ected and must,
she thought, be over seventy. His whole bearing and behaviour was of a
man who had enjoyed great physical health. His expression was mild and
simple, dignified but not proud, utterly unconscious of self, earnest
and determined, lacking in humour perhaps. There was nothing in the
least theatrical about him and yet he conveyed an impression that was
startling and dramatic. His was a figure that would have been noticed
anywhere, if only for its physical health and shining cleanliness.
Maggie felt that to many people there his entrance was a sensation,
sought for and expected by them. So startling was the impression that
he made upon herself that she wondered that the chapel was not crowded
by an excited throng. She liked him at once, felt that she would be at
ease with him as she had never been with anybody in her life. And yet
behind this there was perhaps some subtle sense of disappointment. He
was not mysterious, he did not seem very clever; he was only an old
man, magnificently preserved. There was no fear nor wonder in her
attitude to him. He could not convince her, she thought, of things that
she herself had not seen.

He knelt and prayed for a moment before his desk, then he rose and,
with his hands resting on the wood before him, said: "Let us offer
thanks to Almighty God that He has kept us in safety and in health
during the past week." They all knelt down. He prayed then, in a voice
that was soft and clear and that hid behind the words a little
roughness of accent that was not unpleasant. His prayer was extempore,
and he addressed God intimately and almost conversationally. "Thou
knowest how we are weak and foolish, our faults are all known to Thee
and our blunders are not hid, therefore we thank Thee that Thou hast
not been impatient with us, but, seeing that we are but little children
in Thy hands, hast deemed the thunderbolt too heavy for our heads and
the lightning too blinding for our eyes. With humble hearts we thank
Thee, and pray that Thou wilt keep us mindful of Thy coming, that we
may be found watching, with our loins girt and our lamps lit, waiting
in prayer for Thy dreadful day..."

During this prayer Maggie was conscious of a strange excitement. She
knelt with her eyes tightly closed, but through the darkness she felt
as though he were addressing her alone. She seemed to approach him, to
feel his hands upon her shoulders, to hear his voice in her ears. When
she rose at the ending of