in this way, and then all was 
still. 

" I was so struck with his man- 
ner, that on his father's return from 
church I immediately related to him 
what had passed, and said I was sure 
Willie never would forget that even- 
ing. I remarked at the time, that in 



64 LITTLE WILLIE. 

all the conversations I had ever had 
with the children, I had never been 
so satisfied with Willie before." 

The next day Willie went to school 
as usual, and played at recess with 
the other boys, with all the over- 
flowing mirth that characterized him. 
That night he was taken sick not 
violently, but enough so to keep him 
in bed on Tuesday. 

That first day his parents did not 
know that his disease was scarlet- 
fever, which it soon proved to be; 
and his sisters went in to see him and 
play with him. 

But soon he became very sick, and 
most of the time he was delirious, and 
did not know where he was, or what 
he was saying. Sometimes he would 
start up in bed before any one could 
catch him, and declaim Latin pieces, 
thinking he was at school; and then 



LITTLE WILLIE. 65 

again lie thought he was playing ball 
with his school-mates. At another 
time he would talk about sitting in 

o 

mamma's lap recite his lessons, 
make rhymes, riddles, etc. 

But occasionally he had his senses, 
and knew those about him. His 
mother says, in a letter written at 
the time, "It is really affecting to 
see how good he is amid all his suf- 
ferings, and in taking all his medi- 
cines. I give them all myself; and 
when I -say, ' We want you to take 
this, "Willie; for we hope it will do 
you good,' he receives it in a moment, 
and you can see that it is his habit 
of obedience that makes him so do- 
cile now. The doctor says it is a 
great advantage to him. Yester- 
day morning when the doctor said 
he must bleed his arm, Willie said, 
he had rather have a Little pain now, 

5 



66 LITTLE WILLIE. 

and be better by and by.' You will 
see by this that he sometimes lias 
his senses, but it is only for a mo- 
ment." 

He had a kind, good doctor, who 
loved him very much, and did every 
thing he could for him. One day 
when he had been in, Willie said, 
" Mamma, I think I should like to 
be a doctor when I grow up." She 
replied, " I thought you meant to be 
a minister, Willie." "So I do," he 
answered ; " but if I was not going 
to be a minister, I would be a doctor ; 
for they can do so much good." 

You see, dear children, how sad it 
would have been if little Willie had 
waited till he was sick before he 
thought of death and was prepared 
for it. It would have been too late 
then. But we believe he had given 
his heart to Christ, and was ready to 



LITTLE WILLIE. 67 

go at any time, and it mattered not 
that he did not know that death was 
near. 

Willie died on Saturday morning 
less than a week from that pleasant 
Sabbath evening only five short 
days since he went to school well and 
rosy, and full of glee as ever. And 
now he lay on the little bed, pale 
and cold and still. But Willie him- 
self was not there ; he was, we trust, 
with the Saviour whom he loved, 
safe for ever from all temptation and 
sin and pain and sorrow. 

How changed was that house in 
one short week ! Instead of his mer- 
ry voice ringing through it, there 
was the stillness which death always 
brings. Instead of joy and hope, 
there was sorrow and weeping; but 
amid it all, consolation in the thought 
that Willie was safe and happy. 



68 LITTLE WILLIE. 

His older sister was sick with the 
same disease, though but slightly; 
and the younger one was sent away 
to prevent her taking it. She never 
saw her dear brother from the day 
she played beside his bed, till her 
father led her to the little room 
where his body lay so pale and still. 
All their playthings were left just as 
they had used them, last together, but 
her little playmate was gone. 



LITTLE WILLIE. 69 



CHAPTEE VIII. 

WILLIE'S funeral took place on 
Monday, April 27, 1846, in the Sun- 
day-school room, where he had so 
often been to hear about Jesus. As 
his parents and sister entered, the 
choir sang softly and sweetly that 
beautiful chant, 

' Thy will be done. In devious way 

The hurrying stream of life may run, 
Yet still our grateful hearts would say, 
'Thy will be done.' 

" Thy will be done. Though shrouded o'er 
Our path with gloom, one comfort one 
Is ours : to breathe, while we adore, 

' Thy will be done.' " 

The minister whose visit in Que- 
bec I have told you about, made the 



2523371? 



70 LITTLE WILLIE. 

address. Looking down upon the 
little coffin, lie said, 

"Can it be so ? That sunny brow, 
that laughing eye, that dimpled 
cheek, that bounding step, are they 
there? Has one short week made 
such a change ? 'T is even so. Is- 
rael's gentle Shepherd has taken this 
lamb, folded it in His compassionate 
arms, and placed upon its happiness 
the seal of immortality." Then after 
a few words to Willie's parents, he 
spoke of Willie as he had known 
him. 

" Few know how great a loss these 
parents have sustained. My oppor- 
tunities for knowing it have been 
peculiar ; it having been my favored 
lot E early three years ago to pass a 
month in this family, in the absence 
of both the parents. These are the 
circumstances in which to study a 



LITTLE WILLIE. 71 

child's character. And due allow- 
ance being made for his almost in- 
fantile age, I recollect hardly a word 
or act indicative of any other ele- 
ments of character than a praying 
parent would desire to see. Earnest, 
impetuous, vehement in all his im- 
pulses, fervid in his emotions, he 
was yet singularly docile and tracta- 
ble, and yielding a cheerful obe- 
dience to parental injunctions un- 
der strong temptations to transgres- 



55 

sion. 



