by Anonymous
CHAPTER XXIII.
_THE END OF THE JOURNEY._
Yes, they came home.
The three months did pass away at length, and the last part of it flewmuch quicker than the beginning.
"We shall arrive, 'God willing,' about the end of March, as we sail bythe _Sardinia_ on the 15th; but you will get a telegram from Liverpoolwhen we land," wrote their father.
John could understand that "God willing" better now than he did whenthey went away; for he had taken that "will of God" as the one object ofhis life.
It might be--it would be--with many failures, but "What wilt Thou?" wasnow his one question, and to do it his one desire.
Of strong character, with a will which was difficult to curb, he foundit an inexpressible comfort to yield to One who was so strong, thatthere could not be a question of His power; and when once the greatsurrender had been made, he walked along holding the guiding hand withtender love and reverence.
One morning, just as Agnes and her sisters were sitting down to lessons,a telegram was brought in by the new maid, whom Agnes had found andinstalled more than a month before.
"We are in Liverpool, and hope to reach you about five o'clock," itsaid.
Minnie and Alice got up and jumped round the room as the only suitableexpression of their feelings; and as for Agnes, her thankfulness wasquiet, but too deep for words.
"May I rush in and tell grandmamma?" exclaimed Alice, when her wildcapers had come at last to a stop.
When she saw that Agnes gave permission, she snatched up the telegramand was off in an instant.
"I don't believe she'll wait for her hat and jacket," said Minnie,acting policeman.
"Oh, yes, she will! They are hanging in the hall."
Minnie peeped out of window, and in another moment Alice, dressed insome style, emerged from the door, ran down the steps, and was admittedto the next house.
"Must I go on with school?" asked Minnie rather forlornly.
"No; to-day is too good a day for it not to be a holiday. Clear up thebooks, Minnie, and surprise Alice."
Minnie did not need twice telling; and then she and Agnes went upstairsto prepare their parents' room, to see that the new Jane made a nicefire, and that everything was well aired and ready.
While they were busy Alice came back from next door with a long, heavyroll in her arms.
"The hearthrug?" questioned Agnes.
"Yes. We are not to lay it down till everything is done and the roomperfectly ready. Oh, it _is_ a beauty! I never saw such a pretty rug."
Then at one o'clock the boys came home, and great were the laments thatthe travellers might arrive before they returned from afternoon school;but this had to be endured, and, as Alice suggested. "Perhaps, afterall, they _wouldn't_."
Nor did they. The boys closed up with greater speed than they had everdone before, and raced home. As they turned the corner of their street acab was rattling along in front of them, and, half-fearing andhalf-hoping, they set off to outstrip it, which they managed to do, andarrived too breathless to speak, but with glowing, happy faces, in timeto open the cab door, just as a shout from Minnie at the windowannounced the fact of the arrival to those inside the house.
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"Father," said Hugh, when, late that night, after their parents hadcome back from visiting their grandmother next door, they all sattogether round the fire, as if loth to part, "Father, would you mindtelling us all, now we are together, what you said to me upstairs?"
His father gave a quick look at him; for upstairs Hugh had told him allabout that episode with Tom on Christmas-day.
"Would you rather, dear boy?" asked his father.
"Yes; I was not brave once, but I'll try to be brave now."
His mother held out one hand to him, the other being clasped by Agnes,while Minnie sat at their feet, leaning against them, though shedisdained the idea of being in the least sleepy.
John sat by his father, his eyes shining with a serene light.
"Well, my boy," said Mr. Headley, after a moment, only pausing to drawAlice close to his side, "what I said upstairs was this, I think. Motherand I decided long ago for ourselves, that, seeing the misery whichdrink brings to thousands in our country, we will not, for our part,take one drop of it except as medicine. We will do our best to provethat men and women can live, and be happy too, without it. If you readthe fourteenth of Romans, you will see all the arguments set down whichinfluenced us. Feeling that this is for us a sacred duty, we havebrought you up in the same way, expecting you as a matter of obedienceto abstain while you are young. By-and-by you will be able to judgemore wisely than you can now."
