CHAPTER XXX. TIFF'S GARDEN.

e'emgoroundt'oder!Dey'ssetinderownway—deyis,foralldey'ssostill'boutit!Laws,MissNinadeseyertingsmakesTifflaugh—doesso!"hesaid,sittingdown,andindulginginoneofhisfitsofmerriment. "Youarequiteaphilosopher,Tiff,"saidNina. "Laws,MissNina,Ihopesnot!"saidTiff,solemnly"'causeoneofdepreachersatdecamp-meetingusedupdemfolkterrible,Itellyou!DatarprettymuchallIcouldmakeoutofdesermon,datpeoplemustn'tbe'losophers!Laws,MissNina,IhopeIan'tnosich!" "Oh,Imeanthegoodkind,UncleTiff.Buthowwereyoupleased,uponthewhole,atthecamp-meeting?"saidNina. "Well,"saidTiff,"MissNina,IhopeIgotsomething—Idon'tknowfa'rlyhowmuch'tis.But,MissNina,it'pearslikeasifyouhadcomeoutheretoinstructus'boutdeseyertings.MissFanny,shedon'treadverywellyet,and'pearslikeifyoucouldreadussomeoutofdeBible,andteachushowtobeChristians"— "Why,Tiff,Iscarcelyknowhowmyself!"saidNina."I'llsendMillytotalktoyou.SheisarealgoodChristian." "Millyisaverynicewoman,"saidTiff,somewhatdoubtfully"but,MissNina,'pearslikeIwouldratherhavewhiteteaching'pearslikeIwouldratherhaveyou,ifitwouldn'tbetoomuchtrouble." "Oh,no,UncleTiff!Ifyouwanttohearmeread,I'llreadtoyounow,"saidNina."HaveyougotaBible,here?StayI'llsitdown.I'lltakethechairandsitdownintheshade,andthenyouneedn'tstopyourwork." TiffhurriedintothehousetocallFannyproducedacopyofaTestament,which,withmuchcoaxing,hehadpersuadedCrippstobringonhislastvisitand,whileFannysatatherfeetmakinglarkspurrings,sheturnedoverthepages,tothinkwhattoread.WhenshesawTiff'searnestandeagerattention,herheartsmotehertothinkthatthebook,sovaluableinhiseyes,wastoheralmostanunreadvolume. "WhatshallIreadtoyou,Tiff?Whatdoyouwanttohear?" "Well,IwantstofindoutdeshortestwayIken,howdeseyerchil'en'stobegottoheaven!"saidTiff."Disyerworldismightywelllongasitholdsoutbut,den,yersee,itdon'tlastforever!Tingsispassingaway!" Ninathoughtamoment.Thegreatquestionofquestions,soearnestlyproposedtoher!Thesimple,childlikeoldsoulhangingconfidinglyonheranswer!Atlastshesaid,withaseriousnessquiteunusualwithher:— "Tiff,IthinkthebestthingIcandoistoreadtoyouaboutourSaviour.Hecamedownintothisworldtoshowusthewaytoheaven.AndI'llreadyou,whenIcomeheredays,allthatthereisaboutHim—allhesaidanddidandthen,perhaps,you'llseethewayyourself.Perhaps,"sheadded,withasigh,"Ishall,too!" Asshespoke,asuddenbreezeofairshooktheclustersofaprairie-rose,whichwasclimbingintothetreeunderwhichshewassitting,andashowerofrose-leavesfellaroundher. "Yes,"shesaidtoherself,astherose-leavesfellonherbook,"it'squitetrue,whathesays.Everythingispassing!" Andnow,amidthemurmurofthepine-trees,andtherustlingofthegarden-vines,cameontheearofthelistenersthefirstwordsofthatsweetandancientstory:— "Now,whenJesuswasborninBethlehemofJudea,inthedaysofHerodtheKing,beholdtherecamewisemenfromtheEast,saying,'WhereisHethatisbornKingoftheJews?ForwehaveseenhisstarintheEast,andarecometoworshipHim.'" Probablymorecultivatedmindswouldhavecheckedtheprogressofthelegendbyathousandquestions,statisticalandgeographical,astowhereJerusalemwas,andwhothewisemenwere,andhowfartheEastwasfromJerusalem,andwhetheritwasprobabletheywouldtravelsofar.ButNinawasreadingtochildren,andtoanoldchild-man,inwhosegrotesqueandfancifulnaturetherewasyettreasuredabelievingsweetness,liketheamuletssupposedtobelongtothegoodgeniiofthefairytales.Thequickfancyofherauditorsmaderealityofthestoryasitwentalong.AcloudyJerusalembuiltitselfupimmediatelyintheirsouls,andbecameaswellknowntothemastheneighboringtownofE——.Herod,theking,becamearealwalkingpersonageintheirminds,withacrownonhishead.AndTiffimmediatelydiscernedaresemblancebetweenhimandacertaindomineeringoldGeneralEaton,whousedgreatlytowithstandthecauseofvirtue,andthePeytons,intheneighborhoodwherehewasbroughtup.Tiff'sindignation,whentheslaughteroftheinnocentswasnarrated,wasperfectlyoutrageous.Hedeclared"Hewouldn'thavebelievedthatofKingHerod,badashewas!"and,good-heartedandinoffensiveasTiffwasingeneral,itreallyseemedtoaffordhimcomfort,"datdedebilhadgotdatarman'forenow." "Sarveshimright,too!"saidTiff,strikingfiercelyataweedwithhishoe."Killingalldemporlittlechil'en!Why,whatharmhaddeydonehim,anyway?Wonderwhathethoughtofhisself!" Ninafounditnecessarytotranquillizethegoodcreature,togetahearingfortherestofthestory.Shewentonreadingofthewildnight-journeyofthewisemen,andhowthestarwentbeforethemtillitstoodovertheplacewherethechildwas.Howtheywentin,andsawtheyoungchild,andMaryhismother,andfelldownbeforehim,offeringgiftsofgold,frankincense,an