"You must have had a distressing journey, Mr.
Gay ?" "I was very much alarmed," replied Gay, with a nervous gesture as if he were pushing aside a disagreeable responsibility.

"The note took three days to find me, and I didn't know until I got here whether she was alive or dead." "It is easy to understand your feelings," returned the rector, still whispering though Gay had spoken in his natural voice.

"Such a mother as yours deserves the most careful cherishing that you can give her.

To know her has been an inspiration, and I am never tired of repeating that her presence in the parish, and occasional attendance at church, are privileges for which we should not forget to be thankful.

It is not possible, I believe, for any woman to approach more closely the perfect example of her sex." "Perhaps I had better go up to her at once.