Elsie's Journey on Inland Waters

by Martha Finley

  CHAPTER IX.

  The sun was just peeping above the horizon, the yacht moving swiftlyand steadily onward as Lucilla stepped from the companion-way upon thedeck, the next morning, having obtained permission the night before todo so in case the quiet movements of the vessel made it certain shewould run no such risk as she had the previous day.

  Her father was pacing the deck, and so near that he took her hand themoment she appeared.

  "My early bird, as usual! Good-morning, daughter mine," he said intender tones as he bent down and bestowed upon her the caress she neverfailed to receive from him when first they met at the beginning of anew day.

  "Good-morning, dear, dear papa, yesterday's saver of my life," shereturned, in moved tones, putting her arms about his neck and pressingher lips to his again and again. "Oh, father, surely I belong to youmore than ever now!"

  "You are my very own, one of my chief treasures," he said, in responseto that. "God bless my darling and have her ever in His kind care andkeeping!" He clasped her hand tenderly in his as he spoke, and for awhile they paced the deck together.

  "Oh, where are we, papa?" she asked, gazing from side to side in eagercuriosity. "This wide expanse of water cannot be the Welland Canal?"

  "No, we passed through that in the night, and are now in Lake Ontario."

  "Oh, I am glad we are so far on our journey," she said, "and the wateris so quiet that it seems a very suitable place in which to spend thissweet Sabbath day."

  "I think so, if only we try to spend it aright."

  "I do intend to," she responded. "And we shall have our usual servicein the morning; we younger ones a Bible lesson with papa in theafternoon, won't we?"

  "I think so," he said. "I certainly expect to give my own children aBible lesson, and we will not shut out any who may choose to take apart in it. That would be very selfish, would it not?"

  "Yes, sir! yes, indeed! I think so, for you always make a Bible lessonvery interesting as well as instructive."

  "I am glad my daughter finds it so," he said, smiling down upon her.

  They moved silently back and forth for a few minutes, Lucillaapparently in deep thought, her father watching with keen and lovinginterest the changeful expression of her features.

  "What is it, daughter? Of what are you thinking?" he asked at length.

  "About the narrow escape of yesterday, papa," she answered, lifting tohis a face full of solemn awe. "I was asking myself, as I have manytimes since my narrow escape of yesterday morning, Was I ready forheaven? Would I have gone there if I had been drowned without time tothink and prepare to meet my Judge? Oh, father, can anyone be savedwithout time to think and repent of every wrong thought and feeling,and asking God's forgiveness for it? And how would it be possible to doall that while struggling for your life?"

  "Daughter," he said in tender tones, "are you not forgetting thesesweet words of Holy Writ: 'He that believeth on the Son hatheverlasting life?' Take notice, it is not shall have, but _hath_. It isnot only the sins already committed which God forgives for Jesus' sakewhen He adopts us for His own, but those also which in His omniscienceHe sees that we will be guilty of before the work of sanctification isfinished. If we are truly His, they are all forgiven in advance. Hesays: 'I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish,neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father which gavethem me is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out ofmy Father's hand. I and my Father are one.' In another place he says,'Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word and believethon Him that sent me _hath_ everlasting life and shall not come intocondemnation; but _is passed from death unto life_.' The one importantquestion is, are we really His? Have we accepted His offered salvationand given ourselves entirely to Him? If that be so we have no causefor anxiety or fear; for the Lord knoweth them that are His, and willnever suffer any real evil to befall them. Death will be but going hometo Him, and that with all the sin taken away and we made perfect inholiness, no want of conformity to His holy will left in us."

  "Yes, papa, but----"

  "But what, daughter?"

  "Oh, if I should be mistaken in thinking that I really belong to Him!Papa, how can I know it?"

  "Have you any doubt that you are mine?"

  "No, indeed, papa, not the slightest."

  "But how do you know it?"

  "Because you have told me so again and again; and besides, I have onlyto look in the glass to see that I have your features, that I resembleyou about as much in looks as a young girl can resemble a----"

  "Middle-aged man," he added, finishing the sentence for her as shepaused with an earnest, loving look up into his face.

  "And the Bible tells us," he continued, "that 'Whom He did foreknow Healso did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son.' If weare really His, we will, in a greater or less degree, resemble Him andwill be changed into the same image from glory to glory."

