"You remember the story of the bishop who was told the ship upon which he was travelling was about to sink? I will try and quote it from memory— "’The sea it was rough and the ship it did lurch, And it blew without reason or ruth; And the consequence was this mainstay of the Church Suffered much for the sake of the truth. And the sea it grew rough, and the night it grew black, And the rain-drops fell heavy and thick, And the bishop he heartily wished himself back, While Rangoon—it might go to Old Nick! "Oh, skipper, I really enjoy a good blow, And ’tis truly a glorious sight; But your candid opinion I’m anxious to know— Do you think there is danger to-night?" The skipper he hitched himself up, and he laughed, Then he suddenly grew very grave, As a hurricane squall seemed to stagger the craft, And she buried her nose in a wave. And he said, "Well, your Grace, it’s a dirtyish night, But whether the vessel will ride, I really can’t tell you; you’ll know before night, In Providence we must confide." "Good gracious!" the bishop exclaimed in dismay As he clutched at his old shovel hat; "This is terrible, skipper; you don’t mean to say That really it has _come to that_!"’ "I think it has ’come to that’ in this instance too!" *PART IV* *THE BESTOWAL* "Human endurance is the one miracle left in the world."—E. ROBINS. *CHAPTER I* "Lord, I have laid my heart upon Thy altar, But cannot get the wood to burn; It hardly flames ere it begins to falter, And to the dark return. ’Tis all I have—smoke, failure, foiled endeavour, Coldness and doubt and palsied lack; Such as I have I send Thee; perfect Giver, Send Thou Thy lightning back." GEORGE MACDONALD. "Let men see, let them know a real man who lives as he was meant to live."—MARCUS AURELIUS. The sensation of pain does not immediately strike a man who is severely wounded; first, he feels a sting like a lash, then numbness succeeds, presently he falls. Mental pain is, after all, very like physical. Acute shock paralyzes mind and soul; it puts a clog in the wheel of human machinery. Great calamities do not necessarily stop human functions from fulfilling their duties; a man eats or drinks, or may, in exceptional cases, even sleep as well in the first moment of a great crisis as before. Body and soul are braced to the day’s routine; for a time they continue their offices unchecked. But presently the chill and paralysis of thought and action spread throughout his being. Then ordinary work is impossible. Merely to live is a labour, the most trivial effort an arduous achievement.