bore
passed close by her on the way to the table, an instant sense of quiet
and security settled down on her. Nervousness died away. There was one
person there now that she knew; the question of his coming was settled,
and her coming was not for nothing; and moreover, whatever business he
was concerned in was right, in all its parts! She was sure of that. She
watched him, with a great bound of exultation in her heart; watched him
kneel down for prayer as he reached his place; and wondered, while awe
mixed with her wonder, how he could do it, before and amongst all those
people as he was; not shut off in a distant chancel alone by himself,
but there with everybody crowding upon him. Her wonder had but little
space to exercise itself. After a few minutes Mr. Rhys rose and gave
out a hymn; and every thought of Eleanor's was concentrated on the
business and on the speaker.

She knew nothing about hymns except that they were sung in church; all
such lyrics were unfamiliar to her, though the music of them was not.
It was always stately music, with an organ, in the swell of which the
words were lost. There could be no organ in a barn. Instead of that,
the whole assembly rose to their feet and struck out together into a
sweet air which they sung with a vast deal of spirit. No difficulty
about hearing the words now; the music was not at a distance; the words
were coming from every lip near Eleanor, and were sung as if they were
a personal matter. Perhaps she was in a mood to be easily touched; but
the singing did reach her and move her profoundly.

"When I can read my title clear To mansions in the skies, I'll bid
farewell to every fear, And wipe my weeping eyes."

The sense of this, Eleanor did not thoroughly understand, yet the
general spirit of it was not to be mistaken. And the soft repetition of
the last line struck her heart sorrowfully. Here was her want breathed
out again. "And wipe my weeping eyes.--I'll bid farewell to every fear,
and wipe my weeping eyes." Eleanor was perhaps the only one who did not
sing; nobody paid better attention.

The hymn was followed by a prayer. If the one had touched Eleanor, the
other prostrated her in the dust. She heard a child of God speaking to
his Father; with a simplicity of utterance, a freedom of access, and a
glow of happy affections, evident in every quietly spoken word, that
testified to his possession of the heavenly treasures that were on his
tongue; and made Eleanor f