The Project Gutenberg EBook of All's for the Best, by T. S. Arthur

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Title: All's for the Best

Author: T. S. Arthur

Posting Date: August 8, 2009 [EBook #4589]
Release Date: October, 2003
First Posted: February 12, 2002

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ALL'S FOR THE BEST ***

Produced by Charles Aldarondo. HTML version by Al Haines.

ALL'S FOR THE BEST.

BY

T. S. ARTHUR.

PHILADELPHIA:

1869.

CONTENTS.

I. FAITH AND PATIENCE.
II. IS HE A CHRISTIAN?
III. "RICH AND RARE WERE THE GEMS SHE WORE."
IV. NOT AS A CHILD.
V. ANGELS IN THE HEART.
VI. CAST DOWN, BUT NOT DESTROYED.
VII. GOOD GROUND.
VIII. GIVING THAT DOTH NOT IMPOVERISH.
IX. WAS IT MURDER, OR SUICIDE?
X. THE NURSERY MAID.
XI. MY FATHER.
XII. THE CHRISTIAN GENTLEMAN.

ALL'S FOR THE BEST.

I.

FAITH AND PATIENCE.

"_I HAVE_ no faith in anything," said a poor doubter, who had trusted
in human prudence, and been disappointed; who had endeavored to walk by
the lumine of self-derived intelligence, instead of by the light of
divine truth, and so lost his way in the world. He was fifty years old!
What a sad confession for a man thus far on the journey of life. "No
faith in anything."

"You have faith in God, Mr. Fanshaw," replied the gentleman to whom the
remark was made.

"In God? I don't know him." And Mr. Fanshaw shook his head, in a
bewildered sort of way. There was no levity in his manner. "People talk
a great deal about God, and their knowledge of him," he added, but not
irreverently. "I think there is often more of pious cant in all this
than of living experience. You speak about faith in God. What is the
ground of your faith?"

"We have internal sight, as well as external sight."

There was no response to this in Mr. Fanshaw's face.

"We can see with the mind, as well as with the eyes."

"How?"

"An architect sees the building, in all its fine proportions, with the
eyes of his mind, before it exists in space visible to his bodily eyes."

"Oh! that is your meaning, friend Wilkins," said Mr. Fanshaw, his
countenance brighte