e back, would have also
fretted him, but believing surely that she would be happy after his
death, he did not now trouble; and he could not help owning to himself
that the presence of his dearly loved daughter was a comfort too great
to be lightly dispensed with. He was too much absorbed with himself to
notice the strangeness of Hinton's absence, and he did not perceive, as
he otherwise would have done, that Charlotte's face was growing thin and
pale, and that there was a subdued, almost crushed manner about the
hitherto spirited creature, which not even his present state of health
could altogether account for.

Yes, John Harman lived his self-absorbed life, going day by day a little
further into the valley of the shadow of death. The valley he was
entering looked very dark indeed to the old man, for the sin of his
youth was still unforgiven, and he could not see even a glimpse of the
Good Shepherd's rod and staff. Still he was searching day and night for
some road of peace and forgiveness; he wanted the Redeemer of all the
world to lay His hand upon his bowed old head. The mistake he was still
making was this--he would not take God's way of peace, he must find his
own.

One evening, after Charlotte had left him, he sat for a long time in his
study lost in thought. After a time he rose and took down once more from
the shelf the Bible which he had opened some time before; then it had
given him the reverse of comfort, and he scarcely, as he removed it from
the place where he had pushed it far back out of sight, knew why he
again touched it. He did, however, take it in his hand, and return with
it to his chair. He drew the chair up to the table and laid the old
Bible upon it. He opened it haphazard; he was not a man who had ever
studied or loved the Bible; he was not acquainted with all its contents
and the story on which his eyes rested came almost with the freshness of
novelty.

"Two men went up into the Temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the
other a publican.

"The publican would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but
smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me, a sinner.

"I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the
other."

John Harman read the story twice.

"This man went down to his house justified rather than the other."

The other! he fasted, and gave alms, and thanked God that he was not as
this publican--this publican, who was a sinner.

But the Bible