cern, as it did now. There was to him a reality about it
such as he had never understood before. His heart was yearning for
something; he felt that the gospel was that something, that it could
satisfy his heart's cravings. All through the service, but for about
half a minute, he had kept his eyes fixed on the preacher. He withdrew
them for that half minute to glance round at a man who brushed past him
and walked on. As he turned, the man averted his face. He thought it
was a face not altogether strange to him, and yet he could not recall
where he had seen it. But his eyes returned to the preacher, and other
thoughts occupied his mind and heart. During the rest of that week he
was ill at ease. Many thoughts came crowding in upon him as he worked
vigorously in the hole assigned to him. Hitherto he had believed men
sinners in the gross, and himself as bad but not worse than the general
average. Now he began to know that he was really himself a sinner,
whose transgressions of God's holy laws would bring upon him eternal
death, unless he sought and found the only refuge. But was the gospel
message really for _him_? Would Jesus, whom he had so long reverenced,
yet never hitherto really loved, be still willing to receive him? He
waited impatiently for the return of the Sabbath. It came at last, and
Christ's ambassador was at his old place under the tree with words full
of love and encouragement. At the end of his sermon, before retiring,
he said,--

"If there is any one of you, my dear hearers, who is in any way troubled
in conscience, or for any other reason would wish any conversation with
me on religious subjects, I shall be only too happy to talk with him now
in my tent."

No one spoke, and the good man went his way. But in a little while
Jacob Poole followed him, and asked to be allowed to speak with him for
a few minutes. He entered the minister's tent with a distressed and
anxious countenance; but when he came away from the interview in which
he had unburdened his sorrows, and laid open all his difficulties, there
was a bright and happy look on his features, which spoke of a mind
stayed on God and a heart at peace. Just as he was leaving the
minister's tent, a swift, quiet step came behind him; he turned very
quickly, and again his eyes fell on the same countenance which he had
seen when a person brushed by him at the previous Sunday's service.
Another moment, and the man had vanished in the dusk. A