creed or attaching himself to
any special church--that was to come later; but he had learned, by the
mystery of his own fatherhood, to stretch out groping hands toward the
great Fatherhood that had called him into being; and by his own love for
his suffering child to know something of the Love that passeth
knowledge. Therefore Alan Tremaine was a better and wiser man than he
had been in times past. A strong friendship had gradually grown up
between himself and Christopher Thornley; and it was a friendship which
was good for both of them. Though Christopher never talked about his
religious beliefs, he lived them; and it is living epistles such as this
which are best known and read of all thoughtful men, and which--far more
than all the books and sermons ever written--are gradually converting
the kingdoms of this world into the kingdoms of our Lord and of His
Christ. Alan would have refuted--to his own satisfaction, if not to
Christopher's--any arguments which the latter might have brought forward
in favour of Christianity; but he could not refute the evidence of a
life which could never have been lived but for that Other Life lived in
Judaea nineteen centuries ago. Perhaps his friendship with Christopher
did as much for Alan as his love for Willie in opening his eyes to the
hidden things of God.

The intercourse with the Tremaines was, on the other hand, of great
advantage to Christopher, as it afforded him the opportunity of meeting
and mixing with men as clever and as cultivated as himself, which is not
always easy for a lonely man in a provincial town who devotes his
loneliness to intellectual pursuits. Christopher was fast becoming one
of the most influential men in Mershire; and his able management of the
Osierfield had raised those works to a greater height of prosperity than
they had ever attained before, even in the days of William and John
Farringdon.

But now the shadows were darkening around Alan Tremaine, as day by day
Willie gradually faded away. Felicia, too, at last awoke to the real
state of the case, and, in her way, was almost as anxious as her
husband.

During the spring-time, as Willie's life grew shorter with the
lengthening days, the child's chiefest delight lay in visits from
Christopher. For Elisabeth's sake Christopher had always felt an
interest in little Willie. Had not her dear hands fondled the child,
before they were too busy to do anything but weave spells to charm the
whole world? And