nt, and the Domine stood or sat at
the foot of the bed, and all was intensely still.

"Great things are passing in the soul now," he said to the women. "It
is contemplating the past. It is judging itself. It is bearing witness
to the righteousness and mercy of its Maker. Pray that it may come
from this great assize justified through Christ." Soon after, he added
"The tide has turned, he will go out with the tide. Stand near him
now, and sing softly with me his last human prayer:

"Jesus, lover of my soul,
Let me to thy bosom fly;
While the nearer waters roll,
While the tempest still is nigh:
Hide me, oh my Saviour, hide!
Till the storm of life is past,
Safe into the haven guide,
Oh receive my soul at last!"

Once the dying man opened his eyes, once he smiled, but ere the last
line was finished, James Ruleson had

Gone on that long voyage all men take,
And with angelic help, had once again,
By unknown waters, entered a new world.

Time waits neither for the living nor the dead, and when a month had
come and gone, Margot and Christine had accepted, in some measure,
their inevitable condition. Ruleson had left his small affairs beyond
all dispute. His cottage was bequeathed entirely to his wife and
daughter, "for all the days of their lives." His boat was to be sold,
and the proceeds given to his widow. The two hundred cash he had in
the bank was also Margot's, and the few acres of land he owned he gave
to his eldest son, Norman, who had stood faithfully by his side
through all his good and evil days. No one was dissatisfied except
Norman's wife, who said her man, being the eldest born, had a full
right to house and cash, and a' there was, saving Margot's lawful
widow right. She said this so often that she positively convinced
herself of its rightness and justice, "and some day," she frequently
added, "I will let Mistress and Miss Ruleson know the ground on which
they stand." To Norman, she was more explicit and denunciatory--and he
let her talk.

It had been very positively stated in the adoption of James Ruleson,
the younger, that the simple decease of his grandfather made him the
adopted son of the Domine, and it was thought best to carry out this
provision without delay. Margot had been seriously ill after the
funeral, and she said calmly now, that she was only waiting until her
change came. But life still struggled bravely within her for its
promised length, and the Domine sai