"I found him," Mr. Wallingford went on, "propped up on his couch, reading the fifty-first Psalm, large tears coursing down his cheeks.
"He looked up as I entered and holding out the blessed book, exclaimed:
"See, what I have found! Why have I never seen it before? It was written for me. No other man ever needed such words so much as I. Every syllable; every letter expresses my wants. Just hear what a plea this is. 'Have mercy upon me, according to thy loving kindness.' His kindness is infinite, else I should have been long ago cut off, 'therefore, according to thy infinite love and tenderness to the most vile and hardened of all thy creatures, so let thy mercy abound.'"
"Then here again. 'Hide thy face from my sins.' The thought that a holy God, who abhors sin to such a degree that he allowed his only Son to die on the cross to win men from its corrupt paths; has witnessed all the crimes of my whole life, has made me tremble before him. Yes, with my whole heart I can say, 'hide thy face from my sins.' 'Let not thine eyes of purity rest upon them;' and 'blot out all mine iniquities.'"
"When I came to that verse I asked myself, 'But how can a wise ruler do this? If the law is set aside, anarchy is at once established.' At this moment the mission of Christ as a mediator rushed into my mind with the vividness of a flash of lightning. He is the being, part human, part divine, who can mediate between the offended Judge, and his guilty subjects. With the name of this Mediator on our lips we can even dare to make a plea so bold! 'Cast me not away from thy presence, take not thine Holy Spirit from me?' 'Create in me a new heart,' this wicked heart which has been in all manner of uncleanness I loathe, I abhor. Create a new one, with holy desires, with pure affections, and renew a right spirit within me."
"I can scarcely give you an idea," continued the gentleman, after watching for an instant the gush of joyful tears which streamed down his sister's cheeks; "of Paul's fervor in repeating these petitions. 'Why, oh, why, did I never see that the way of salvation is so clear? I was blind indeed not to find it. Oh, the matchless love, and wisdom that formed the wondrous plan!'"
"He grew so pale at last that I thought he would faint, and called Pedro to give him medicine. 'You must sleep,' I said, 'and when you are rested I will come again.'"
Just at dusk Gertrude was hesitating whether to go to Paul's room lest he had already talked too much, when he sent a request to see her.
His chair was drawn near the western window, where the gorgeous rays of the setting sun were illuminating the entire horizon.
He pointed to a divan near him, and began at once: