in every place, considering every little
thing in the earth, she would know just where to go to find the missing
ball. At that thought something seemed to whisper, "Pray."

She darted out of the door, ran across the yard, making her way as
speedily as possible to the only retired spot she knew of. This was
a deep gully at the back of the house, through which a tiny stream of
water crept, just moistening the roots of the wild cherry and alder
bushes which grew there in great abundance, and keeping the grass fresh
and green all the summer long. No one ever came to this spot excepting
now and then the laundress with a piece of linen to bleach, or the
children to play hide-and-seek of a moonlight evening. Here she fell
upon her knees, and lifting up her hands as she had seen others do, she
said,--

"Blessed Lord, I want to find missus' ball of yarn, and I can't. You
know whar 'tis. Show me, so I sha'n't get cracks over my head with the
big key. Hallelujah, amen."

She didn't know, innocent child, what this "Hallelujah, amen," meant;
but she remembered that Uncle Simon always ended in that way, and
she supposed it had something important to do with the prayer. So she
uttered it with a feeling of great satisfaction, as though that capped
the climax of her duty, and put the seal of acceptance on her petition;
and then she got up and walked away, as sure as could be that the ball
would be forthcoming. I dare say she expected to see it rolling out
before her from some unthought-of corner as she went along.

Do not laugh at the poor little slave girl, children, or ridicule the
idea of her taking such a small thing to the Lord. If you, and older
people too, were in the habit of carrying all your little troubles to
the throne of grace, I am sure you would find help that you little dream
of. If the Lord in his greatness regards the little sparrows, so that
not one of them shall fall to the ground without his notice, and if he
numbers the hairs of our heads, surely there is nothing that can give
us uneasiness of mind or sorrow of heart too small to commend to his
notice. I wish we might all follow Tidy's example, and I have no doubt
that our heavenly Father, who is quite willing to have his words and his
love tested, would answer us as he did her.

She went directly to the house, carefully looking this way and that,
as if expecting, as I said, that the ball would suddenly appear before
her,--of course it did not,--and passing ac