“Vy!” he exclaimed, “von time my moder have vear ze flowers like dis.  Ce go vare von lady sing vot have come fon Italy; my fader go mit her dare.  And von time ze lady come to my moder’s house, and ce sing to ze harp, and ce sing to ze piano, and my moder and my fader sing mit her; and ce stay dare to ze supper, and much peoples come to ze supper.”

I remained with Little Jakey that night, and when all were still, and the night taper was glimmering faintly through the room, I felt his little hand pull mine, as if he would draw me closer to him.

“What, dear?” I said, stooping over him.

“I tink I die,” he whispered; “I tink I go im Himmel mit my moder, and mit ze baby, and mit Meme.”

“Why, Jakey,” I asked, coaxingly, “what makes you think so?”

“Vy, ven ze baby die, ce be sick; and ven my moder die, ce be sick; and ven Meme die, ce be sick; and I be sick, and I tink I die.”

“So you are, very sick indeed, dear Jakey,” I said; “but you will not be sorry to die, will you, dear?”

“No, I not sorry; but all ze time I tink, How vill it be?  Ven Gott take me im Himmel, vill he come mit me in ze leetle boat? zen vill he come mit me in ze big boat, mit ze big fire? and zen vill he come in ze big ship, mit ze tree vay high, and mit ze sail? and ven ze vinds blow too hard, and ze ship come crash on ze rock, and all ze peoples cry, vill Gott hold me tight in hees arms, like my moder?”

“Yes, you dear, dear child,” I said, “God will surely keep you close in his arms always, and when you come where he is, dear Jakey, your sweet eyes will have the light in them.  You will see the stars then, and the angels, and all the good people who have gone to heaven from this world, and God, and his dear Son, Jesus.  You know about him, do you not?  He loves little children.”

“Yes, I know him,” he said; “my moder have tell me dot von time he have come fon Himmel in ze vorld, and ze wicked men have kill him; zey have nail him to ze tree; and my moder say dot Jazu be ze Lord, and dot he love ze little children, and von time he have lif zem in hees arms; and he say dot he love zem all, and dot he vill bring zem im Himmel mit him, ven zey bees good.  Meme ce know him too, and much times ce talk mit him in ze prayer vot ce say; and ce say dot he hear her, ce know he do.  Ze good man know him, and much he talk mit him in ze Meeting; but to ze table he not talk, he tink mit him, mit hees hands so (crossing his own little ones, as if in the act of devotion).  Georgy do dot vay, and Franky, and zey all; and Mary tell me, and I do dot vay.”

After a little, he asked again with great earnestness,—­

“How vill it be?  If Gott not know ven I die, and if he bees not here, vill zey keep me von day and von day, vile he come?”

“O yes, dear Jakey.”  I said; “but God will be here.  He is here now.  Let me explain it to you.  God is a great Spirit, and he is everywhere.  You have a little spirit in you, too, Jakey, that makes you talk and think and feel; now, while your spirit is shut up in your little body here, it cannot see God, but when this little body dies, your spirit will come out, and then it will see God, and see everything, and have wings and rise up, like the angels, and fly away to heaven, or Himmel, as you call it.”