"Till the end!" Was there an end? The thought roused him again, for he was almost asleep. What made him think of that? Was it that beautiful evening star shining so calmly down upon him? Or was it words which his mother and father often spoke to him, and which, by the Holy Spirit's power, were coming back to him? He could not tell; and while he thought about it, his tired eyes closed, and he slept.
When Mrs. Arundel lifted her blind the next morning, and looked out over the orchard laden with fruit, with its grass sparkling in the morning dew and sunshine, she espied two figures, arm-in-arm, pacing up and down the lane. They were Ada and Arthur. No time must be lost on this first morning; and they were drinking in the fresh sea breezes, and enjoying, as perhaps only town folks can, the first morning at the sea-side. Very dear to their mother were these eldest children of hers; but how she longed to see in them, besides their bright earthly promise, the germ of heavenly growth.
"May Thy kingdom come in their hearts!" she said as she turned away.
A handful of gravel crashing against her window roused Nellie from her slumbers. She started up frightened, and then smiled as she guessed what it was.
"Nellie, Nellie!" called Arthur. "It's eight o'clock, and we want breakfast!"
"What a lovely Sunday," said Mrs. Arundel, when she came down stairs and found Nellie cutting the bread and butter.
"Yes; it is indeed, mamma. How I wish papa were here with us."
"Come, Arthur; come, Ada," called Mrs. Arundel from the door, "I am sure you must be hungry."
"That we are, and I never did see such a jolly place, mamma! That orchard, when the dew is off, will be as cool and as shady as possible; and when we are tired of the beach—"
"Which we shall not be," interrupted Ada.