“‘Alice, you keep this window so duty, that the light can scarcely enter; and you never seem to open it, so that the air of this room is almost stifling. But for all that, there _is_ bright sunshine and pure air, if you would let them come in: and God intended them for you as much as for me. And in the same way you surround yourself with what is wicked, and must of necessity produce misery, and then complain that God has no mercy upon you.’ “I asked her if she had ever heard of Jesus, who was so sorry for the misery of such unhappy persons as herself, that He came into the world on purpose to save them.. She said she had; but she knew He did not mean her. When I rose to go she said— “‘It seems to me, that yours must be the first kind voice I have ever heard; but I shall never hear it again—no never; for you must not come here—indeed you must not: this is no place for the likes of you.’ “‘Then, why,’ I said, ‘do you not determine to get such a home for yourself as I could come to?’ But she shook her head and said— “‘Ah! you don’t know nothing;’ and so we parted. “I dare say the thought will strike you, as it did me, when I was afterwards thinking over what had passed between us, what a wonderful influence for good this little child was intended to have over the poor mother! It seemed to awaken in her a better nature than she had ever known before; it was, as the Bible expresses it, her ‘day of visitation;’ and if she had only permitted herself to come entirely under its influence, she might have been saved for both time and eternity. In her earnest endeavours to instruct her child in what was true and right, she would have found it out for herself, and, instead of being the poor fallen creature I found her, she might have become a useful and valuable member of society. “God has wisely and kindly implanted in our minds such a feeling towards our children, that we value and strive to obtain what is good, more for their sakes than for our own: and we should feel thankful for this; for _whatever_ makes us hate sin, and love holiness, is a great blessing. “If we, my dear friends, truly and faithfully do our duty to our children, we shall have no time for bad company, bad books, idle gossip, or any other of those many temptations which ‘Satan finds for idle hands to do.’ “Let us be thankful, then, for an honourable and useful occupation; and let it cheer us in the midst of employment, sometimes wearisome and painful, to think that, by exercising a right and holy influence over our children, we may be preparing them for usefulness on earth, and an eternity of happiness hereafter.