"Beulah!"
"Well, sir."
"You have changed in many things since we parted, nearly six years ago!"
"Yes; I thank God, I am changed. My infidelity was a source of many sorrows; but the clouds have passed from my mind; I have found the truth in Holy Writ." Now she raised her head, and looked at him very earnestly.
"Child, does your faith make you happy?"
"Yes; the universe could not purchase it," she answered solemnly.
There was a brief silence. He put both hands on her shoulders, and, stooping down, kissed her brow.
"And you prayed for me, Beulah?"
"Yes; evening and morning. Prayed that you might be shielded from all dangers and brought safely home. And there was one other thing which I prayed for not less fervently than for your return: that God would melt your hard, bitter heart, and give you a knowledge of the truth of the Christian religion. Oh, sir, I thought sometimes that possibly you might die in a far-off land, and then I should see you no more, in time or eternity! and oh, the thought nearly drove me wild! My guardian, my all, let me not have prayed in vain." She clasped his hand in hers, and looked up pleadingly into the loved face; and, for the first time in her life, she saw tears glistening in the burning eyes. He said nothing, however; took her face in his hands, and scanned it earnestly, as if reading all that had passed during his long absence. Presently he asked:
"So you would not marry Lindsay and go to Congress. Why not?"