miss, if I do not; and I hope you will never forget
to say your prayers to Him night and morning."

Clara kissed her dear mother, and promised that she would attend to
all she said; and her mother was satisfied, for she knew that Clara
never told stories, though she was but a little girl.

Then Mrs. Grant turned to Charles, and said: "As for you, Charles, I
cannot help feeling great pain at leaving you; for you are such a bad,
wilful boy that I shall not have a happy moment while I am away from
you, lest you should do anything amiss. But if you love me, you will
try to be good; and whenever you are about to do anything wrong, say
to yourself, 'How much this would grieve my poor mother if she knew
it! and how much it will offend God, who does see, and knows, not
only everything I do, but even my most secret thoughts! And He will
one day bring me to an account for all I do or say against His holy
will and my kind parents' commands.'"

Charles, who knew he was a bad boy, hung down his head, for he did not
like to be told of his faults.

Then his mother said: "My dear Charles, do try and be good, and I will
love you dearly."

"But what will you bring me from London," said Charles, "if I am a
good boy? for I never will behave well for nothing."

"Do you call the love of God and of dear mother nothing?" said Clara;
"I will behave well, even if mother forgets to bring me the great wax
doll, and the chest of drawers to keep her clothes in, which she told
me about yesterday."

Mrs. Grant smiled fondly on her little girl, but made no reply to
Charles; and soon the coach drove away from the door.

Charles was very glad when his mother was gone, and he said: "Now
mother is gone to London, I will do just as I please: I will learn no
ugly lessons, but play all day long. How happy I shall be! I hope
mother may not come for a whole month."

But Charles soon found he was not so happy as he thought he should
have been; he did not know the reason, but I will tell you why he was
not happy. No one can be happy who is not good, and Charles was so
naughty as to resolve not to obey his kind mother, who loved him so
much.

Charles brought out all his toys to play with, but he soon grew weary
of them, and he kicked them under the table, saying, "Nasty dull toys,
I hate you, for you do not amuse me or make me happy. I will go to
father, and ask him to give me something to please me that I am not
used to."

But father was busy with