were different. However, she began slowly and tremulously:--

"Our Father who art in Heaven, ... Thou art God in Syria
just the same as in Maine; ...over there to-day are blue
skies and yellow stars and burning suns . . . the great trees
are waving in the warm air, while here the snow lies thick
under our feet, ... but no distance is too far for God to
travel and so He is with us here as He is with them there, ...
and our thoughts rise to Him 'as doves that to their
windows fly.' ...

"We cannot all be missionaries, teaching people to be good, ...
some of us have not learned yet how to be good ourselves,
but if thy kingdom is to come and thy will is to be done on
earth as it is in heaven, everybody must try and everybody
must help, ... those who are old and tired and those who
are young and strong.... The little children of whom we
have heard, those born under Syrian skies, have strange and
interesting work to do for Thee, and some of us would like to
travel in far lands and do wonderful brave things for the
heathen and gently take away their idols of wood and stone.
But perhaps we have to stay at home and do what is given us
to do ... sometimes even things we dislike, ... but that
must be what it means in the hymn we sang, when it talked
about the sweet perfume that rises with every morning
sacrifice.... This is the way that God teaches us to be
meek and patient, and the thought that He has willed it so
should rob us of our fears and help us bear the years. Amen."

Poor little ignorant, fantastic child! Her petition was simply a
succession of lines from the various hymns, and images the minister had
used in his sermon, but she had her own way of recombining and applying
these things, even of using them in a new connection, so that they had
a curious effect of belonging to her. The words of some people might
generally be written with a minus sign after them, the minus meaning
that the personality of the speaker subtracted from, rather than added
to, their weight; but Rebecca's words might always have borne the plus
sign.

The "Amen" said, she sat down, or presumed she sat down, on what she
believed to be a bench, and there was a benediction. In a moment or
two, when the room ceased spinning, she went up to Mrs. Burch, who
kissed her affectionately and said, "My dear, how glad I am that we are
going to stay with you.