me at the moment of
my need; but if there is any one here to whom God has given a message
for me, whether it be to approve or condemn my course, I trust that I
shall have grace to receive it meekly."

He took his seat, and it seemed for a few moments that every person in
the room had yielded heart and judgment to this noble and modest appeal.
But there was among them one whose stern and unyielding sense of justice
had not been appeased. He was a man who had often suffered for
righteousness sake and who attached more value to the testimony of a
clear conscience than to any earthly dignity. He slowly and solemnly
rose. His form was like that of a prophet of ancient days. His deep-set
eyes glowed like two bright stars under the cloudy edge of his
broad-brimmed hat. His face was emaciated with a self-denial that
bordered upon asceticism, and wan with ceaseless contemplations of the
problems of life, death and immortality. Not a trace of tender emotion
was evident on features, which might have been carved in marble. It was
impossible to conceive that he had ever been young, and there seemed a
bitter irony in the effort of such a man to judge the cause of a love
like that which pleaded for satisfaction in the hearts of David and
Pepeeta, and to pronounce upon the destinies of those whose souls were
still throbbing with passion.

But such was the purpose of the man. His first words sounded on the
stillness like an alarm bell and shook the souls of listeners with a
sort of terror.

"We did not seek to try this cause," he said. "It was brought before us
by the wish of this sinful man himself. But if we must judge, let us
judge like God! We read of Him--that he 'lays righteousness to the line
and judgment to the plummet.' Let us do the same. That a great wrong
hath been done is evident to every mind. It is not meet that such wrongs
should go unpunished! These two transgressors have suffered; but who
believes that such wrongs may justly be so soon followed by felicity? It
would be an encouragement to evil-doers and a premium upon vice! Who
would refrain from violently rending the marriage bonds or sundering any
sacred tie, if in a few short months the fruit of the guilty deed might
be eaten in peace by the culprit? What assurance may we have that the
lesson which has been but superficially graven on this guilty heart may
not be obliterated in the enjoyment of triumph? Why should these youths
make such unseemly haste? If they ar