"Yes, mamma; the theatre was the worst. But somehow the stories he told me seem to feel the worst to me; and though I kept on telling him, I didn't want to hear, he only laughed and went on."
Mrs. Arundel laid her face on her boy's hand, and warm tears and kisses fell upon it. "My dear, dear boy!" she said.
"Do you think you will ever trust me again?" he asked, clasping her round the neck, and weeping.
"Indeed, indeed I shall."
"You must tell papa," said Arthur, in a low tone. "I do not think I can. But, oh, mamma, I am so very thankful I woke up in time."
"What made you think, dearest?"
"It was a story papa told me once; and when Frank and I were sitting in the Zoological Gardens to-day, it flashed across me, and all at once I felt as if I had been standing on the edge of a precipice without knowing it."
"Had you read your Bible as usual, dear, and prayed?"
"Well, I'm afraid not, mamma," he said sadly; "we were so late, and so tired, and he kept on talking all the time; somehow—"
"Yes, dear; I understand. Oh, Arthur, my child, it is a mercy that you have been saved. Now go down, my dear; it is getting late."