nd friends?'

'I haven't said my prayers, aunt,' replied Freddy; 'I don't always say
them.'

'But you always wish to have kind friends, and a nice bed, and peaceful
sleep, don't you, dear Fred?' said Aunt Mary.

'Yes, aunt, I do,' replied the boy.

'And don't you think you ought to be thankful when you have them?' was
the next question.

Freddy hung down his head, but he whispered 'Yes.'

'Well, go then, my dear, and thank your heavenly Father for His
goodness, and ask Him to bless you, and keep you from all evil to-day.'

And Freddy went back to his room, and knelt beside his little bed, and
repeated the same prayer that he had said so many times before, without
thinking even of what he was saying; but this time he did think.

After breakfast Fred went to feed the fowls, though this ought to have
been done before; but this was a beginning, so it did not much matter.
At ten o'clock he was called to his books, and Aunt Mary expected a
trial, for Freddy had never been at school, and his teaching at home had
been only such as he chose to receive from his mamma or his sisters,
when he happened to be in the humour. Yet he was naturally a quick
child, and but for temper, his aunt did not at all contemplate any
difficulty; indeed, she had no reason to do so, with her method of
teaching. She was never harsh, but she was strict in discipline. She
knew, that to make children happy, it was not at all necessary that they
should have their own way, though she never contradicted them without
occasion. She, in short, treated them as reasonable creatures, as loving
creatures, who required love to draw them out; and she had seen, and
felt, the happy results of this treatment. After the first week there
was no more trouble about lessons; and with the assistance of Bridget
and Clara, who were both now really fond of the boy, and did many little
things to contribute to his pleasure, Aunt Mary found that she need no
longer have any dread of having taken into her happy domicile an
inmate, who would destroy its hitherto peaceful character; and Fred
never once expressed a wish to go and live at home again.

CHAPTER XXII.

THE OAK AND THE LAUREL UNITED.

More than four months had elapsed since Mabel had left Oak Villa to
attend to her mamma, and Freddy had found a happy and delightful home in
that very desirable locality. The days were shortening now, and the
splendid autumn sunsets threw their gorgeous colouring over the t