"This
night the richest man in the parish will die." Strange and fearful
were these words. He did not look round to know whence they proceeded;
he knew it was an inward and spiritual voice that spoke, and he
believed what it said. With a shudder he remembered the parable of the
rich man in the Gospel, to whom had come the same terrible
warning--"This night thy soul shall be required of thee."

"What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world, and lose his
own soul? and what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" were
words that haunted him now, and a cold perspiration covered him from
head to foot. He felt that he had been an unwise merchant, who had
exchanged his soul for very little. Unable at length to bear his own
reflections, he galloped home.

[Illustration: Christ in the Home of Mary and Martha]

There he arrived in a state of great agitation, and alarmed his wife
and family by sending at once for a physician. To all inquiries he
gave the answer that he was about to die, and must prepare for it. In
vain they tried to persuade him that his health was as good as ever,
that he was only the subject of a nervous fancy. The physician
arrived, and laughed at his fears, but he heeded neither ridicule nor
entreaties. Death was not a thing to be laughed or entreated away, and
to death he was doomed. What did it signify what the world said about
it? He must make ready for it. His solicitor was called in, and his
worldly affairs settled. Wife and children were all provided for,
houses and lands were portioned out to his beloved ones, then he had
nothing to do but prepare himself for the great change; that, however,
he found impossible. In great perturbation of mind he awaited the
coming of his great enemy, Death. When night drew on, his fears
increased; every time the great hall clock sounded the hour he
shuddered, not knowing if he might ever hear it again. The physician
and lawyer remained with him at his request, but they could not bring
calm to his agitated mind. They could only listen to what he said, as
to the ravings of a madman, for mad they judged him to be.

Hour after hour went by, and the richest man in the parish, lying in
his splendid bed, expecting Death every moment, found how poor he had
become, and of how little real use all his vast possessions were to
him now. Midnight passed away, early morning came, light dawned upon
the hills. A faint color came into the sky, and with it color once
more