"
Mr. World saw the deepening shadows and endeavored to be as cheerful
as usually, hoping thereby to prevent any alarm in the mind of his
faithful friend.
The path, though wide, was now steeply descending, and travelers often
slipped on the steeper inclines.
I saw that the two companions descended with difficulty, cautiously
watching every footstop, lest they, like many others, should fall to
their hurt. They now gave but little attention to the things along the
way, and when they did pause for rest on the easier grades, they found
the meadows more barren and everything more dark and dank.
Miss Church-Member had been painfully conscious of these unhappy
contrasts, and Asked repeatedly the meaning of all that her eyes beheld
and her heart realized, but Mr. World, true to his nature, partly
allayed her fears with words of hope and glowing promises.
But I heard her again ask with a quivering voice: "Where is the light
that so lately lent its blessed cheer, and whither go we stumbling
downward in the dark?"
"We only go in the darkest hour that comes before the dawn," he said
with a firm voice but a trembling heart.
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