Transcriber's notes: Unusual and inconsistent spelling is as printed.
New original cover art included with this eBook is granted to the
public domain.
[Illustration: FRONTISPIECE.]
OUT OF THE DEPTHS;
OR,
THE RECTOR'S TRIAL.
————
BY
MRS. MADELINE LESLIE
AUTHOR OF "HOME LIFE," "LESLIE SERIES,"
"TIM THE SCISSORS GRINDER," ETC., ETC.
————
"Out of the depths have I cried to Thee, O Lord."—_David._
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BOSTON:
PUBLISHED BY IRA BRADLEY & CO.
SUCCESSORS TO HENRY HOYT.
Copyrighted
By IRA BRADLEY & CO.
1879.
DEDICATION.
—————
TO MY
Precious Little Ones,
THESE VOLUMES ARE INSCRIBED, BY THEIR LOVING
GRANDMOTHER.
CONTENTS.
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CHAPTER I.
SUNSET
CHAPTER II.
RETROSPECTION
CHAPTER III.
THE MISSIONARY ASSOCIATION
CHAPTER IV.
THE GATHERING CLOUD
CHAPTER V.
THE CLERGYMAN'S DAUGHTER
CHAPTER VI.
FRIENDSHIP
CHAPTER VII.
THE BURDEN SHARED
CHAPTER VIII.
CONFIDENCE
CHAPTER IX.
AULD ROBIN GRAY
CHAPTER X.
THE SQUIRE'S PARTY
CHAPTER XI.
THE IMPORTANT LETTER
CHAPTER XII.
THE CRUEL INNUENDO
CHAPTER XIII.
THE DAUGHTER'S GRIEF
CHAPTER XIV.
COUNSEL AND CLIENT
CHAPTER XV.
"THY WILL BE DONE"
CHAPTER XVI.
THE TELEGRAM
CHAPTER XVII.
THE GATE OF HEAVEN
CHAPTER XVIII.
THE STRANGE PROPOSITION
CHAPTER XIX.
THE COMMITTEE OF REFERENCE
CHAPTER XX.
THE ASTOUNDING DISCOVERY
CHAPTER XXI.
GOD'S ANSWER TO PRAYER
CHAPTER XXII.
CONCLUSION
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OUT OF THE DEPTHS.
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CHAPTER I.
SUNSET.
IT was the close of a lovely day in October, in the year of our
Lord—but no matter what year. The morning king had been heralded by
a rich display of fireworks: and now his departure caused a gorgeous
illumination of the whole western sky. Purple and orange and amber and
scarlet, rose bank upon bank, each color vying with the others in its
endeavor to do honor to the departing monarch.
The place was Canterbury, a thriving village in the suburbs of the
large city of —.
In a room with a pretty bay window looking towards the West, and which
was obviously used as a study or library, a man of grave, earnest
countenance, sat gazing upon the gorgeous scene.
"Wondrous beauty!" he murmured. "The work of thy fingers, O God. Thou
hast prepared the light and the sun."
"Shall I tell you, Henry?" inquired a soft voice at his side. "Of
what I was thinking as I looked upon that display of splendor? These
precious words flashed into my mind:
"'For the Lord God is a sun and shield.'
"Surely a Being who can paint the heavens like that before us, with the
sun as a centre from which all those gorgeous hues radiate,—who likens
himself to a sun, has power to throw light upon the darkest paths.
Believe me, Henry, according to his promise, He will be a shield to us
in the coming storm."
A profound sigh was for a moment the only answer. Then the man, trying
to infuse a tone of hopefulness into his voice, said:
"Thank you, Mary, and I thank God continually, that in the midst of my
trials, I have a hopeful wife. But," he added, sighing again, "I am
heavily burdened. I feel strangely desponding to-night. The adversary
of souls has been busy with me. I am ready to sink. If it were not for
you and our children, I would like to flee and hide myself from the
face of man."
"Oh, Henry! Oh, my husband! You have indeed been tempted. That would
look like guilt, and you are as innocent of this crime as a new born
babe."
"In intention, I certainly am."
"Well, isn't that enough to make us thankful all our lives? Suppose
now, that you had violated your trust, you might then talk of hiding
yourself from man: and I should want to take the children and fly with
you. But we could not hide from God: and only think of the horror
of feeling His anger,—of not daring to ask Him to be our friend and
protector and sun and shield, and refuge from all danger. Oh, Henry,
think of that; nothing certainly, now that you are innocent, can make
us wretched, like knowing that our heavenly Father is angry with us."
"You are right, Mary, and I am wrong,—wanting in faith in Him who
afflicteth his children for their profit. Like Job I will try to say,—
"'Shall we receive good at the hand of the Lord, and shall we not
receive evil?'"
"Look, Henry, the sun has sunk out of sight, but we know, because we
have the promise, that it shall rise again to-morrow to gladden our
hearts. Why can't we feel the same confidence in his promise to work
all things for good to those who love him. You remember the precious
words you took for a text, just before your voice failed.
"'The Lord upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be
bowed down.'"
"Yes, Mary, those are indeed precious words. I have pleaded them in
prayer, and felt their power of late as I never did before,—and the
following verses,—
"'The Lord is nigh to all them that call upon Him, to all that call
upon Him in truth. He will fulfil the desire of them that fear Him: He
also will hear their cry, and will save them. The Lord preserveth all
them that love Him: but all the wicked will he destroy.'"
"Oh, Henry, it does seem as if those words were written expressly for
us. I have never felt so hopeful since—since our trouble came. I see
now why we've had temptations from Satan. We've been trying to carry
our burden ourselves, instead of asking help from above. We won't do so
any more, will we?"
She passed her arm within his, as she spoke, and he turned his face
towards hers, with a glance fraught with love, anxiety and tenderness.
This expression was quickly followed by one of anguish, which in the
deepening twilight she did not see. And it was happy for her that she
did not.
The bell at this moment summoned them to supper, a summons they at
once obeyed, and presently entered an adjoining apartment, sitting
and dining room combined, where Marion, Ruth and Josey stood ready to
receive the praises they felt to be their due for having prepared so
tempting a repast.
A double pile of smoking hot waffles, buttered and sugared to the
taste, was flanked on one side by a dish of stewed pears, and on the
other by a plate of fresh gingerbread. Tea for the elders, and milk for
the children, finished the bill of fare for the meal.
The Rector took his station behind his chair, and with his right hand
slightly raised, as was his custom, proceeded to invoke God's blessing
on the food his providence had provided, after which all took their
seats.
While the younger ones, at least, enjoyed their meal unmindful of cares
or anxieties, we will go back a few years in the history of the family,
and explain the nature of the burden which had fallen on the parents.
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