He saw that she wished it so much that he had not the heart to
refuse, and he recollected likewise that very early on Monday
morning would answer his purpose equally well.
It was the 7th of June. The Psalm was the 37th--the supreme lesson
of patience. 'Hold thee still in the Lord; and abide patiently on
Him; and He shall bring it to pass. He shall make thy righteousness
as clear as the light, and thy just dealing as the noonday.'
The awful sense of desolation seemed to pass away under those words,
with that gentle woman beside him. And the sermon was on 'Oh tarry
thou the Lord's leisure; be strong, and He shall comfort thine
heart; and put thou thy trust in the Lord.'
Clarence remembered nothing but the text. But it was borne in upon
him that his purpose of flight was 'the old story,'--cowardice and
virtual distrust of the Lord, as well as absolute cruelty to us who
loved him.
When he had deposited Miss Newton at her own door, he whispered
thanks, and an entreaty for her prayers.
And then he went home, and fought the battle of his life, with his
own horrible dread of Mr. Castleford's disappointment; of possible
prosecution; of the shame at home; the misery of a life a second
time blighted. He fought it out on his knees, many a time
persuading himself that flight would not be a sin, then returning to
the sense that it was a temptation of his worse self to be overcome.
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