SUNDAY-SCHOOL UNION, 
 
 200 MULBERRY-STREET, NEW YORK. 
 
UNA AND HER NURSE. 
 
 Lixa lived away in that land of 
 the East called India. Her parents 
 had gone there from Europe, and had 
 lived there many years, and Lina 
 was their only child. When she 
 was hardly a year old her mother 
 died. 
 
 The little one too would soon 
 
4 LINA AND HER NURSE. 
 
 have died if they had not taken 
 pains to get her a good nurse. This 
 nurse was a woman. At first she 
 took great eare of the child because 
 she was well paid for it ; but she soon 
 learned to love it as if it were her 
 own, and the child in turn loved her 
 very much. 
 
 As is the custom in that land, little 
 Lina had many servants around her 
 to wait on her. But of all these she 
 loved her nurse the best, and called 
 her mamma. 
 
LINA AND HER NURSE. 5 
 
 Mr. Gray, her papa, saw very little 
 of her, as lie bad much to take up his 
 time. He came to see her each day 
 before he went to his office, and at 
 night when he came home ; but all the 
 day long and all the night she had 
 no one with her but these native serv- 
 ants. These folks talked to her, and 
 did many things to amuse her. They 
 told her stories of fairies, gods, birds, 
 and beasts, but not a word about 
 God, for they knew nothing about 
 him. They were pagans. 
 
6 LINA AND HER NURSE. 
 
 But the good God, who took away 
 the mother of that dear child, kept 
 his pye upon her. Tn the midst of all 
 that sin he kept her safe, and in tiie 
 end he brought her out of it. 
 
 When Lina was seven years old, 
 her papa made up his mind to go 
 hack to Europe and take his child 
 with him. 
 
 At first, when he told her what lie 
 was going to do, she was very much 
 pleased, and ran to tell her nurse. 
 " And will nurse go with } r ou?" was 
 
LIN A AND HER NURSE. 7 
 
 the first thing that the woman asked. 
 Poor Lina ! she had not thought that 
 she could go without her nurse, and 
 she ran at once to ask her papa 
 about it. 
 
 "Your nurse will go with you as 
 far as the ship," said her papa. 
 
 ' ; Ancl is that all?" said the child, 
 with tears. "AVhat will Lina do 
 without her nurse? dear papa! 
 do take her. I cannot leave my 
 nurse." 
 
 As the day set for them to leave 
 
8 LINA AND HER NURSE. 
 
 drew near, she had many an hour 
 of tears because her nurse was not 
 to go with her. 
 
 The nurse herself felt even worse 
 about it than Lina, and when they 
 came in sight of the ship that was to 
 take away her child she burst into 
 tears and cries, and begged to be 
 taken along. But the tiling could 
 not be thought of, and Mr. Gray 
 had to say "No" in a very stern 
 tone before the poor nurse would be- 
 lieve that he meant it. Lina looked 
 
LINA AND HER NURSE. 9 
 
 after the little boat that took her 
 nurse back to land till she could see 
 her no longer, and then she took the 
 hand of her papa, and went into the 
 cabin to cry herself to sleep. 
 
 All that day Lina clung to her 
 papa. She felt very sad indeed. 
 
 The next day, as she sat by her 
 
 papa on the deck crying as if her 
 
 little heart would break, a kind lady 
 
 came up and sat down by her. She 
 
 asked what was the matter with the 
 
 child; and when her papa told her, 
 
 1* 
 
10 LIN A AND HER NURSE. 
 
 she began to talk with her in the 
 Hindoo tongue, and to say very kind 
 words in her little ear. At first 
 Lina would not listen ; but by and by 
 she looked up, and saw such a sweet 
 face that she soon forgot her tears, 
 and in an hour, much to her own 
 surprise, she was talking with the 
 strange lady. 
 
 Now this Mrs. Court, for that was 
 the lady's name, was very kind, and 
 Lina soon learned to like her very 
 much. After a few da} r s she would 
 
L1NA AND HER NURSE. 1 1 
 
 stay by her side almost all the time, 
 and the lady seemed quite pleased 
 to have it so. Mrs. Court was a 
 widow who had just lost her only 
 child, and to her sad heart little 
 Lina's voice came very sweetly; so 
 they were soon fast friends, and loved 
 each other dearly. 
 
 Mrs. Court was a pious lady, and 
 she soon saw that Lina knew almost 
 as little about God and the Bible as 
 any little pagan, and she began to 
 teach her about the good God, the 
 
12 LIN A AND HER NURSE. 
 
 fall of man, and the death of Christ, 
 and tell her many stories from the 
 Bible. She found the little girl's 
 ears wide open, and she learned very 
 fast about all these good tilings, and 
 Mrs. Court soon had all she could do 
 to tell Lina one half the things she 
 wanted to know. 
 
 "When they came to port in Europe, 
 Mrs. Court asked Lina's papa what 
 he was going to do with his little 
 girl. 
 
 "I have no plan laid as yet," he 
 
LIN A AND TIER NURSE. 13 
 
 said. "My mother is dead, and my 
 sisters have all the little ones they 
 can care for. I suppose I must find 
 a school where I can put Lina." 
 
 "Well, then," said the good lady, 
 " /fiaps you would let her live with 
 me for a while." 
 
