in an imploring tone. "I did _not_ post the letter in time. I told a
lie--forgive me--speak to me! pray forgive me!" A look of unutterable
anguish passed over his father's face. Charlie waited for an answer,
but none came. His father was far away from him--he was at rest; he was
in that home where sin and sorrow cannot come.

It is useless attempting to describe Charlie's misery, it was so great.
His father, who had so loved and trusted him, had at last died, with his
hope in him crushed, his confidence in him broken. His father had died,
listening to his confession of sin and deception, and without being able
to judge whether his repentance was sincere. The confession came too
late for his forgiveness or counsel.

The thought of all this completely crushed Charlie. For hours he sat
crouching on the floor in his own room, without a single comforting
thought. He had not only deceived his father, he had offended God. He
sat in his misery, feeling careless whether he lived or died. No tears
came, but his heart throbbed with a dull, aching pain that was
unbearable.

It was a bitter, bitter lesson to Charlie, but it did its work; it led
him to think and pray more earnestly, and to watch; and by degrees the
darling sin that had been so long indulged was crushed and rooted out.

You will be glad to know that he grew up to manhood, admired and
respected by those who knew him not only for his talent as an engineer,
but for his upright Christian character. One thing he was noted for,
that was punctuality. "No fear of Scott being behind time or putting
off," would often be said of him.

His good mother lived many years to see and share his happiness; and
Harry Greenwell, who had always insisted that Charlie would come out
well in the end, was delighted to see his prophecy fulfilled.

Yet, in the midst of his prosperity, how often Charlie's thoughts went
back to that sad, sad time! all the old feelings of pain and regret
would come back at the remembrance of his sin, and that look of anguish
on his father's face, that could never be forgotten. Yet, although these
thoughts left him saddened for a while, they also left him full of
thankfulness to the Saviour, whose blood cleanseth from all sin, and
grateful to the all-wise and merciful God, who had sent the trial to him
in kindness and love. He saw clearly that if he had only humbly watched
_at first_, that bitter day would have been spared.

J. AND W. RIDER, PRINTERS, LONDON