r there. What was she to do?

Presently her eyes rested upon her mother's picture hanging on the
wall. She studied it lovingly and longingly, and then, "Mother!
Mother!" burst from her lips. "Oh, I want you, I want you! Come to me
to-night, and comfort me as of old."

And as she stood there her mother's parting words came to her mind.
"Nellie," she had said, "you are young and a great responsibility rests
upon you. You will fail if you try to bear it alone. There is One to
Whom you can always go, and He will help you in all your troubles."

At once a new light came into her eyes. There was One who had promised
to help. Why had she forgotten Him? Kneeling down by the side of her
bed, she prayed as she had never prayed before. And as she thus knelt,
a new peace stole into her heart, and it seemed to her as if a divine
presence pervaded the room, bringing a restful balm to her weary body
and mind.

CHAPTER XVIII

SILENT STRIFE

Douglas was hoeing corn on a patch of ground near the road. It was a
beautiful day, and the air was filled with teeming life of bird and
insect. But the silent worker was in no mood to enjoy the fair
morning. He was thinking deeply of what he had witnessed down by the
river the evening before. As far as he could tell, Nell and Ben were
on most friendly terms, for he knew nothing of the stormy scene which
had taken place between them.

Across the road was the rectory, seeming more dilapidated than ever, so
he thought. Only yesterday he had looked at it, and a picture had come
into his mind of the building renewed, the house set to rights, and
Nell crowning it all by her grace and beauty. He had imagined her in
the garden, among the roses, sweet-peas and morning-glories, the
fairest flower of them all. He knew just how she would look, and what
a joy it would be to her to tend the various plants. And then what a
welcome she would give him upon his return from some parish work. He
had dreamed of it all out in the field, and it had made him very happy.
What a success he would make of life with Nell's inspiration and
helpfulness. But now his vision was shattered, and the future looked
dark and lonely. Nell could never be his, and why should he think of
her any more? She had given herself, no doubt, to Ben Stubbles, so
that ended it.

It seemed to Douglas as if everything he undertook was a failure. He
had not succeeded with his work at St. Margaret's, and he had beco