ould rather approach God, bearing in
careful hands the priceless and precious gift of life, ready to restore
it if it be his will. God grant us so to live, in courage and trust,
that, when he calls us, we may pass willingly and with a quiet
confidence to the gate that opens into tracts unknown!

CONCLUSION

_And now I will try if I can in a few words to sum up what the purpose
of this little volume has been, these pages torn from my book of life,
though I hope that some of my readers may, before now, have discerned
it for themselves. _The Thread of Gold_ has two chief qualities. It
is bright, and it is strong; it gleams with a still and precious light
in the darkness, glowing with the reflected radiance of the little lamp
that we carry to guide our feet, and adding to the ray some rich tinge
from its own goodly heart; and it is strong too; it cannot easily be
broken; it leads a man faithfully through the dim passages of the cave
in which he wanders, with the dark earth piled above his head._

_The two qualities that we should keep with us in our journey through a
world where it seems that so much must be dark, are a certain rich
fiery essence, a glowing ardour of spirit, a mind of lofty temper,
athirst for all that is noble and beautiful. That first; and to that
we must add a certain soberness and sedateness of mood, a smiling
tranquillity, a true directness of aim, that should lead us not to form
our ideas and opinions too swiftly and too firmly; for then we suffer
from an anxious vexation when experience contradicts hope, when things
turn out different from what we had desired and supposed. We should
deal with life in a generous and high-hearted mood, giving men credit
for lofty aims and noble imaginings, and not be cast down if we do not
see these purposes blazing and glowing on the surface of things; we
should believe that such great motives are there even if we cannot see
them; and then we should sustain our lively expectations with a deep
and faithful confidence, assured that we are being tenderly and wisely
led, and that the things which the Father shows us by the way, if they
bewilder, and disappoint, and even terrify us, have yet some great and
wonderful meaning, if we can but interpret them rightly. Nay, that the
very delaying of these secrets to draw near to our souls, holds within
it a strong and temperate virtue for our spirits._

_Neither of these great qualities, ardour and tranquillity, ca