There t present gif the hrough t dness, a e. An's ay be see and slipp kYard areheided nd in is nst himse te pity matter t Angel Shanks as on an she sai Hert had khis st or the for his fa Jenn, ed me e Hel can be But ther houp it's begun tae avail wi' Pierie Linns. His face maun be turnin' noo tae the Man o' Calvary; for I see traces o' His reflected likeness breakin' oot through the yince un-Christlike features o' Elder Shanks." "I admire your Heavenly Charity," was my rather shallow retort. 'Nae doot, Laird, it's a staggerin' case," sweetly resumed Angell Jenn, "an' though we ken, on high authority, 'Charity never faileth,' I'll no pit ye tae that test ava; I'll just appeal tae facts, an' let them speak for themsel's. A Man, mair completely changed, in his verra speerit, as weel as mainner, Castlebraes never saw. The younger Bairns were the first tae see't, by a kind o' Heevenly instinct; an' they cuddle in tae him noo, just as they used tae dae tae their Mither. That's nae bad sign o' a wark o' Grace in his Sowl! An' he coos tae them lovingly, an' fills their hungry hearts wi' Angel stories aboot Faither an' Mither an' Weans, a' robed in white, meetin' at last, an' following the Lamb on the Hills o' Zion. Forbye, Laird, an' this'll mibbe convince ye mair, Sandy, wi' Bess o' the Brummel, comes back this week to tak' the management o' the Ferm! Na, better yet, he has written an awfu' kind letter tae Jenny an' Rob Hamilton, enclosin' tae them a Hunder Pund Note tae steirt wi', an' tellin' them tae fear God an' work hard, tae write to him an' tell a' their affairs, an' that he'll mind them, nicht an' day, at the Throne o' Grace!" "You amaze me beyond measure," I replied, "but can atonement be so easily made for such inhuman fanaticism and cruelty?" "Ye mistak' me, Laird," persisted Angell Jenn, "ye grievously mistak' me! Thae things are nae atonement, nor nae evidences o' his makin' ony atonement; for nane o' us can blot oot oor ain evil records by deeds o' love, as if they were a kind o' hush money peyed tae Conscience tae keep it quate. Na, Laird, but thae things are a pruif an' an evidence o' something else a' thegither; namely this, that the Atonement that has been made for a' sin, on Calvary, is beginnin' tae work oot its gracious effects, in the speerit an' the life, in the character an' the conduct, o' the man that yields himsel' up tae the Great Atoner. He dee'd for us, oot o' pure love, tae save us frae oor sins an' a' their consequences. That waukens gratitude an' affection tae Him in oor Herts. An' that again moves us tae obey Him, tae try tae please Him; an' sae His michty Speerit comes into oor Speerits, an' we grow like unto Himsel'. That's the Atonement, Laird; an' no a mere Bluid-Washin' to blot oot sins. Oot o' the Bluid-Washin' maun come a Speerit-Cleansin' that maks us New Crayturs in Christ Jesus oor Lord. Till that comes aboot, the Atonement is still far awa frae Hert an' Life." "At any rate, and even though I could believe all this as you genuinely believe it," was my somewhat brutish rejoinder, "I fail to see any evidence of Atonement to poor Mrs Shanks, who died of a broken heart." But Angell Jenn had sounded this depth too. She had indeed grappled with the problem, instead of trippingly launching it out, and then ceasing to thing his ot oct Ef the cience: gs ar e at that ain't it a the mer. H frae ens g n' that please oor St sthe shin' aunc Crapt Comes e Hert uld be Smys ny evide died depth t em, insta Ceasing look for light. Her answer came from a plane of thought whereon I had never travelled : "It's ma deleeberate conviction that, gif Elder Shanks gangs on, an' grows as muckle mair like Christ, in the years tae come, as he has dune durin' the last few weeks, — there's a Wumman Speerit luikin' oot frae yont the Veil, that'll be seein' mair clearly ilka day that her ain sufferin's an' deith were no in vain, an' that God was na cruel. I never can get ahint that deep an' wise sayin' o' a famous man and a fearfu' sufferer, yince treated by hertless brithers in a cruel an' hatefu' wey-'As for you, ye thocht Evil against me; but God meant it for Good." "Dear Friend," exclaimed I to Angell Jenn, “I would give my best treasure in all this World to possess your faith! But my Heart still turns to wormwood and gall at the thought of Elder Shanks, and the curse of his miscalled Religion." gentle, yet humbling, To this there came the rejoinder, as she waved to me a respectful Good Night, instead of resenting my angry words:— "Laird, ye're on the Richt Road, for a' that stumblin'! Ye're seein' things dimly noo, ye yince could na see ava. And, whan ye've gazed lang eneuch intill the pierced Hert o' the Christ, which is the verra Hert o' God oor Faither, ye'll learn by-and-bye to rejoice even ower the Prodigal's Return, like the Faither Himsel', and no staun' ootside glowerin' at him, an' grudgin' him, like the Elder Brither! Na, na, it's maist Godlike |