 Mr. Gray was very glad, and so it 
 was agreed, to the great joy of Lina, 
 that she should live with Mrs. Court. 
 She found a nice home, made great 
 progress in all her studies, and soon 
 became a real little Christian. But 
 
14 LINA AND HER NURSE. 
 
 with all the new friends that she 
 made, she did not forget those whom 
 she had left in India. She often 
 spoke of her poor old nnrse; and 
 after she learned of God and Christ, 
 her first great wish was that her 
 nurse might learn the same and go 
 to liea ven when she died. 
 
 u my dear mamma," said the 
 little girl one day as she threw her 
 arms about the neck of Mrs. Court, 
 "I do wish I could see my poor nurse 
 just for an hour." 
 
LIN A AND HER NURSE. 15 
 
 "Just for an hour, my child, and 
 then leave her again? that would 
 be worse than not seeing her at 
 all." 
 
 "0 no! no!" said the child with 
 warmth, "for I could tell her a great 
 many things about Jesus Christ, and 
 get her to love and serve him. I do 
 think she would do it if I could see 
 her and talk with her. 1 ' 
 
 "Well, my child," said Mrs. Court, 
 with the tears in her eyes, " as you 
 cannot see her, the next best thing 
 
16 LIN A AND HER NURSE. 
 
 we can do is to find out some pious 
 friend in that land who will seek out 
 your nurse and teach her." 
 
 "0 do! do! and I would be so 
 happy," said the child with great 
 joy, "and tell her that her poor little 
 Lina wants her to be good and meet 
 her in heaven. I used to think of 
 her when I was on the ship and 
 heard you talk so of heaven, and I 
 wished to go there, and then I 
 thought of my poor nurse and feared 
 she would never get there." 
 
LINA AND HER NURSE. 17 
 
 So Mrs. Court wrote to a pious 
 friend whom she knew in India, and 
 asked her to seek out Lisa's nurse 
 and teach her the truth as it is in 
 Jesus. 
 
 At last, after more than a year, a 
 letter came in reply ; but the sad 
 news ! The lady had not been able 
 to find the nurse, so after all noth- 
 ing' had been done. 
 
 By this time Lina's father began 
 to think what he could do about it, 
 and he wrote to one of his friends to 
 
18 LINA AND HER NURSE. 
 
 seek her out if he could and give her 
 some money, and get her taught the 
 way to heaven. After a long time 
 again an answer came to this letter. 
 He had found where the nurse was, 
 and sent her the money ; but she was 
 a long way off from him, and he could 
 not go to see her, nor did he know 
 of any one he could send. This was 
 sad news, and Lina began to think 
 thai she could never get the light of 
 truth to the poor dark soul of her 
 dear nurse. But every day she 
 
LIN A AND HER NURSE. 19 
 
 would pray to God, for she knew 
 that his eye is everywhere, and she 
 hoped that at some day yet the good 
 work would be done. 
 
 Not long after this Mrs. Court 
 met with a good man who was going 
 out to India to preach there, and to 
 teach the poor pagans the way to 
 God. This was the chance Lina 
 had longed wished for, and they soon 
 told the good man all about the nurse, 
 and where she was and what they 
 wanted. He gladly said he would 
 
20 LINA AND [1ER NURSE. 
 
 try to do what he could for them, 
 and he took the gifts that they made 
 up for her and left, and their daily 
 praj^ers went with him. * 
 
 But they heard from him sooner 
 than they had heard from the others, 
 for they read in the papers that the 
 ship in which he sailed was wrecked, 
 and it was thought that all on 
 board were lost. 
 
 Lina was now in her twelfth year, 
 but her health was not good. It 
 was feared she would not live many 
 
UNA AND HER NURSE. 21 
 
 years. This did not seem to make 
 her feel bad. She talked about 
 heaven, and the hope of seeing her 
 mother there ; and her papa, who was 
 now also pious, often talked with her 
 for hours at a time. 
 
 " You will no doubt meet your 
 mother there, my child," he said one 
 day; "she was a true Christian I 
 know, though Y did not think so 
 much of it while she was alive, and 
 I hope you will meet the rest of us 
 too." 
 
22 LINA AND HER NURSE. 
 
 "Yes, dear papa," she said, "and 
 my nurse too." 
 " Your nurse?" 
 
 " Yes, papa, I am sure she will 
 come. I don't know why, only I 
 feel as if God has heard my prayers." 
 
 From that time she was quite at 
 ease about her dear nurse. 
 
 Day by day her health failed, till 
 at last she lay upon the bed of death. 
 A sweet smile was on her face as 
 she looked up and said : " Mamma, 
 papa, my nurse, and my dear Mrs. 
 
LIN A AND HER NURSE. 23 
 
 Court, we shall all meet in heaven," 
 and closed her eyes in that sleep 
 from which none ever wake. 
 
 Three days after this they got a 
 letter from the good man whom they 
 thought lost. He had been saved, 
 had gone to India, had found the 
 nurse, and tried to teach her the way 
 to God. 
 
 She was very glad to hear from 
 her dear child, and she lent hei ear 
 to the words of the good man. 
 
 By and by a second letter came. 
 
24 LIN A AND HER NURSE. 
 
 The nurse had become pious, arid 
 had died happy. This the friends of 
 Lina learned with joy, and long ere 
 this she too has learned that her 
 prayers and efforts for her poor 
 nurse have not been in vain. We 
 hope that Lina and her poor Hindoo 
 nurse are both in heaven. 
 
 THE END.