some day before the throne of
God and of the Lamb. Yes; I'm not afraid of the open Book for him, poor
boy, for long afore that day I knew he'd taken his sailing orders under
the Great Captain. 'Father,' he's said to me, 'I know Jesus Christ has
_died_ for me; I must _live_ for him.' And when the poor body was washed
ashore, there was his little Testament in his pocket, all dripping with
the sea water. I dried it, and found it could still be read, and even
some of his marks; there's not another thing I prize so much."

Old George took the little unsightly-looking volume from his pocket, and
gave it reverently to us to look at, and Aleck and I bent over it
together, and deciphered on the title-page, in crooked lines of round
handwriting, the name, _Ralph Groves_--_his book_; and underneath was a
verse of a hymn, evidently remembered and not copied, which must have
been one of those sung amongst the Methodists on that part of the coast
where, as George told me, Ralph used to attend their meetings.

"Lord Jesus, be my constant Guide,
Then when the word is given,
Bid death's dark stream its waves divide,
And land me safe in heaven."

"You see, young gentlemen," resumed George, when we had given him back
the little book, "things which seem hard to bear--ay, and _are_ hard to
bear now--are but little things after all, and will be as nothing in
that day when all wrong words and tempers will seem great things, far
greater than we sometimes think."

Aleck and I had listened with full hearts to Groves's touching account
of his son's death, and it was in a subdued quiet manner that we rose up
from our meal and settled ourselves again in the boat. There was
evidently an inward struggle going on in my cousin's mind, and I almost
feared that he was going to ask my pardon, which I should have disliked,
knowing myself to be so much the most in the wrong. It was quite a
relief to find that in this I was mistaken; he only remained, as before,
very silent; and I, too, was silent, and found myself, with eyes fixed
on the water, thinking of George's son, and of the opened Book, and
wondering concerning the things written therein, and whether all that
had happened this day would be found there; whilst old George's words
seemed to repeat themselves over in my mind, and I kept saying to
myself, "The loss of the ship will be a very little thing then, whilst
all wrong words and tempers will seem greater than we think."