Fanny, the Flower-Girl | Page 6

of flowers, she would repeat
some verses from the Holy Scriptures, such as this, "O Lord, how
manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth
is full of thy riches." And afterwards she would repeat such pretty lines

as these:--
"Not worlds on worlds, in varied form, Need we, to tell a God is here;
The daisy, saved from winter's storm, Speaks of his hand in lines as
clear.
"For who but He who formed the skies, And poured the day-spring's
living flood, Wondrous alike in all He tries, Could rear the daisy's
simple bud!
"Mould its green cup, its wiry stem, Its fringed border nicely spin; And
cut the gold-embossed gem, That, shrined in silver, shines within;
"And fling it, unrestrained and free, O'er hill, and dale, and desert sod,
That man, where'er he walks, may see, In every step the trace of God."
"And I, too, have had my daisy given to me," poor Mrs. Newton would
say, with tearful eyes, as she gazed on her little flower-girl; "I too have
my daisy, and though it may be little cared for in the world, or trodden
under foot of men, yet will it ever bear, I trust, the trace of God."
But it happened the very morning that the gentleman had given Fanny
the half-sovereign in mistake, Mrs. Newton's money was quite spent;
and she was much troubled, thinking the child must go the next
morning to the garden without money to pay for her flowers, for she
did not think it likely she would sell enough to buy what they required,
and pay for them also; so she told Fanny she must ask Mr. Simpson to
let her owe him for a day or two until she got a little money she
expected.
Fanny went therefore, and said this to the kind man at the garden; and
he put his hand on her head, and said, "My pretty little girl, you may
owe me as long as you please, for you are a good child, and God will
prosper you."
So Fanny went back in great delight, and told this to Mrs. Newton; and
to cheer her still more, she chose for her morning verse, the advice that
our Lord gave to all those who were careful and troubled about the
things of this life "Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they
toil not, neither do they spin; and yet I say unto you that Solomon in all
his glory, was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so
clothe the grass of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into
the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, oh ye of little faith?"
And then she repeated some verses which both she and Mrs. Newton
liked very much.

"Lo! the lilies of the field, How their leaves instruction yield! Hark to
nature's lesson, given By the blessed birds of heaven.
"Say with richer crimson glows, The kingly mantle than the rose; Say
are kings more richly dressed, Than the lily's glowing vest!
"Grandmother I forget the next verse," said Fanny, interrupting herself;
"I know it is something about lilies not spinning; but then comes this
verse--
"Barns, nor hoarded store have we"--
"It is not the lilies, grandmother, but the blessed birds that are speaking
now--
"Barns, nor hoarded store have we, Yet we carol joyously; Mortals, fly
from doubt and sorrow, God provideth for the morrow."
Poor Mrs. Newton clasped her thin hands, and looked up, and prayed
like the disciples, "Lord, increase our faith!"
"Eh!" said she, afterwards, "is it not strange that we can trust our Lord
and Saviour with the care of our souls for eternity, and we cannot trust
Him with that of our bodies for a day."
Well! this was poor Mrs. Newton's state on that day, when the
gentleman gave Fanny the half-sovereign instead of sixpence, for her
flowers.
When the little flower-girl came back from her race with her two
sixpences, she found the old vegetable-seller had got her three or four
pennies more, by merely showing her basket, and telling why it was left
at his stall; and so every one left a penny for the honest child, and
hoped the gentleman would reward her well. The old man at the stall
said it was very shabby of him only to give her sixpence; but when she
went home with three sixpences and told Mrs. Newton this story, she
kissed her little girl very fondly, but said the gentleman was good to
give her sixpence, for he had no right to give her anything, she had only
done her duty.
"But, grandmother," said Fanny, "when I saw that pretty half-
sovereign dropping down to his purse,