TELL me, dear Nellie, do you ever think of the way in which we are kept, day by day, from danger of all kinds, some and some unseen? Yes, father, I am often afraid of getting into danger, of being run over in the streets, or falling down, but somehow I seem always to escape, so perhaps it is God's care over me. Yes, Nellie, surely it is of God's goodness, to keep you in safety. I heard of a woman not long ago who stepped on a piece of orange peel and fell heavily; she could not save herself, and was much hurt.
When I went to school, too, there was a boy who had a deep scar just under his eye; this was the result of a fall from a little chair on to the fire-grate. Some one heard his screams or he might have been burnt to death.
Why did not God save him from that accident, father? Well, my dear, we cannot always tell why God permits things to happen, but no doubt it was for a wise purpose. Perhaps as a voice to his parents, to teach them some lesson for their good, or may be for the boy's own sake, to remind him all through life how near we all are to eternity.