tant presence,--to Him as the only true comforter and
sustainer either in sorrow and temptation,--that, simple as was the
language and unpretentious the style, it touched the deepest springs
in Lucy's heart, and she leaned back in her seat to hide the soothing,
happy tears.

Edwin, however, from his end of the pew could see that she was crying,
and began, out of curiosity, to listen to the sermon, to find out what
it was that affected her so much. At first he thought it very odd that
she should have been so moved by it; but gradually, as he listened to
the earnest words in which the preacher, speaking evidently from his
own heart, dwelt upon all that Christ might be to the weary soul which
had tried earthly pleasures and found them wanting, earthly cisterns
and found them broken,--a fountain of refreshing, giving strength and
energy for the journey of life, the "shadow of a great rock in a weary
land," giving to the weary wayfarer rest and shelter from the burden
and heat of the day,--he began to feel, in spite of his indifference,
that there might be a nobler, happier ideal of life than that of
seeking to fill the hours as they passed with every variety of
pleasure within reach. But it was only a passing thought. Old habits
of thinking, so long indulged, came back to fill up his mind as soon
as the voice of the speaker had ceased. His plan of life was not
likely to be altered yet.

Lucy walked very silently home, watching the starlight trembling
through the crystal air, and wondering in what remote, inconceivable
sphere are passed those beloved existences which are lost to us here.
And then came the happy thought that, though they seem so remote and
inaccessible, the Saviour is near at once to them and to those who are
left below, and that in communion with Him there may be a point of
contact, intangible, it is true, but none the less real. Edwin, as he
languidly wondered what his quiet cousin was thinking about, did not
know that there was a distance immeasurable between his thoughts and
hers.

Next day Lucy accompanied her cousin to school, that she might be at
once introduced to her new classes and studies. When her acquirements
had been duly tested, she found that, while in some superficial
accomplishments she was considerably behind Stella, yet in other
studies, more solid in their nature, and requiring greater accuracy
and deeper thought, she was far in advance of her cousin. This might
have considerably incr