  "Do you see anything of His image in me, papa?" she asked anxiously,humbly.

  "I am glad, very glad to be able to say that I think I do, daughter,"he replied joyously, tenderly. "For years past I have watched you veryclosely, constantly praying God to bless my efforts to train you up inthe way you should go, and bring you to Him, and I am very happy to saythat for a long while now I have seen that you were striving earnestlyto overcome your faults and live as a true disciple of Christ. And hadyou been snatched from me in that sudden way, while the loss of mydear child would have been terrible to me, I should not have mournedas those without hope; but should now be looking forward to a happymeeting with you in that blessed land where sin and sorrow and deathare unknown."

  "Thank you, dear papa, oh, thank you very much!" she said, withemotion. "If I am a Christian it is because you have taken almostinfinite pains to make me such, to point me to Christ and lead the way;the way that you made plainer to me than anyone else ever did."

  "Give all the glory and praise to God, my darling," he responded, inmoved tones. "It has been my daily, earnest prayer, that He would giveme wisdom for the work of bringing my children to Him and bless myefforts, and I think my petition has been granted. When you see a worklaid to your hands for which you feel incompetent, ask help from onhigh, remembering and pleading His gracious promise--'If any of youlack wisdom let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally andupbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith,nothing wavering.' Never forget that last clause. God knows the heart,and it will be useless for us to plead with Him a promise which we donot really believe."

  "Yes, papa; surely that would be insulting to even a human creature.Oh, pray for me, that I may have strong faith and never, never doubtone word of God's promises, or threats either, and that I may be alwaysready for whatever He sends. Oh, I can never thank Him enough forgiving me such a good, kind, praying, Christian father!"

  "And I have great reason for gratitude for the dear children he hasbestowed upon me," her father responded, pressing the hand he held,"and for the hope that we will spend a blessed eternity together inthat land where sin and sorrow are unknown."

  "Yes, papa, what a delightful thought that is! and yet I cannot helpfeeling glad to stay a little longer here in this world. Oh, this issuch a lovely morning and the view is as new to me as it is enchanting,for, as you know, in going to Chicago we passed over this part of theroute in the night, so that I saw nothing of the scenery."

  "Well, I think you may enjoy it to the full to-day," he returned, "andthat some time in the afternoon you will get a sight of the ThousandIslands; though, by the way, counting all, big and little, there arefifteen hundred or more."

  "Then we won't stop at all of them?"

  "Hardly," he answered with a smile. "They fill the river fortwenty-seven miles along its course. Most of them are mere rockyislets, covered generally with stunted hemlocks and cedar trees downto the water's edge. Some are square miles in extent and others only afew yards."

  "And how wide is the river where they are, papa?"

>   "It varies from two to nine miles in width. Canoes and small boats maypass safely among all the islands, and there is a deep channel forsteamboats and large vessels which, having a rocky bottom, never variesin depth or position."

  "Do they belong to our country or to Canada, papa? I ought to know,but, if I ever did, I have forgotten."

  "The boundary line, which was determined in 1818, passes among them.Grindstone, Carleton, and Wells are the names of the largest of thosebelonging to the United States, and Grand and Howe of those belongingto Canada."

  "And there are a good many stories connected with them, are there not,papa?"

  "Yes; perhaps one of these days we will hunt them up; for I know thatmy children--to say nothing of older people--are fond of stories."

  "Especially when told by our father, who is sure to make theminteresting," she said, with an upward glance into his face that spokevolumes of love and admiration.

  "Ah, such, it seems, is the opinion of my partial eldest daughter, whocan see nothing in her father but what is good and admirable."

  "A weakness equally shared by his wife," remarked a clear, sweet voicein their rear.

  They turned quickly at the sound, the captain exclaiming, as he letgo his daughter's hand, put an arm about Violet, bent down and kissedher tenderly, "This is a most agreeable surprise, my dearest, for Ileft you, at least, so I thought, fast asleep. I moved as quietly as Icould, not wishing to disturb your slumbers."

