CHAPTER XXIII.
"Macbeth. If we should fail—
"Lady M. We fail!
But screw your courage to the sticking place,
And we'll not fail."
—Shakespeare.
Sunday morning came and our young friends met at the breakfast table, not in their usual jesting, mirthful mood, but with cheerful gravity of demeanor, suited to the sacredness of the day.
"There is no preaching, no sort of religious service within our reach to-day," Edward remarked.
"Then shall we not have one of our own?" asked Mary. "I have a book of sermons: one might be read aloud; then we can have three prayers and as many hymns as we please; we all sing."
"And we might have a Bible reading also," suggested Ella. "And suppose we take up the International Sunday-school Lesson and study it."
All these propositions were received with favor and eventually carried out.
They did not think it wrong to stroll quietly along the shore, or to sit there watching the play of the billows, and thus they ended their afternoon.