little or no regard to its
meaning. Now, in his distress, he prayed in earnest. He meant what he
said. It followed, also, that he said what he meant. The old form,
being quite unsuitable to the occasion, was forgotten, and very homely
language indeed was used, but it was sufficient for the purpose. The
substance of it was a cry for pardon and deliverance. That which winged
it to the Throne of Grace was the name of Jesus Christ.

Resuming the oars, he rowed gently; not for the sake of directing the
boat, but because a state of inaction was disagreeable, and as he rowed
he thought of the promise that had been sent to him. Strange to say,
the latter part of it, "Thou shalt glorify me," seemed to take a
stronger hold of his mind than the first. "Yes," he thought, "the whole
promise is true. He will deliver me and make me to glorify Himself in
some way or other. Perhaps He will let me live to return home, and be a
comfort to my father."

The thought of the sorrow he had caused his father weighed heavier than
ever in the poor boy's mind, and the desire to express his repentance,
and, if possible, make his father glad again, became very intense. It
seemed to him that a millstone would be removed from his heart if he
could be allowed, even for one minute, to hold his father's hand and
say, "Oh, I am so sorry, sorry, sorry that I ran away!" The millstone
was not removed at that time, however; but in answer to prayer it was
unquestionably lightened.

The exercise of rowing and the fresh morning air produced their natural
effect ere long on the little castaway. He became ravenously hungry,
and turned his eyes inquiringly on the few fish which surged about in
the pool of dirty water that had gathered in the bottom of the boat. It
was not an inviting breakfast. Watty turned his eyes away from it,
looked up into the fair blue sky, and tried to think of other things!
But the calls of nature were not to be silenced. Instead of thinking of
other things, he somehow thought of bread and butter. He even fell into
a species of argument with himself as to whether it would not be
uncommonly pleasant in various supposable circumstances, to eat bread
without butter. Then he found himself meditating on the delights of
butter and jam together, which somehow suggested the scriptural figure
of a land flowing with milk and honey.

"Oh!" he sighed at this point, "if the sea was only milk and honey--milk
even without honey!--wha