sit
down, and asked him what he meant to do, now that he was alone. "I am
going away, mother," he said gently. The child, hearing this, came over
the room from where she sate, and said to him, "No, David, do not go
away." "Yes, dear child," he said, "I must even go." Then she said, "But
where will you go? May I not come to see you sometimes?" and she put her
small arms round his neck, and laid her cheek to his. Then David's heart
was very full of love, and he said smiling, and with his arm round the
child, "Dear one, I must not say where I am going--and it is a rough
place, too, not fit for such tender little folk as you; but, if I can, I
will come again and see you." Then the old grandmother, looking upon him
very gravely, said, "Tell me what is in your mind." But he said, "Nay,
mother, do not ask me; I am going to a place that is near and yet far;
and I am going to seek for one whom I know not and yet know; and the way
is long and dark." Then she forbore to ask him more, and fell to
pondering sadly; so after they had sate awhile, he rose up and loosed
the child's arms from him, kissing her; and the tears stood in his eyes;
and he thought in himself that God was very wise; for if he had had a
home of his own, and children whom he loved, he could never have found
it in his heart to leave them. So he went out.

Then he climbed up the steep path that led to the downs, and so to the
bay where the Isles lay. And just as he reached the top, the moon ran
out from a long bank of cloud; and he saw the village lie beneath him,
very peaceful in the moonlight; there were lights in some of the
windows; the roofs were silvered in the clear radiance of the moon, and
the shadows lay dark between. He could see the little streets, every
inch of which he knew, and the port below. He could see the coast
stretch away to the east, headland after headland, growing fainter; and
the great spaces of the sea, with the moon glittering on the waves.
There was a holy and solemn peace about it all; and though his life had
not been a happy one there, he knew in a flash that the place was very
dear to his heart, and he said a prayer to God, that he would guard and
cherish the village and those that dwelt there. Then he turned, and went
on to the downs; and presently descended by a steep path to the sea,
through the thickets. He took off his clothes, and tied them in a pack
on his back; and then he stepped quietly into the bright water, which
lapped v