whom I have
already alluded. It appeared to me that the latter took a peculiar
interest in my fate.

"At last my friend said to me: 'It is now time thou shouldst return to
thy mother and thy brother'. So I arose, and departed to my mother and
my brother; and at my departure my old friend gave me his blessing, and
his wife and the young person shed tears, the last especially. And when
my mother saw me, she shed tears, and fell on my neck and kissed me, and
my brother took me by the hand and bade me welcome; and when our first
emotions were subsided, my mother said: 'I trust thou art come in a lucky
hour. A few weeks ago my cousin (whose favourite thou always wast) died
and left thee his heir--left thee the goodly farm in which he lived. I
trust, my son, that thou wilt now settle, and be a comfort to me in my
old days.' And I answered: 'I will, if so please the Lord'; and I said
to myself, 'God grant that this bequest be a token of the Lord's favour'.

"And in a few days I departed to take possession of my farm; it was about
twenty miles from my mother's house, in a beautiful but rather wild
district; I arrived at the fall of the leaf. All day long I busied
myself with my farm, and thus kept my mind employed. At night, however,
I felt rather solitary, and I frequently wished for a companion. Each
night and morning I prayed fervently unto the Lord; for His hand had been
very heavy upon me, and I feared Him.

"There was one thing connected with my new abode, which gave me
considerable uneasiness--the want of spiritual instruction. There was a
church, indeed, close at hand, in which service was occasionally
performed, but in so hurried and heartless a manner that I derived little
benefit from it. The clergyman to whom the benefice belonged was a
valetudinarian, who passed his time in London, or at some watering-place,
entrusting the care of his flock to the curate of a distant parish, who
gave himself very little trouble about the matter. Now, I wanted every
Sunday to hear from the pulpit words of consolation and encouragement,
similar to those which I had heard uttered from the pulpit by my good and
venerable friend, but I was debarred from this privilege. At length, one
day being in conversation with one of my labourers, a staid and serious
man, I spoke to him of the matter which lay heavy upon my mind;
whereupon, looking me wistfully in the face, he said: 'Master, the want
of religious instruction in my chu