ed, how shall she remember the father
from whom she has herself come? The Lord came to heal the
broken-hearted; therefore he said, 'Blessed are the mourners.' Hope in
God, mother, for the deadest of thy children, even for him who died in
his sins. Thou mayest have long to wait for him--but he will be found.
It may be, thou thyself wilt one day be sent to seek him and find him.
Rest thy hope on no excuse thy love would make for him, neither upon any
quibble theological or sacerdotal; hope on in him who created him, and
who loves him more than thou. God will excuse him better than thou, and
his uncovenanted mercy is larger than that of his ministers. Shall not
_the_ Father do _his_ best to find his prodigal? the good shepherd to
find his lost sheep? The angels in his presence know the Father, and
watch for the prodigal. Thou shalt be comforted.

There is one phase of our mourning for the dead which I must not leave
unconsidered, seeing it is the pain within pain of all our mourning--the
sorrow, namely, with its keen recurrent pangs because of things we have
said or done, or omitted to say or do, while we companied with the
departed. The very life that would give itself to the other, aches with
the sense of having, this time and that, not given what it might. We
cast ourselves at their feet, crying, Forgive me, my heart's own! but
they are pale with distance, and do not seem to hear. It may be that
they are longing in like agony of love after us, but know better, or
perhaps only are more assured than we, that we shall be comforted
together by and by.

Bethink thee, brother, sister, I say; bethink thee of the splendour of
God, and answer--Would he be perfect if in his restitution of all things
there were no opportunity for declaring our bitter grief and shame for
the past? no moment in which to sob--Sister, brother, I am thy slave? no
room for making amends? At the same time, when the desired moment comes,
one look in the eyes may be enough, and we shall know one another even
as God knows us. Like the purposed words of the prodigal in the parable,
it may be that the words of our confession will hardly find place. Heart
may so speak to heart as to forget there were such things. Mourner, hope
in God, and comfort where thou canst, and the lord of mourners will be
able to comfort thee the sooner. It may be thy very severity with
thyself, has already moved the Lord to take thy part.

Such as mourn the loss of love, such from w