her. She would have thrown it away, but remembered that
her father had given it her. And then, with the recollection of her
birthday gift, came the realization of all the long years of unbroken
and perfect love, so rudely interrupted today. Was it always to be like
this? Must they drift further and further apart?

Her heart was almost breaking; she had endured to the very uttermost,
when at length comfort came. The sword had only come to bring the higher
peace. No terrible sea of division could part those whom love could bind
together. The peace of God stole once more into her heart.

"How loud soe'er the world may roar, We know love will be conqueror."

Meanwhile Raeburn paced to and fro in grievous pain The fact that his
pain could scarcely perhaps have been comprehended by the generality of
people did not make it less real or less hard to bear. A really honest
atheist, who is convinced that Christianity is false and misleading,
suffers as much at the sight of what he considers a mischievous belief
as a Christian would suffer while watching a service in some heathen
temple. Rather his pain would be greater, for his belief in the gradual
progress of his creed is shadowy and dim compared with the Christian's
conviction that the "Saviour of all men" exists.

Once, some years before, a very able man, one of his most devoted
followers, had "fallen back" into Christianity. That had been a bitter
disappointment; but that his own child whom he loved more than anything
in the world, should have forsaken him and gone over to the enemy, was a
grief well-nigh intolerable. It was a grief he had never for one moment
contemplated.

Could anything be more improbable than that Erica, carefully trained as
she had been, should relapse so strangely? Her whole life had been spent
among atheists; there was not a single objection to Christianity which
had not been placed before her. She had read much, thought much; she had
worked indefatigably to aid the cause. Again and again she had
braved personal insult and wounding injustice as an atheist. She had
voluntarily gone into exile to help her father in his difficulties.
Through the shameful injustice of a Christian, she had missed the last
years of her mother's life, and had been absent from her death bed.
She had borne on behalf of her father's cause a thousand irritating
privations, a thousand harassing cares; she had been hard-working, and
loyal, and devoted; and now all at once she h