Young
as she was, her countenance, as she lifted it toward him, was motherly.
She remembered what a mere boy he was, fair and hopeful, when she had
first seen him three years before, and now strong lines of purpose and
endurance were written upon the face that was thin and pale, the paler,
it seemed, because of the transient colour that the storm had given a
moment since to the clear skin.

"I would that thou didst not need to hear, but it is not for us to turn
our eyes from that which the Lord hath written for our instruction in
the suffering of our brethren." Then he added, "The elders from Zion
have told us all. There was great joy and prosperity among them, and the
more foolish boasted of their wealth to the Gentiles, saying also that
the Lord had given the whole land to them for an inheritance."

"That, indeed, was very foolish," said Susannah.

"Nay, but it was small blame to them, for that which they said is true.
But among the Gentiles the political demagogues began to be afraid that
we should rule the country by the number of our votes. The Gentiles
gathered together in the town of Independence, and three hundred of them
signed a declaration demanding that every one in Zion should sell all
that he possessed and leave the country within a certain time, and that
none other of us should settle there."

"But forced sale would mean that no fair value would be given for the
property; it would be simple robbery," she cried; "and they call this
the land of freedom!"

"They appealed to the Governor of Missouri, but they found that the
Lieutenant-Governor, a man called Boggs, was among the fiercest of the
persecutors. As for the Governor himself, he advised them to resort to
the courts for damages."

"What next?" She was impatient at a pause he made.

He knelt down upon the floor in front of her, laying a calming hand upon
her shoulder. "Susannah, there is this one great cause for our deep
gratitude to heaven, that this time all our elders with one voice called
upon our people to bear with patience, to cry to God to cleanse their
hearts from all anger and revenge."

"I suppose that was well," she said, but with hesitation.

By the gentle pressure of his hand he still expressed his sympathy for
her pain in listening. "Lawyers were engaged to carry the matter through
the courts. But no sooner was it known that the thing was to be publicly
tried than the Gentiles rose in arms. For three nights they entered the
ho