"Ah, what indeed? The school would certainly go to rack and ruin."
"And my old friends, the Harpers and the Wakefields?"
"Why, the old ladies would very soon die of a broken heart, no doubt of it; and then, there's our dispensary and little hospital. Why, where should we look for a new apothecary?"
"These are but the worst days of my life, Mr. Middleton, which I dedicate to usefulness. How am I to make good the deficiency of earlier years?"
"By relying, my dear madam, upon the grace and love of Heaven, who in mercy regards not what we have been, but what we are."
"And is there pardon for so great a sinner?"
"Doubt it not, dear lady. Had you not been loved, you never would have been chastised—you would never have become an obedient and willing child. Be sure, dear Mrs Allcraft, that having repented, you are pardoned and reconciled to your Father. Pray, hold fast to this conviction. You have reason to believe it; for truly you have not despised the chastening of the Lord, nor fainted when you were rebuked of him."