aimed his wife. "Thee would'st not
set John at that!"

"Lincoln split rails," said John with a smile, "why should not I pile
them? It's clean work, and honest, Mrs. Makepeace."

"He has a logging camp in the winter. Thee would'st have good pay then,
John."

"But thee would'st be so lonely, John, amongst all those rough men! And
thee did'st say once it was dangerous, Joseph. It's not fit work for
John."

"I am not afraid of work, Mrs. Makepeace, and I can never be lonely with
Jesus Christ."

* * * * *

In far Vermont Evadne was reading aloud from a paper she had brought
from the post-office. "The whole sum of Christian living is just
loving." "Do you believe that, Aunt Marthe?"

"Surely, dear child. Love is the fulfilling of the law, you know. When
we love God with our whole heart, and our neighbor as ourselves, there
is no danger of our breaking the Decalogue. 'He who loveth knoweth God,'
and 'to know him is life eternal.'"

"Just love," said Evadne musingly. "It seems so simple."

"Do you think so?" said Aunt Marthe with a smile. "Yet people find it
the hardest thing to do, as it is surely the noblest. Drummond calls it
'the greatest thing in the world' and you have Paul's definition of it
in Corinthians. Did you ever study that to see how perfect love would
make us?

"'Love suffereth long,' that does away with impatience; 'and is kind,'
that makes us neighborly; 'love envieth not,' that saves from
covetousness; 'vaunteth not itself,' that does away with self-conceit;
'seeketh not its own,' that kills selfishness; 'is not provoked,' that
shows we are forgiving; 'rejoiceth not in unrighteousness,' makes us
love only what is pure; 'covereth [Footnote: Marginal rendering.] all
things,' that leaves no room for scandal; 'believeth all things,' that
does away with doubt; 'hopeth all things,' that is the antithesis of
distrust; 'endureth all things,' proves that we are strong; and then the
beautiful summing up of the whole matter, 'love never faileth.' If that
is true of us, it can only be as we are filled with the spirit of the
Christ of God, 'whose nature and whose name is love.'"

"You see such beautiful things in the Bible!" said Evadne despairingly,
"why cannot I get below the surface?"

"You will, dearie. You forget I have been digging nuggets from this
precious mine for years and you have just begun to search for them.
Would you like another drive, or do you feel too tired