There was a struggle in the mind of Mary between faith and distrust,—between duty and inclination—between the desire to follow her own will, and the knowledge that in all things we ought to follow the will of God. Which side in the end won the victory will appear in the end of my story. We will leave the widow doubting and hesitating at the corner of the street, and return to little Emmy, whom her mother had left carefully shut up in her lodging. The child amused herself for some minutes as the widow had desired her to do, by looking at the coarse prints which were stuck with pins on the white-washed wall. But Emmy soon tired of this, she had seen them so often before. Then she sat down in front of the fire, and warmed her little red hands at the kindly blaze, and wished that that tiresome wire-guard were away, that kept so much of the glow out. "Why should mother not let me get all the good of the fire?" said the little murmuring girl. "I'm sure there's no use in that thing that puts the fire in a cage, and keeps me from doing what I like, and making it blaze up high!" The child did not consider that one much older and wiser than herself was likely to have good reasons for putting on the guard. Emmy was no better judge of these reasons than the widow herself was of the wisdom which had fenced round the day of rest with the command, "On it thou shalt do no manner of work." All that either mother or child had to do was simply to trust and obey. But Emmy had a wilful temper, and could not bear anything like restraint. Presently from looking at the fire, the child cast her eyes on the mantel-piece above it, and the bread and white jug upon it. "Why did mother put them up there, when she knew that Emmy might be hungry, and want to eat before she comes home?" And impatiently the child stretched out her hand, and rose on her tiptoes, trying to reach the food. She could not touch the lower part of the shelf; and well was it for Emmy that the guard so wisely placed over the fire, prevented her little frock from catching the flame as she did so! "Emmy will pull the chair to the place and climb up, and get at the loaf!" cried the child, determined by some means to have her own way, and procure what she thought that she needed. She ran off to a chair placed in a corner, which was almost the only article of furniture, besides the bed, to be found in that bare little room. But the chair was of clumsy and heavy make, and had several articles heaped upon it; all the efforts of Emmy were of no avail to drag it out from its place.