he sought assistance; against the sad
influence of memory, that brought up his childhood before him, when
he had a father who loved him--against the dreary vista of an unloved
future, he needed help. "And could _she_ befriend him?" was the question
he asked his heart.

"He must ask Grettl'a this; she would know it all!" Such were the
reflections with which he bent his way homeward, as eagerly as in the
morning he had sought the glen. Grettl'a did know it all, and more too,
for she had a prayer-book, and a catechism, and a hymn-book, though
hitherto these treasures had been unknown to Fritz, whose instructions
were always given in a well-thumbed little volume of fairy tales, where
"Hans Daeumling" and "The Nutz-cracker" figured as heroes.

I am not able to say that Grettl'a's religious instruction was of the
most enlightened nature--not any more than it was commensurate with the
wishes and requirements of him who sought it; it went, indeed, little
further than an explanation of the "golden letters." Still, slight and
vague as it was, it comforted the poor heart it reached, as the most
straggling gleam of sunlight will cheer the dweller in some dark
dungeon, whose thoughts soar out upon its rays to the gorgeous luminary
it flows from. Whatever the substance of his knowledge, its immediate
effect upon his mind was to diffuse a hopeful trust and happiness
through him he had never known till now. His loneliness in the world was
no longer the solitary isolation of one bereft of friends. Not only with
his own heart could he commune now. He felt there was One above who read
these thoughts, and could turn them to his will. And in this trust his
daily labour was lightened, and his lot more happy.

"Now," thought he, one day, as he wandered onward among the hills, "now,
I can teach thee something good--something that will bring us luck. Thou
shalt learn the lesson of the golden letters, Starling--ay, truly, it
will be hard enough at first. It cost me many a weary hour to learn to
read, and thou hast only one little line to get off by heart--and such
a pretty line, too! Come, Jacob, let's begin at once." And, as he spoke,
he opened the cage and took out the bird, and patted his head kindly
and smoothed down his feathers. Little flatteries, that Starling well
understood were preparatory to some educational requirement; and he
puffed out his chest proudly, and advanced one leg with an air of
importance; and drawing up his head, see