, Then after speaking to parents 
about the importance of religious in- 
struction, he described that last Sab- 
bath evening. 

"Enter then yonder dwelling one 
week ago last evening. It is Sab- 
bath evening, and the children have 
gathered to their mother's side, eager 
to listen to her instructions and 



72 LITTLE WILLIE. 

prayers. And there you might have 
heard ihis lovely boy uttering spon- 
taneously his own desires to serve 
the Saviour, and to be taught the 
way ; and his dread and horror at 
the thought of completing the pres- 
ent year of his .life without conse- 
crating himself to Christ. And then 
his silvery voice was lifted in prayer, 
and slowly and thoughtfully, show- 
ing that mind as well as tongue was 
at work pleading for strength from 
God to do his will. And after he 
had retired for the night, the same 
voice which rang loudest in the laugh 
of childish sport, was heard in sub- 
dued tones still imploring divine for- 
giveness and strength. Then enter 
his little bed-room and see his well- 
conned Bible, which he loved because 
its references enabled him to com- 
pare one passage with another, and 



LITTLE WILLIE. 13 

which bears upon its leaves the evi- 
dences of its having been diligently 
studied." 

The address closed with these 
words to Willie's school companions, 
who were all there. 

" Schoolmates and playmates of 
little William, you too must die. 
This short coffin proclaims that you 
may die very young. Oh be ready 
to die. Give your hearts to the 
blessed Saviour, that if called early 
away, you may be taken early to 
heaven; or if you live, your life may 
be hid with Christ in God, and you 
may pass through a long course of 
honor and usefulness to a bright and 
eternal reward." 

Little Willie's grave is in a lovely 
spot in the G- - cemetery, on a hill 
overlooking a beautiful view of hills 
and valleys, and the village where he 



74 LITTLE WILLIE. 

spent so many happy days. His 

kind grandparents, who made G 

so delightful to him, now He beside 
him ; and there too are gathered 
four sweet little cousins, whom he 
never saw till they went to live with 
him in heaven. 

When I think of that group of five ' 
little graves, it always reminds me 
of the sweet hymn, 

" Around the throne of God in heaven 

Thousands of children stand- 
Children whose sins are all forgiven, 
A holy, happy band, 
Singing, Glory, glory, 

Glory be to God on high. 

And then I think of that far-off lit- 
tle grave in Quebec, where "Willie's 
brother lies. He and Willie are to- 
gether now. 

I have told you this little story of 



LITTLE WILLIE. 75 

Willie's short life, hoping that it may 
lead you to go to Jesus as Jie did, 
asking Him to forgive your sins and 
make you his own obedient, loving 
child. Perhaps when I get to heav- 
en I may have the great joy of meet- 
ing at least one little child who read 
this book, and determined to wait no 
longer, but to begin to love and serve 
God now. 

Dear children, will you not listen 

to Jesus when he savs, " Come unto 

i/ * 

me," and answer, "Lord, here am I 
a little child who wants to be one of 
thy fold. Take me for thine own, 
wash away all my sins, and teach 
me what to do for thee." 

Jesus will then take you in his 
arms, and jcarry you safe through 
life up to the blessed home where so 
many children are already praising 
him. 



76 LITTLE WILLIE. 

I will close my short story witli 
some simple verses about Willie, 
written by one of his sisters. 

I see tliee as them wert, Willie, 

A merry little boy, 
With a heart so full of gladness, 

A voice so full of joy. 
I see thee at our childish sports, 

The merriest of our band ; 
We thought a fairer boy than thou 

Was not in all the land 

I see thee with the sunlight full 

Upon thy golden hair, 
As in thy little room at morn 

Thou used'st to kneel in prayer. 
I see thee in thy quiet sleep, 

As there thou once did'st lie ; 
But ah, how little thought we then 

That thou so soon must die. 

I see thee as thou wert, Willie, 
Upon one Sabbath even, 

As thou did'st speak of happiness 
And all the joys of heaven. 



LITTLE WILLIE. 77 

And then thy smile grew brighter still, 
Thy voice was low and mild, 

We thought thee in thy loveliness 
Almost an angel child. 

I think I see thee, brother, now, 

Thy hot cheek flushed with pain ; 
Yet still we hoped unto the last 

To see thee well again. 
I hear thy low and wandering words, 

Faint uttered from that bed 
From which we hoped in vain to see 

Thee raise thy gentle head. 

I see thee as thou once didst lie: 

Thy busy hands were stilled ; 
Thy silvery voice for ever hushed 

Our bitterest fears fulfilled. 
Thy golden hair lay motionless 

Above thy brow of snow : 
Sad that a thing so beautiful 

Should lie in death so low. 

I see thee as thou art, Willie, 
A pure bright angel now ; 

No stain of sin shall ever mark 
Thy clear unclouded brow. 



78 LITTLE WILLIE. 

Oh, Willie, wilt them come to me 
When this frail body dies, 

And be the angel that shall lead 
Me up to Paradise ? 



