And I hope--I hope all will be well!" He paused--and pressed Reay's hand again--then glanced up at the quaint sheep-faced clock that ticked monotonously against the kitchen wall.

"She will be coming back from church directly,"-- he continued--"Won't you go and meet her ?" "Shall I ?" And Reay's face brightened.
"Do!" Another moment, and Helmsley was alone--save for the silent company of the little dog stretched out upon the hearth.

And he lost himself in a profound reverie, the while he built a castle in the air of his own designing, in which Self had no part.

How many airy fabrics of beauty and joy had he not raised one after the other in his mind, only to see them crumble into dust!--but this one, as he planned it in his thoughts, nobly uplifted above all petty limits, with all the light of a broad beneficence shining upon it, and a grand obliteration of his own personality serving as the very cornerstone of its foundation, seemed likely to be something resembling the house spoken of by Christ, which was built upon a rock--against which neither winds, nor rains, nor floods could prevail.

And when Mary came back from Church, with Reay accompanying her, she found him looking very happy.