'Dear Bertie, it is all right now, and I'm sure mamma will forgive you.'

Bertie made up his mind that evening that he would always try to be honest, truthful, and brave, and we may hope that he kept his resolution.

dressed.

DON'T know how to be useful,' said little Minnie to her elder sister Emily, one morning, while she was being

'Do you ever try?' asked her sister.

'But it is no good trying,' answered Minnie, 'because there is nothing useful that I can do.'

'There are plenty of things that you might do, Minnie, if you could only think of them,' answered Emily.

'What do you mean, Emmy? I can't do anything like you. You are so clever and can do everything, and everybody loves you,' said Minnie.

'Of course I do not mean, dear, that you can do great things all at once,' replied Emily, but

there are many little ways in which you might help mamma, I think.'

How?' asked Minnie. Do tell me. I'm sure I often wish I could be useful.'

'When mamma is tired, you might keep the little ones quiet, and prevent them from disturbing her,' said Emily.

But that is such a small thing,' replied Minnie. 'Doing small things will help you to do bigger things, some day,' said Emily, smiling at her little sister.

'What else can I do?' asked Minnie.

'You can take pains with your lessons, because learning often has a great deal to do with being useful; and besides, it will be setting a good example to the others,' answered Emily.

'But!' replied Minnie, in rather a doleful voice. 'But what?' said Emily, laughing.

'Lessons are so horrid !' answered Minnie.

'Well!' said Emily, 'if you really wish to be useful, you must not mind disagreeable things sometimes.'

What else?' asked Minnie.

'You can take pains with your needlework, because I am sure mamma will be glad when

you can do that nicely, for then you will be able to help her very much, as she has a great deal to do, you know,' said Emily.

'But I can't bear needlework,' replied Minnie.

'If you never do anything but what you like, Minnie, you can't expect to be useful,' said Emily.

'But will those sort of things really make me useful?' asked Minnie.

'Of course they will,' answered Emily. 'Now you watch to-day for every little opportunity you can of being useful in little ways, and saving other people trouble, and see if by the end of the day you will not have found plenty of things to do.'

'You always know the right thing to do,' said Minnie, and you are such a dear, kind sister,' she added, as she threw her arms round Emily's neck.

6

You will try then, won't you, Minnie darling?' said Emily, as she kissed her.

'Yes, I will,' Minnie answered heartily.

As soon as she was dressed she went down to breakfast, and she soon found an opportunity of making herself useful. She was only a little

child, just eight years old, so she could not do big things, as she called them; but little things done well are often as useful, in their way.

This morning her mamma had a very bad headache, and could not come down to breakfast, and she wanted Emily to go and see her, and take up her breakfast. So Emily left the younger ones with Minnie, while she was with her mamma. She would not have done this at any other time, as the little ones were rather troublesome, and not likely to be very good with Minnie; but to-day Minnie had begged hard that Emily would just try her, to see if she could not be useful in this way.

Minnie found her task rather difficult, for Dick and Susy began to quarrel as soon as Emily had gone out of the room.

Dick was the youngest; he was three years old, and Susy was four.

Like many little boys of that age, he was rather a tyrant, so when there was a quarrel between them, Susy generally got the worst of it.

This morning Dick seemed to be in a very cross humour. He said his milk was sour, and his bread was stale, and the butter tasted nasty,