; it mattered
little to the majority of the people under that roof whether he lived
or died, and less still how his soul would fare in that passage. Yet
the things which made up the present happiness of the crowd were those
which he had labored so strenuously to procure--ease, enjoyment,
freedom from care--the companions of wealth. For these he had bartered
not only the toil and stress of his best years, but something
infinitely more precious; part of the price had been the favour of his
God! Now he had to part with all these gains, willing or unwilling;
would he have the grace to sue for the mercy which might still be his
for the asking?

We had ascertained that Gowan still lived, though there was no hope for
his recovery, and were ascending the staircase to our rooms when we
encountered a priest coming down. He regarded Val with evident
interest, then stopped and accosted him. He proved to be one of the
neighboring parochial clergy, who had just been visiting the dying man.
Val invited him to our room, and there we learned the circumstances of
the case.

Gowan had been in Glasgow about a fortnight, having come thither
immediately after landing in Liverpool. He was seriously ill when he
arrived at the hotel, and was compelled to take to his bed at once. A
doctor was sent for, and found him suffering from heart disease, which
had already reached an advanced stage. In spite of every attention the
patient became rapidly worse. He would not infrequently fall into fits
of unconsciousness, which were the prelude to a state of coma in which
he would eventually pass away from life.

To the man's credit, be it said, he at once asked for a priest when he
became aware of his danger, and had afterward desired to see Val. All
the Sacraments had been administered, and Gowan lay in a weak state,
hovering between life and death. I could not but think of the lasting
gratitude of Christian Logan and her children, which had led them to
remember this man daily in their prayers; who could tell how great a
part those prayers had had in securing for him the grace to make his
peace with God at the eleventh hour?

Val went in alone to Gowan's room; it was not for me to take any part
in such an interview. It was not long before he was back again in our
own apartment. Gowan's reception of him had been all that could have
been desired. The man expressed sincere sorrow for his ill behavior,
and begged Val's forgiveness. But wha