ssed by beheld this
remarkable sight:--a lion and an ass standing sentry, one on either side
of the dead body of the man of God; and there they remained until the old
prophet from Bethel arrived, to fetch away the body and bury it."

"Extraordinary!" said Lady Ingleby. "So they did. And now one comes to
think of it there are plenty of similar instances. The instinct of the
serpent which Moses lifted up on a pole, would have been to come
scriggling down, and go about biting the Israelites, instead of staying
up on the pole, to be looked at for their healing."

The doctor smiled. "Quite so," he said, "Only, we must not quote him as
an instance; because, being made of brass, I fear he was devoid of
instinct. Otherwise he would have been an excellent case in point. And I
believe animals possess far more spiritual life than we suspect. Do you
remember a passage in the Psalms which says that the lions 'seek their
meat from God'? And, more striking still, in the same Psalm we read of
the whole brute creation, that when God hides His face 'they are
troubled.' Good heavens!" said the doctor, earnestly; "I wish _our_
spiritual life always answered to these two tests:--that God's will
should be paramount over our strongest instincts; and that any cloud
between us and the light of His face, should cause us instant trouble of
soul."

"I like that expression 'spiritual life,'" said Lady Ingleby. "I am sure
you mean by it what other people sometimes express so differently. Did
you hear of the Duchess of Meldrum attending that big evangelistic
meeting in the Albert Hall? I really don't know exactly what it was. Some
sort of non-sectarian mission, I gather, with a preacher over from
America; and the meetings went on for a fortnight. It would never have
occurred to me to go to them. But the dear old duchess always likes to be
'in the know' and to sample everything. Besides, she holds a proprietary
stall. So she sailed into the Albert Hall one afternoon, in excellent
time, and remained throughout the entire proceedings. She enjoyed the
singing; thought the vast listening crowd, marvellous; was moved to tears
by the eloquence of the preacher, and was leaving the hall more touched
than she had been for years, and fully intending to return, bringing
others with her, when a smug person, hovering about the entrance,
accosted her with: 'Excuse me madam; are you a Christian?' The duchess
raised her lorgnette in blank amazement, and looked him