"No," answered Salome, "not yet, Peter.
"'But the Day is nearer now,
Far nearer,—
And the signs of His approach
Far clearer!'"
"That's a very comforting thought, Salome," I said.
"You would like that hymn, Peter," said my sister. "I had a copy of it given me the other day, and I will send it to you."
And this morning the hymn arrived, and I have just been reading it to Bagot and Kate.
"'YE SEE THE DAY APPROACHING.
"'When we were little children, and heard of Jesus' love,
We often wished that He would come, and take us all above.
But the Day is nearer now,
Far nearer,—
And the signs of His approach
Far clearer!
"'And oft, with childish fancy, at the closing of the day,
We hoped that in those golden clouds the King was on His way.
But the Day is nearer now,
Far nearer,—
And the signs of His approach
Far clearer!
"'Lord, we are growing older, those days and years are fled;
And time and change have done their work; and some we loved are dead.
But the Day is nearer now,
Far nearer,—
And the signs of Thine approach
Far clearer!
"'Lord, make us ever ready, as each day hurries by,
To raise the welcome shout of joy,—"The Lord our King is nigh!"
But the Day is nearer now,
Far nearer,—
And the signs of Thine approach
Far clearer!'"
"Amen," said Bagot, when I had finished reading. "'Even so, come, Lord Jesus.'"
THE END.
University Press: John Wilson & Son, Cambridge.