hurry of its course to the
expectant sea. Tibbie was still far from well, had had many relapses,
and was more than ever convinced that the Lord was going to let her see
his face.

Annie would have staid with her that Saturday night, as she not
unfrequently did, had she not known that Mrs Bruce would make it a
pretext for giving her no change of linen for another week.

The moment Bruce entered the chapel--for no weather deprived him of his
Sabbath privileges--Annie, who had been his companion so far, darted
off to see Tibbie. When Bruce found that she had not followed him, he
hurried to the door, but only to see her halfway down the street. He
returned in anger to his pew, which he was ashamed of showing thus
empty to the eyes of his brethren. But there were many pews in like
condition that morning.

The rain having moderated a little in the afternoon, the chapel was
crowded in the evening. Mrs Bruce was the only one of the Bruce-family
absent. The faces of the congregation wore an expectant look, for they
knew Mr Turnbull would _improve the occasion_: he always sought
collateral aid to the influences of the truth, and sometimes attempted
to suborn Nature herself to give effect to his persuasions. The text he
had chosen was: "But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming
of the Son of Man be." He made no allusion to the paper which the rain
was busy washing off the door of the chapel; nor did he wish to remind
the people that this was the very day foreseen by the bill-sticking
prophet, as appointed for the advent of judgment. But when, in the
middle of the sermon, a flash of lightning seemed to extinguish the
array of candles, and was followed by an instant explosion of thunder,
and a burst of rain, as if a waterspout had broken over their heads,
coming down on the roof like the trampling of horses and the noise of
chariot-wheels, the general start and pallor of the congregation showed
that they had not forgotten the prediction. This then was the way in
which judgment was going to be executed: a second flood was about to
sweep them from the earth. So, although all stared at the minister as
if they drank in every word of his representation of Noah's flood, with
its despairing cries, floating carcases, and lingering deaths on the
mountain-tops as the water crept slowly up from peak to peak, yet they
were much too frightened at the little flood in the valley of two
rivers, to care for the terrors of the great d