"I have heard that before, more than once," said Selina one day, when Frederica had read the promise of God to Isaac in Gerar: "And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." "Yes, we have had it before," said Frederica. "The same promise was given to Abraham, you know." "What does it mean, I wonder?" asked Selina. "Oh! it means that the children of Abraham were to become a great people, as they did afterwards. They were God's own chosen people. All the Bible is written about them, you know." "Yes, but how are all the nations of the earth to be blessed through them?" "I have heard something about it," said Frederica meditatively. "Let me think a minute. Oh, yes! it was because the Saviour was to come among them. The Bible is all about the Jewish people, because Jesus was a Jew." "Was He?" said Selina wistfully. "Yes, and of course that is what it means. Jesus died for all men. Jesus is the Son of God, and the son of Mary, you know." "No," said Selina gravely; "I don't know." "Well, never mind, we can read about it," said Frederica, turning the leaves of the Bible till she came to the first chapter of Matthew. "It is all here, and we will read it." Going rapidly over the first verses to herself, till she came to the eighteenth, she then read, "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise," and so on. "Thou shalt call His name Jesus; for He shall save His people from their sins. And they shall call His name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us." Frederica lingered over these passages, reading them many times, and trying to remember all that she had heard about them. "Jesus is God, you know, and He became man that He might die for us, and save us from our sins, as the verse says; and we ought to love Him, and obey Him, and serve Him." "Yes," said Selina, "if we only knew the way. If we had any one to teach us." "We are going to learn the way. It is all here; in the Bible, I mean," said Frederica. "They all say that--Miss Robina, and Miss Pardie, and all of them. And the clergymen say it in church. And Mrs Glencairn said always that we must not mind what people say about religion, unless it is in the Bible. And Eppie told me once that God Himself would teach us." "And do you think He will?" "Yes, if we ask Him--when we say our prayers, you know." "When we say `Our Father,' you mean?" Every night and morning since she was a little child, Selina had said "Our Father." "Yes, and we may ask for other things, and God will give them. We learned texts about it once, only I can't quite remember them. This is one--`Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My name, He will give it you.' Jesus Himself says that." "And will He?" asked Selina. "Yes," said Frederica, with a little hesitation, "if we ask right things, I suppose."