sun. Even little
Shaker Jane and Mary, Maria and Lucinda, had their socks in hand, and
plied their short knitting-needles soberly and not unskillfully. The
sight of their industry incited the impetuous Sue to effort, and under
the patient tutelage of Sister Martha she mastered the gentle art.
Susanna never forgot the hour when, coming from her work in the
seed-room, she crossed the grass with a message to Martha, and saw the
group of children and girls on the western porch, a place that caught
every ray of afternoon sun, the last glint of twilight, and the first
hint of sunset glow. Sister Martha had been reading the Sabbath-School
lesson for the next day, and as Susanna neared the building, Martha's
voice broke into a hymn. Falteringly the girls' voices followed the
lead, uncertain at first of words or tune, but gaining courage and
strength as they went on:--

"As the waves of the mighty ocean
Gospel love we will circulate,
And as we give, in due proportion,
We of the heavenly life partake.
Heavenly Life, Glorious Life,
Resurrecting, Soul-Inspiring,
Regenerating Gospel Life,
It leadeth away from all sin and strife."

The clear, innocent treble sounded sweetly in the virgin stillness and
solitude of the Settlement, and as Susanna drew closer she stopped
under a tree to catch the picture--Sister Martha, grave, tall, discreet,
singing with all her soul and marking time with her hands, so accustomed
to the upward and downward movement of the daily service. The straight,
plain dresses were as fresh and smooth as perfect washing could make
them, and the round childlike faces looked quaint and sweet with the
cropped hair tucked under the stiff little caps. Sue was seated with
Mary and Jane on the steps, and Susanna saw with astonishment that her
needles were moving to and fro and she was knitting as serenely and
correctly as a mother in Israel; singing, too, in a delicate little
treble that was like a skylark's morning note. Susanna could hear her
distinctly as she delightedly flung out the long words so dear to her
soul and so difficult to dull little Jane and Mary:--

"Resurrecting, Soul-Inspiring,
Regenerating Gospel Life,
It leadeth away from all sin and strife."

Jane's cap was slightly unsettled, causing its wearer to stop knitting
now and then and pull it forward or push it back; and in one of these
little feminine difficulties Susanna saw Sue reach forward and deftly
transfer the ca