r. Gray alone of the family
listened to the evening discourse, and he listened well, for the young
minister spoke again with truth and earnestness. The machinery of the
meeting moved smoothly, and George Frothingham sang with much feeling,
"If with all your hearts ye truly seek Him."

In Winifred's room the light burned late. The battle waged there saw
many tears and the confirmation of the edict put forth in the morning
service that the false god must be taken from its niche in the house of
the Lord.

"I will not be a hypocrite," Winifred said to herself. "I will not go
through a theatrical display, however refined and solemn, and call it
worship. I am no true worshiper."

Then she burst into fresh tears, in which mingled grief that she was
not a worshiper, and sorrow that she must leave an occupation and
associations so dear. It seemed like taking out a good part of her
life, for Winifred was young, and things loved were ardently loved.

There was one who contested the ground with her in her room that night,
and told her she was no worse than others, that they were as
thoughtless and insincere as she; that her course and theirs passed
under the common sanction of churches everywhere, and that there was no
reason why she should be singular amongst all others. Why should she
be disturbed from the commonly accepted course by a single sermon
preached by a stranger, and he a young man? Doctor Schoolman had never
said such things. She might at least wait and talk it over with him or
some wise person. He might be able to show her that God did not really
care whether people quite meant what they said in singing, and that it
was a meritorious thing, as she had always thought, to sing about Him
to other people and to sing well. It might do people good. Some
people had actually wept sometimes!

The last thought was very striking, for Winifred did not know well the
Word which is able to discriminate between soul and spirit, and she
mistook emotion for some sign of spirituality. These arguments pressed
hard, and had in their favor the natural leaning of the heart that
longed to go on with the loved employment. But there was another
longing too, and it was to be honest. And underneath all was the true
beginning of wisdom--the fear of God.

"The minister told the truth," she said. "And if everybody else goes
on with the farce I will do as he said to father at dinner: 'refuse to
add one unit to the aggregation