as a boy had heard a little of the Lord Christ, and of the
bitter sacrifice He made for men; and there grew up in his heart a
great desire to serve Him, and he prayed much in his heart to the
Lord, that He would show him what he might do. He had no parents
living. His mother was long dead, and his father had been drowned at
sea. He lived in the house of his uncle, a poor fisherman with an
angry temper, where he fared very hardly; for there were many mouths
to feed, and the worst fell to the least akin. But he grew up handy
and active, with strong limbs and a sure head; and he was well worth
his victual, for he was a good fisherman, patient of wind and rain;
and he could scale the cliff in places where none other dared go, and
bring down the eggs and feathers of the sea-birds. So they had much
use of him, and gave him but little love in return. When he was free
of work, the boy loved to wander alone, and he would lie on the
heather in the warm sun, with his face to the ground, drinking in the
fragrant breath of the earth, and praying earnestly in his heart to
the Lord, who had made the earth so fair and the sea so terrible. When
he came to man's estate, he had thoughts of making a home of his own,
but his uncle seemed to need him--so he lingered on, doing as he was
bid, very silent, but full of his own thoughts, and sure that the Lord
would call him when He had need of him; one by one the children of the
family grew up and went their ways; then his uncle's wife died, and
then at last one day, when he was out fishing with his uncle, there
came a squall and they beat for home. But the boat was overset and his
uncle was drowned; and David himself was cast ashore in a wonderful
manner, and found himself all alone.

Now while he doubted what he should do, he dreamed a dream that
wrought powerfully in his mind. He thought that he was walking in the
dusk beside the sea, which was running very high, when he saw a light
drawing near to him over the waves. It was not like the light of a
lantern, but a diffused and pale light, like the moon labouring in a
cloud. The sea began to abate its violence, and then David saw a
figure coming to him, walking, it seemed, upon the water as upon dry
land, sometimes lower, sometimes higher, as the waves ran high or low.
He stopped in a great wonder to watch the approach of the figure, and
he saw that it was that of a young man, going very slowly and
tranquilly, and looking about him with a gent