Ellen had an excellent lesson, and her master took care it should not be an easy one. She came back, looking as she had not done all winter. Alice was not quite ready; while waiting for her, John went to the book-case and took down the first volume of Rollin's Ancient History; and giving it to Ellen, he said he would talk with her to-morrow about the first twenty pages. The consequence was, the hour and a half of their absence, instead of being moped away, was spent in hard study. A pair of gloves was bought at Thirlwall; Jenny Hitchcock's pony was sent for; and, after that, every day, when the weather would at all do, they took a long ride. By degrees, reading, and drawing, and all her studies, were added to the history, till Ellen's time was well filled with business again. Alice had endeavoured to bring this about before, but fruitlessly. What she asked of her, Ellen indeed tried to do; what John told her, was done. She grew a different creature. Appetite came back; the colour sprang again to her cheek; hope meek and sober as it was re-lighted her eye. In her eagerness to please and satisfy her teacher, her whole soul was given to the performance of whatever he wished her to do. The effect was all that he looked for.
The second evening after he came, John called Ellen to his side, saying he had something he wanted to read to her. It was before candles were brought, but the room was full of light from the blazing wood fire. Ellen glanced at his book as she came to the sofa; it was a largish volume, in a black leather cover, a good deal worn; it did not look at all interesting.
"What is it?" she asked.
"It is called," said John, "The Pilgrim's Progress from this
World to a better."
Ellen thought it did not sound at all interesting. She had never been more mistaken in her life, and that she found almost as soon as he begun. Her attention was nailed; the listless, careless mood in which she sat down was changed for one of rapt delight; she devoured every word that fell from the reader's lips; indeed they were given their fullest effect by a very fine voice and singularly fine reading. Whenever anything might not be quite clear to Ellen, John stopped to make it so; and with his help, and without it, many a lesson went home. Next day she looked a long time for the book; it could not be found; she was forced to wait until evening. Then, to her great joy, it was brought out again, and John asked her if she wished to hear some more of it. After that, every evening while he was at home, they spent an hour with the "Pilgrim." Alice would leave her work and come to the sofa, too; and with her head on her brother's shoulder, her hand in his, and Ellen's face leaning against his other arm, that was the common way they placed themselves to see and hear. No words can tell Ellen's enjoyment of those readings. They made her sometimes laugh and sometimes cry; they had much to do in carrying on the cure which John's wisdom and kindness had begun.
They came to the place where Christian loses his burden at the cross; and as he stood looking and weeping, three shining ones came to him. "The first said to him, 'Thy sins be forgiven thee;' the second stripped him of his rags, and clothed him with a change of raiment; the third also set a mark on his forehead."
John explained what was meant by the rags and the change of raiment.
"And the mark in his forehead?" said Ellen.
"That is the mark of God's children the change wrought in them by the Holy Spirit the change that makes them different from others, and different from their old selves."
"Do all Christians have it?"