fter," she added,
seriously.

Marjorie smiled, but Linnet was serious.

"You confuse me so," said Linnet. "I believe I don't know when anything
_was_. I don't know how long since Adam was made. Do you, Marjorie?"

"No," in the tone of one dreadfully ashamed.

"And now I'll tell you a lovely thought out of the Bible that came
through dates. I did not discover it myself, of course."

"I don't see why 'of course,'" Marjorie said in a resentful tone. "You
_do_ discover things."

"I discover little girls once in a while," returned Miss Prudence with a
rare softening of lips and eyes.

If it had not been for a few such discoveries the lines about Miss
Prudence's lips might have been hard lines.

"Of course you both remember the story of faithful old Abraham, how he
longed and longed for a son and hoped against hope, and, after waiting
so long, Isaac was born at last. He had the sure promise of God that in
his seed all the nations of the earth should be blessed. Do you know
how many nations Abraham knew about? Did he know about France and England
and America, the Empire of Russia and populous China?"

Linnet looked puzzled; Marjorie was very grave.

"Did he know that the North American Indians would be blessed in him? Did
he know they would learn that the Great Spirit had a Son, Jesus Christ?
And that Jesus Christ was descended from him?"

"I--don't--know," said Marjorie, doubtfully. "I get all mixed up."

"It was because all the world would be blessed that he was so anxious to
have a son. And, then, after Isaac was born and married for years and
years the promise did not seem to come true, for he had no child. Must
the faithful, hopeful old father die with his hope deferred? We read that
Abraham died in a good old age, an old man, full of years, and Isaac and
Ishmael buried him, and farther on in the same chapter we find that the
twin boys are born, Jacob and Esau. But their old grandfather was dead.
He knew now how true God is to his promises, because he was in Heaven,
but we can't help wishing he had seen those two strong boys from one of
whom the Saviour of the whole world was to descend. But if we look at
Abraham's age when he died, and comparing it with Isaac's when the twins
were born, we find that the old man, truly, had to wait twenty years
before they were born, but that he really lived to see them seventeen or
eighteen years of age. He lived to tell them with his own lips about that
wonderful promise o