  "As you always do move on such occasions, my best and dearest ofhusbands," she responded, returning his caresses. "You made no noise,but somehow I happened to wake just as you closed the door, andthinking I would secure for myself the rare treat of an early walk withmy--better half, I left my berth promptly and began my toilet. So hereI am, to spoil Lu's private morning interview with the almost idolizedfather she considers her peculiar property at this hour of the day."

  "Ah!" he returned laughingly, "I put it the other way. She is myproperty, yet hardly more so than my lovely young wife."

  "Yes; you and I belong to each other, and Lu can say the same to you,"laughed Violet. "Can't you, Lu?"

  "So I think, Mamma Vi," returned Lucilla, "and though probably you arenearer and dearer to him than I, you cannot say as I can, that you havehis blood in your veins and have belonged to him ever since you wereborn."

  "No," acknowledged Violet, "but I can say I belong to him of choice,you only of necessity."

  "Oh, that doesn't matter!" laughed Lucilla; "since if I had theprivilege of choosing, I should be all the same his very, very own.That is, if he would have me," she added, with a look of ardentaffection up into her father's face, and laying her hand upon hisshoulder.

  "There is no question about that, dear child," he said, putting his armround her waist again. "Since the day I first heard of your birth therehas not been one in which I have not thanked God for this good gift ofHis to me," he concluded, with a fond caress.

  "So you see you have no need to be jealous even of me, Lu," Violetsaid, with pleased look and smile.

  "No, I am not, Mamma Vi, not in the least; for I would far rather bepapa's daughter than his wife. But, I suppose, you would rather havehim to yourself for a while now, so I will go down----"

  "No, no, Lu dear, stay here with us," interrupted Violet, while thecaptain drew his daughter a little closer, saying, "Stay where you are.Cannot I have and enjoy you both at once?"

  "Oh, I'm glad enough to be allowed to stay, if you both want me,"exclaimed Lucilla, with a pleased little laugh. "But I thought I hadhad my turn and was afraid I'd be in the way now."

  "When I find you in the way I shall not hesitate to give you an orderto go below," her father said, with a look of amusement.

  Then, taking her hand in his and giving the other arm to Violet, heresumed the interrupted promenade of the deck till they were joined bythe children and older members of the family party.

  Then came the summons to the breakfast table. All were in excellentspirits, greatly enjoying the pleasant change from yesterday's storm tothe lovely weather of to-day. Most of the day was spent upon the deckholding the Sabbath services usual with them there, then in readingand conversation suited to the sacred time, or in gazing out overthe waters, watching the passing vessels, and as they steamed fromthe lake into the St. Lawrence River and pursued their way among theislands there, gazing upon them with interest and curiosity.

  "Are we going to stop at any of them, papa?" asked Grace.

  "I think not," he replied. "We are in some haste to reach Montreal, aswe hope to find letters there from the home folks."

  "Yes," said Grandma Elsie, "I am hoping to hear from my boys--Haroldand Herbert--that they have arrived safely at home; also for some newsfrom all the other dear ones in that vicinity."

  "And we hope it will be all good news," added Captain Raymond cheerily.

  "And we will send despatches and letters to some of them, that all maybe apprised of our safety thus far," added his wife.

  "Yes, indeed," said Violet. "By the way, I wonder where our bride andgroom are by this time? I wish we might come across them and persuadethem to travel in the _Dolphin_ again. We would only have to crowd alittle as before, to make room for them."

  "And none of us would object to that, I think," remarked Rose.

  "I, for one, am decidedly of the opinion that it would pay," saidLucilla. "Don't you think so, father?"

  "Yes; I have always found their society enjoyable," Captain Raymondreplied to that. "And I hope they have found ours agreeable enough toneed but little urging to accept our invitation."

  "Perhaps we may come upon them in Montreal," remarked Grace. "Papa, isit not the largest city of Lower Canada?"

  "Yes; the largest in British America."

  "Where is it, papa?" asked little Elsie.

  "On the left bank of this--the St. Lawrence River, 200 miles below LakeOntario; 160 above Quebec, which will be our next stopping place."

  "Will we get there to-day, papa?" asked Elsie.

  "No," he replied. "To-day is nearly gone, daughter. See, the sun issetting, and you and Neddie will be going presently to your beds, tohave a good night's sleep, I hope, and be ready to enjoy to-morrow'svisit to Montreal."