'Ay, dear Miss Gwen, it isn't a preach! How often you come up here to have a cup o' tea to refresh your bodies! and 'tis a bit of refreshment to your souls that I'm now makin' so bold as to offer.' Nannie turned over the pages of her beloved Bible with a reverent hand, then she looked across at Agatha.
'My dear Miss Agatha, there are four verses here, with a command and a promise. I should like to give you each one to think of, through all the troubles and trials that may come to you. Will you mark it in your own Bibles, and live it out, remembering it was Nannie's verse for you, so that when I'm dead and gone you may still have the comfort and teachin' of it?'
Agatha was touched by the old woman's solemn earnestness.
'Yes, Nannie, give it to me, and I will try and put it "into practice."'
Nannie's voice rang out in the dusky firelit room, as she repeated, more from memory than by sight,—
'Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed!'
'Thank you, Nannie,' said Agatha after a pause, 'I will look it up and remember it.'
'Now mine, please,' said Gwen, looking over the old woman's shoulder. 'Is it the next verse for me?'
'No, my dear, I think not. It seems to me that this must be the Lord's word to you: "Commit thy way unto the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass."'
'You have given me that because you think I like choosing my own way through life, now haven't you?'