EYE-SERVICE; OR,

only seek grace from God He will surely grant it, and
they will never regret having given Him the service of
their bright vigorous youth;-for are we not assured,
'He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have
no might He increaseth strength. Even the youths
shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall
utterly fall: but they that wait upon the Lord shall
renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings
as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they
shall walk and not faint! "
 The girls had just gone to their rooms that night
to prepare for bed, when a servant came to Miss
Wilmot with a message from Mrs. Palmer, and she was
obliged to leave her charge. There were four bed-
rooms occupied by the pupils; the English teacher
had the care of the two west rooms, and the French
governess of the two on the opposite side of the
passage. Miss Wilmot did not expect to be delayed,
and, therefore, did not ask Mademoiselle to look in
occasionally during her absence. Mrs. Palmer, how-
ever, kept her talking longer than she had expected,
for the medical man attending her son had called, and
khe wished to ask Miss Wilmot a few questions before
deciding upon when she could best be spared to be
with him the next day. Miss Wilmot was down stairs
about a quarter of an hour, and as soon as she was
released hurried to the girls. As she entered the
nearest room, the first thing that struck her was the
absence of dressing-gowns. The girls had their frocks
off and were brushing their hair, but no one except
Lydia had on a dressing-gown; Miss Wilmot little
knew that this following of Mrs. Palmer's rule in de-
fiance of her companions' negligence was Lydia's first
step in the service of God.
 "," My dears I said the teacher, in a pained voice,