"Oh, Archag! Don't be in such a hurry; let us have a little chat. Why aren't you with your friends, instead of wandering about the country like a lost soul?" "I prefer to be alone; my sadness is oppressive to my friends." "So instead of exercising a little self-control, you go on brooding over your sorrow." "I can't forget what has happened." "Of course not. I quite understand that, but there is something else troubling you; I have noticed it for a long time. Won't you talk to me as you would to your mother, and tell me what it is that is hurting you so much?" Archag was won by the motherly tone. "The fact is, Mrs. Spencer, I am consumed by doubt; God seems to me so cruel, I can't believe in His goodness." Mrs. Spencer became grave. "Don't you remember those words of the Bible, 'Whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth,' and 'His ways are not as our ways'?" "Yes; but those horrible massacres, why did He permit them? Thousands of Armenians have perished. Look at the widows! Look at the orphans! Look at the misery!" "Why did He permit it? Because he thought this trial necessary to our faith. Besides, did He not foretell trials and tribulations? Think of the first Christians, submitting to torture as a means of glorifying God, seeking death that they might draw near to Jesus." "But what good can come of such atrocities?" "Archag, Archag, is it for us to put such questions? I am not blaming you, for when President Mills told me of the death of my dear husband, I reeled under the terrible blow, and I too murmured, 'Why, O Lord, why? He was working here so earnestly for the advancement of Thy Kingdom; why hast Thou taken him?' But the Lord took pity on my weakness, and showed me His reasons. You know Nersès, the son of Badvili Ballosian? His parents used to be broken-hearted over his frivolity and misconduct. But the martyrdom of his father affected him so deeply that he has repented of his ways, and given his heart to Jesus. "Yesterday I was present at a prayer-meeting in town. Both men and women were filled with the Spirit of God; never have I heard such prayers; the world and their sufferings were quite forgotten, and all those radiant faces plainly declared that they had found the Saviour. The memory of Professor Pagratian and Dr. Spencer is alive in their souls, and these lives of self-denial, crowned by martyrdom, will continue to be an example for us all. Believe me, Archag, the massacres have been a baptism of blood for the Armenians, and have taught your people to understand themselves better. Look at the Church: it was never stronger than at the time of the great persecutions. If the Armenians had known nothing but prosperity and comfort, they would not be what they are to-day; the pernicious influence of Mohammedanism would have had its effect on their hearts and weakened their courage. The Armenian nation would have forgotten its glorious past and denied the religion of its fathers."