Mrs. Dermot’s gentle voice went unfaltering on to the evening hymn.
“Abide with me, fast falls the eventide,
The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide,
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O, abide with me.”
Verse after verse very softly she repeated to the dying child, and at the last Ruth’s voice joined hers, low and monotonous, murmuring the words.
“Hold Thou Thy Cross before my closing eyes,
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies,
Heaven’s morning breaks and earth’s vain shadows flee,
In life—in death—O Lord, abide with me.”