They walk too fair for earth that naebody can find fault wi'." So James nursed the evil passion in his own heart; indeed, he had nursed it so long that he could not of himself resign it, and in all his prayers--and he did pray frequently, and often sincerely--he never named this subject to God, never once asked for his counsel or help in the matter.
Twelve years after his marriage with Christine David died, died as he had often wished to die, very suddenly.

He was well at noon; at night he had put on the garments of eternal Sabbath.

He had but a few moments of consciousness in which to bid farewell to his children.
"Christine," he said cheerfully, "we'll no be lang parted, dear lassie;" and to James a few words on his affairs, and then almost with his last breath, "James, heed what I say: 'Blessed are the merciful, for they shall--obtain mercy.'" There seemed to have been some prophetic sense in David's parting words to his daughter, for soon after his death she began to fail rapidly.

What James suffered as he saw it only those can tell who have watched their beloved slowly dying, and hoped against hope day after day and week after week.

Perhaps the hardest part was the knowledge that she had never recovered the health she had previous to the terrible shock which his revelation of Donald's guilt had been to her.
He forgot his own share in the shock and threw the whole blame of her early decay on Donald.