"Then explain to them where I was wrong, father."
"You failed in obedience--and in courage," added his father.
"Yes," answered Hugh very gravely, "I saw that very soon, but not asplainly as you have put it, father."
"I have sometimes felt it a great comfort in the perplexities whicharise in our hearts and lives to do as Paul says--'Take the shield of_faith_ whereby we may quench the fiery darts of the wicked one'--and Ibelieve it is applicable to you too, Hugh.
"When questions come up which I cannot answer, I say to myself, 'I willtake refuge under my faith in my heavenly Father; if I hide under _His_shadow, the fiery darts will have no power. He has said so; He knowsbest.'
"So you, Hugh, take refuge under your faith in your earthly father, say'he knows best;' and while you are young it will help you to find ananswer, when otherwise you might be tempted to do what you would grievein after years to have done."
"But you don't think drinking a glass of beer or wine wrong in itself,father?"
"Wrong for me, thinking as I do; wrong for you, because of myconvictions, and my commands to you concerning them."
Hugh seemed entirely satisfied; for was he not forgiven? And then theyturned to other subjects, though Alice's eyes were looking wonderinglyat them all.
"Mother," she said suddenly, as Mrs. Headley's white shawl fell from hershoulders, "you have a different dress on from any you had before youwent away, and it----has _crepe_ on it."
"Yes," answered her mother gently; "but my heart is not in mourning."
"But----," said Alice, not liking to ask more.
"Yes," Mrs. Headley went on, "I had a lovely two months with her;'cheered her heart,' she said. We had time to talk together of all theway we had been led. I learned from her how faith in God can triumphwhen outward circumstances are anything but prosperous (for she had notlet me know all these years what a struggle she had had with poverty);and then I was, through dear father's kindness, able to arrange things alittle better for her, and to add several comforts to her lot. DirectlyI got there, dear father let me buy an invalid chair for her, and manythings which eased her exceedingly, and I prepared to leave her with theprospect of her never being so straitened again; for he allowed me toarrange for her to receive that little money I have of my own, whichadded to her small income would make a great difference.
"But the Lord knew best; and though He let me do all this for my mother,that my heart might be comforted, He took the care of her into His ownhands.
"Just a week before we sailed I was sitting with her one evening whenshe said, as quietly as we are talking now:
"'My dear, the Lord's been very good to give you to me--long ago, andnow. The journey is almost over, but _He_ is at the end.'
"I only clasped her hand in answer; for she looked tired, and I thoughtshe would sleep; and so she did--but it was to wake to find herself atthe end of her journey, and with Him."
"Dear mother," said John, coming over to kiss her, "why did you not tellus? We have been too cheerful and noisy for you to-night."
"No," she answered. "I would not have saddened our return to you foranything. I am _not_ sad, children. If the dear Lord had asked me Icould not have chosen anything I should like better. To have been withher for nearly two months, and then to have watched her go home, whatcould heart wish more?"
"Then is that why Agnes has been crying since you came?" asked Minnie,turning round to look up in her sister's tearful face.
"Perhaps," said her mother; "for Agnes guessed at once, and it has comeas sad news to her; but she will rejoice in my joy soon."
"I'm glad you went," said Hugh, "even though----"
"Even though what, dear?" asked his mother.
"Even though I've had such a lot to learn while you've been gone."
"So have I," said John humbly; and Mr. Headley added:
"But the lessons learned in our Father's school are golden lessons, andcan never fade away."
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JOHN F. SHAW AND CO., PATERNOSTER ROW.
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TRANSCRIBER NOTES:
Obvious spelling and punctuation errors repaired.
Page 103: "any-rate" changed to "anyrate" Page 138: "spellbound" changed to "spell-bound"
Numerous mismatched quotes and end quote missing punctuation errorsignored.
Italic text is denoted by _underscore_ and bold text by =equal signs=.