mature for her age. "It seems to me that we are here all,
all alone with nothing but water around us, and it never ends, never!"

"Yes," said the good woman, "Jesus is here, too, though we cannot see
Him. He is here at our services and prayer meetings, and He is in our
hearts. When we pray, He hears us, and when we sing, our songs rise up
to His throne. Every thought in our heart He knows. So we need not
fear, my dear children."

Then she would kiss them tenderly, and give them a piece of ginger bread
or some other dainty, so that they would forget all their sorrows and
troubles.

On board the ship her solicitude for the children was soon noticed by
everybody, and even Governor Winthrop at times turned to Mrs. Bradley
and spoke to her about the children.

"You are doing very well as a mother, Mrs. Bradley," he teased her;
"the children are very happy under your care, and they are not a whit
sorrowful any more. The Lord bless you for your kindness! It is
cheering to know that we have such pious folk in our company. God
bless us all that His name may be glorified."

Mrs. Bradley blushed deeply when she perceived that her good work was
thus graciously acknowledged. She cared for no praise, and insisted
that the children were only a blessing sent to her by the Lord to
comfort her and assign to her a worthy task.

As often as the emigrants gathered for worship, she was present with
the children, and joined in the singing, for she had a fine, melodious
voice. There was no organ on board the ship, neither did the colonists
have musical instruments. Yet they sang so wondrously that it was a
pleasure to listen to them. The hymns were learned by heart, not only
by the older members, but also by the children, who joined their clear
young voices with those of their fathers and mothers. So also they
learned the Bible, and while not all had copies of that holy Book, the
majority of them knew whole portions by heart; especially the psalms
which they sang every day. Furthermore, there was instruction in the
Catechism each day, so that the children were well occupied, as were
also their elders. For when they were not worshiping God by song and
prayer, they served Him by doing useful work, of which there was much
to do.

The colonists, knowing that they would settle in a primitive country,
had brought plenty of wool, which the women spun into cloth from which
to make garments. At that time there were no readymade