"
"God will do what seemeth good to him."
"I do not understand--God seems so indifferent to my cries."
"My son, God's indifference does not exist; and if to comprehend the
cross of Christ, you must suffer to extremity, I would not spare you,
Richard; though I love you. There are four words that you can say,
which will shake the gates of heaven; which will make the Father meet
you, and the elder Brother welcome you, and the angels sing for joy.
Desolate souls, full of anguish, and yet full of hope, have
comprehended them: _Have mercy upon me!_"
But the soul is a great mystery. How often is it called, and will not
answer. Richard for many weeks could neither believe, nor yet ardently
desire. The hour in which he heard that Phyllis was out of danger was
the hour of his spiritual deliverance. Then a speechless, overwhelming
gratitude took possession of him. He went into his room, and, amid
tears and broken prayers of thankfulness, his heart melted. A wondrous
revelation came to him, the revelation of a love greater than his sin.
He was lost in its rapture, and arose with the sacred, secret sign
of the eternal Father in his soul.
Phyllis saw the change as soon as he knelt down by her side, for his
whole countenance was altered. She drew near to him, and kissed him.
It was after Christmas, and the days bleak and cold; but a great fire
of cedar logs burned in the grate, and Phyllis had been lifted to a
lounge near it.
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