solemnly, '"the wicked shall be turned into hell, and they that forget
God!"' And suppose, even, that he should continue to love you, and you
him, and that you should pass through life together with tolerable
comfort--how will it be in the end, when you see yourselves parted for
ever; you, perhaps, taken into eternal bliss, and he cast into the lake
that burneth with unquenchable fire--there for ever to--'

'Not for ever,' I exclaimed, '"only till he has paid the uttermost
farthing;" for "if any man's work abide not the fire, he shall suffer
loss, yet himself shall be saved, but so as by fire;" and He that "is
able to subdue all things to Himself will have all men to be saved," and
"will, in the fulness of time, gather together in one all things in
Christ Jesus, who tasted death for every man, and in whom God will
reconcile all things to Himself, whether they be things in earth or
things in heaven."'

'Oh, Helen! where did you learn all this?'

'In the Bible, aunt. I have searched it through, and found nearly thirty
passages, all tending to support the same theory.'

'And is that the use you make of your Bible? And did you find no
passages tending to prove the danger and the falsity of such a belief?'

'No: I found, indeed, some passages that, taken by themselves, might seem
to contradict that opinion; but they will all bear a different
construction to that which is commonly given, and in most the only
difficulty is in the word which we translate "everlasting" or "eternal."
I don't know the Greek, but I believe it strictly means for ages, and
might signify either endless or long-enduring. And as for the danger of
the belief, I would not publish it abroad if I thought any poor wretch
would be likely to presume upon it to his own destruction, but it is a
glorious thought to cherish in one's own heart, and I would not part with
it for all the world can give!'

Here our conference ended, for it was now high time to prepare for
church. Every one attended the morning service, except my uncle, who
hardly ever goes, and Mr. Wilmot, who stayed at home with him to enjoy a
quiet game of cribbage. In the afternoon Miss Wilmot and Lord Lowborough
likewise excused themselves from attending; but Mr. Huntingdon vouchsafed
to accompany us again. Whether it was to ingratiate himself with my aunt
I cannot tell, but, if so, he certainly should have behaved better. I
must confess, I did not like his conduct during service at al