"No; I _see_ the light, but it is too far away I cannot reach to where
its beams may fall upon me. I see it. It was a tiny hand, that of your
precious little child, which pointed it out, and showed me the way by
which I must go; but my feet have so long trodden the road which leads
to death, that now, when I would set my face the other way, they falter
and stumble. I cannot even stand, much less go forward. Bradford, I am
a far worse cripple there than I am in this outer world."
"There is one prop which cannot fail you," said Mr. Bradford. "Throw
away all others, and cast yourself upon the almighty arm which is
stretched out to sustain and aid you. You may not see it in the
darkness which is about you, but it is surely there, ready to receive
and uphold you. Only believe, and trust yourself to it, and it will
bear you onwards and upwards to the light, unto the shining of the
perfect day."
Colonel Rush did not answer, and Mr. Bradford, opening the Bible, read
the 92d and 118th Psalms. Then he chose the chapter which the colonel
and Bessie had read in the morning, and after he had talked a little,
"Marion," said the colonel, after some time, "do you know a hymn
beginning
'I was a wandering sheep'?"
"Yes," said Mrs. Rush; and in her low, sweet voice, she sang it to
him. Next she sang, "Just as I am," twice over,--for he asked for it a
second time,--then both sat silent for a long while.
The rosy light of the August sunset died out of the west, the evening
star which little Bessie had once said looked "like God's eye taking
care of her when she went to sleep," shone out bright and peaceful;
then, as it grew darker and darker, came forth another and another
star, and looked down on the world which God had loved so much, till
the whole sky was brilliant with them; the soft, cool sea-breeze came
gently in at the windows, bringing with it the gentle plash of the
waves upon the shore, mingled with the chirp of the crickets and the
distant hum of voices from the far end of the piazza; but no one came
near or disturbed them; and still the colonel sat with his face turned
towards the sea, without either speaking or moving, till his wife, as
she sat with her hand in his, wondered if he could be asleep.