marginal lament
is not written. What help we would have had on our Lord's promise if we
had but taken the trouble to ask for it! And what help we once had, and
have now lost, just because when we had it we did not ask for a
continuance of it! "No," said Greatheart to the porter, and to the two
women, and to James--"No. I will return to my lord to-night. I am at my
lord's commandment; only, if he shall still allot me I shall willingly
wait upon you."

Now, what with the House Beautiful, so full of the most delightful
company; what with music in the house and music in the heart; what with
Mr. Brisk's courtship of Mercy, Matthew's illness, Mr. Skill's cure of
the sick man, and what not--a whole month passed by like a day in that so
happy house. But at last Christiana and Mercy signified it to those of
the house that it was time for them to be up and going. Then said Joseph
to his mother, "It is convenient that you send back to the house of Mr.
Interpreter to pray him to grant that Mr. Greatheart should be sent to us
that he may be our conductor the rest of our way." "Good boy," said she,
"I had almost forgot." So she drew up a petition and prayed Mr. Watchful
the porter to send it by some fit man to her good friend, Mr.
Interpreter; who, when it was come and he had seen the contents of the
petition, said to the messenger, "Go, tell them that I will send him." .
. . Now, about this time one knocked at the door. So the porter opened,
and, behold, Mr. Greatheart was there! But when he came in, what joy was
there! Then said Mr. Greatheart to the two women, "My lord has sent each
of you a bottle of wine, and also some parched corn, together with a
couple of pomegranates. He has also sent the boys some figs and raisins
to refresh you on your way." "The weak may sometimes call the strong to
prayers," I read again in the margin opposite the mention of Joseph's
name. Not that I am strong, and not that she is weak, but one of my
people I spent an hour with last afternoon whom you would to a certainty
have called weak had you seen her and her surrounding,--she so called me
to prayer that I had to hurry home and go straight to it. And all last
night and all this morning I have had as many pomegranates as I could eat
and as much wine as I could drink. Yes; you attend to what the weakest
will sometimes say to you, and they will often put you on the way to get
Greatheart back again with a load of wines and fruits and corn