thes were. Oh, it was all so real and so beautiful!' He paused, and I
could hear the men breathing.

'But one Christmas Eve,' he went on, in a lower, sweeter tone, 'there
was no one to tell me the story, and I grew to forget it, and went away
to college, and learned to think that it was only a child's tale and was
not for men. Then bad days came to me and worse, and I began to lose my
grip of myself, of life, of hope, of goodness, till one black Christmas,
in the slums of a faraway city, when I had given up all, and the devil's
arms were about me, I heard the story again. And as I listened, with
a bitter ache in my heart, for I had put it all behind me, I suddenly
found myself peeking under the shepherds' arms with a child's wonder at
the Baby in the straw. Then it came over me like great waves, that His
name was Jesus, because it was He that should save men from their sins.
Save! Save! The waves kept beating upon my ears, and before I knew, I
had called out, "Oh! can He save me?" It was in a little mission meeting
on one of the side streets, and they seemed to be used to that sort of
thing there, for no one was surprised; and a young fellow leaned across
the aisle to me and said, "Why! you just bet He can!" His surprise that
I should doubt, his bright face and confident tone, gave me hope
that perhaps it might be so. I held to that hope with all my soul,
and'--stretching up his arms, and with a quick glow in his face and
a little break in his voice, 'He hasn't failed me yet; not once, not
once!'

He stopped quite short, and I felt a good deal like making a fool of
myself, for in those days I had not made up my mind about these things.
Graeme, poor old chap, was gazing at him with a sad yearning in his dark
eyes; big Sandy was sitting very stiff, and staring harder than ever
into the fire; Baptiste was trembling with excitement; Blaney was openly
wiping the tears away. But the face that held my eyes was that of
old man Nelson. It was white, fierce, hungry-looking, his sunken eyes
burning, his lips parted as if to cry.

The minister went on. 'I didn't mean to tell you this, men, it all came
over me with a rush; but it is true, every word, and not a word will I
take back. And, what's more, I can tell you this, what He did for me
He can do for any man, and it doesn't make any difference what's behind
him, and'--leaning slightly forward, and with a little thrill of pathos
vibrating in his voice--'O boys, why don't you giv