air or more
removed from any sort of discordance. Esther stood looking, and her
heart calmed down. She had been feeling distressed under the question
of ways and means; now it occurred to her, 'Take no thought for the
morrow, what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink; your Father knoweth
that ye have need of all these things.' And as the words came, Esther
shook off the trouble they condemn; shook it off her shoulders, as it
were, and left it lying. Still she felt alone, she wished for Pitt
Dallas, or for _somebody;_ she had no one but her father in all the
world, nor the hope of any one. And happy as she really was, yet the
human instinct would stir in Esther--the instinct that longs for
intercourse, sympathy, affection; somebody to talk to, to counsel with,
to share in her joys and sorrows and experiences generally. It is a
perfectly natural and justifiable desire; stronger, perhaps, in the
young than in the old, for the old know better how much and how little
society amounts to, and are not apt to have such violent longings in
general for anything. But also to the old, loving companionship is
inexpressibly precious; the best thing by far that this world contains
or this life knows. And Esther longed for it now, even till tears rose
and dimmed her sight, and made all the moonshiny landscape swim and
melt and be lost in the watery veil. But then, as the veil cleared and
the moonlight came into view again, came also other words into Esther's
mind,--'Be content with such things as ye have; for He hath said, I
will never leave thee nor forsake thee.'

She cleared away her tears and smiled to herself, in happy assurance
and wonder that she should have forgotten. And with that, other words
still came to her; words that had never seemed so exceeding sweet
before.

'None of them that trust in Him shall be desolate.'--That is a sure
promise. 'Fear not, Abraham; _I_ am thy shield, and thine exceeding
great reward.'--Probably, when this word was given, the father of the
faithful was labouring under the very same temptation, to think himself
alone and lonely. And the answer to his fears must be sufficient, or He
who spoke it would never have spoken it to him just at that time.

Esther stood a while at her window, thinking over these things, with a
rest and comfort of heart indescribable; and finally laid herself down
to rest with the last shadow gone from her spirit.

It could not be, however, but that the question returned th