She refused to look--she coloured, hanging her head so that her eyes should not be caught.
For some time she was unaware of the progress of the service.

Then the clear emphasis of his voice caught again her attention.

"Our lesson for to-day," he said, "is from the Fortieth Chapter of Isaiah." He proceeded to read: Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.
Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins.
The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
The voice said, Cry.

And he said, What shall I cry?
All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field:...
The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; but the word of our God shall stand for ever.
O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God! Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.
He shall feed his flock like a shepherd; he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.
How many times had Maggie heard the reading of those words.

They brought instantly back to her her father's voice, the strange snuffling hurry with which he hastened to the end, his voice hesitating a little as his wandering eye caught the misbehaviour of some small boy in the choir.
Now the words were charged with a conviction that was neither forced nor adopted for dramatic effect.