"Shall we grow weary in our watch,
And murmur at the long delay,
Impatient of our Father's time
And his appointed way?"
"How do you like your new clerk?" asked Mrs. Wynn, as she poured out the coffee one morning few months later.
"Pretty well," replied her husband. "He is teachable and improves; he has made some good sales already. To be sure he is not quite so prompt nor so industrious as Herbert, but then few boys are. I will say that for Master Herbert, if only he had not been quite so certain that his own way was the best. It would have been a costly experiment, but I should have liked to have kept him, just to see how far he would carry his notions, and what they would amount to."
"His way? His notions?" thought Mabel. "Why don't father say God's way?" But she did not speak her thought. She know it was useless to argue the question, and she was only too thankful that her father allowed her liberty of conscience, and seldom interfered with her plans.
The new clerk with whom Mr. Wynn had just expressed his satisfaction was Perry Morse, who now filled the place made vacant by Herbert Bradford's dismissal, notwithstanding Mr. Wynn had declared his determination not to take another boy from Mabel's class. It came about naturally enough. Mr. Morse had intimate business connections with Mr. Wynn, and the vacancy occurring just us he was looking about for a position of the sort for his son, the place was easily secured, to the present satisfaction of all parties. Very likely Mr. Wynn never knew that Perry belonged to those boys, or had forgotten a resolution made in a moment of intense disgust and vexation.
Mabel had listened eagerly for the reply to her mother's question (a question she would not have put herself for a small fortune). She was not surprised at the answer. Yet some way it saddened her, and as she went up to her room when breakfast was over, the old questions came up, "Have I done all I could for my class? Why does failure seem to be written upon my work?"
She had met with many discouragements of late. Having determined to remain at her post through the winter, she had laboured diligently and prayerfully for her beloved class with little apparent success. True, Herbert went steadily forward in the path he had chosen, and quiet, thoughtful Willy was ever anxious to know and to do the will of Christ; then there was the suffering Henry, whose faith grew stronger and brighter. Surely the heart of the teacher might have rejoiced over these souls saved!
But the others seemed slipping away from her and from Christ. Satan was determined to have them, and Mabel sometimes thought that everything conspired to favour the enemy's plans. Something had gone wrong with Mr. Morse. There had been a warm debate in regard to some proposed Sunday-school measure. Perhaps it was the question of "old or young first in the distribution of library books," or it may have been in regard to the propriety of electing a lady to fill the office of assistant superintendent. I cannot say that it was not some really important question. At all events, as one of the defeated party, Mr. Morse was displeased, and declared that "if Dr. Myers was going to run the school, he would do it without any of his (Mr. Morse's) help," and by way of punishing the offenders, he absented himself. Perry had just reached the age when boys (some boys) are apt to think themselves too old to go to Sunday-school, and now that he had his father's example before him, he became very irregular in attendance.
In vain, Mabel sought him out and redoubled her efforts to interest him. He would not be interested, only when the little quiet talk among the teachers and Dr. Myers's energetic moves had done their work, and the Sabbath-School Missionary Association was formed, with Mr. Burns (a member of Dr. Myers's class) as president, Miss Joslyn secretary, and Perry Morse treasurer. He condescended to accept his appointment, and made a great display of business, but paid little attention to the main work of the hour.
As for Lewie Amesbury, he was diligent as ever, but drew his self-righteousness more closely about him, spoke bitterly of those who, proposing to live by faith and to be actuated by love for Jesus, failed in their lives to honour their Master—as he expressed it—"Keeping their religion for communion Sundays, and doing like other people the rest of the time." His interest in sacred themes, his study, his following, was all of the intellect, his heart was untouched; as Mabel said often and sadly to herself, "I cannot reach him."