Every one sang away with cheerful smiling faces, but after the last one came to a conclusion, Dr. Fergusson surprised Jean by standing up to speak. He took every hymn that had been sung in succession, saying a few simple words on each.
Jean had never heard any one speak so before, and when her hymn came to be commented on, she listened with special interest.
The doctor only took the first line. "It is the key to the whole," he said. "We think a good deal of our bodies, and have a selfish love for ourselves, but what care are we taking of our souls? There is One who knows the value of them better than we do, and who loves them. He would not have given up His life for a light thing, nor left His glorious throne and lived a life of poverty and scorn for a trifle. What brought Him from heaven to earth? My soul. He has proved His love for it, and He asks us now to hand it into His keeping."
He passed on to another hymn, but Jean was profoundly touched by his words. She thought of her letter to Miss Lorraine written only an hour before.
"An outsider to every one in the world but you." Here was One who loved the best and immortal part of her.
"I can't be an outsider to Him. I can't get outside His love."
She repeated this over and over to herself. It was another link in the chain of love that was gradually drawing her nearer to the great Soul-lover.
[CHAPTER IX]
THE FIVE MARGARETS
"They're only truly great, who are truly good."—Chapman.