"Charlie was a wee bit shy, but in a few minutes put his little head against his father's breast, and never offered to leave him again. "Mr. Wood then asked me to allow him to share the expense of his wife's stay at the Home where she had received such benefit; but I knew their business had suffered much in consequence of her neglect of it, and I begged him to allow me to defray the whole of it, telling him it was freely given 'to the Lord.' "'May He accept it, then,' he answered, 'and lay it up in heaven for you, for I can never, never repay my debt.' "While we were sitting, I took the opportunity of saying something which was on my mind, before his wife should come. "'Mr. Wood,' I said earnestly, 'you will forgive me for asking, but have you banished all intoxicating drinks from your table and house?' "'Of course I have,' he answered, surprised. "'Because,' I said, 'people are so forgetful; and I have heard of such sad cases of temptation and fall, from relatives selfishly continuing to take their moderate glass.' "'You could not think me so cruel,' he said, looking sadly at me. "'No, no; I only mentioned it.' "'And now,' he said, 'tell me, what was your reason for abstaining, may I ask?' "'Certainly,' I answered; 'it was just this. I was reading in my Bible one day, and this verse seemed to haunt me after I closed the book: '"It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor anything whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak." "'I pondered it for a long time before I could make up my mind. It was to me a piece of dreadful self-denial not to offer it to my friends as a usual beverage; but when I remembered that thousands in our country had ruined homes and broken hearts through its use, I could hesitate no longer.' "He grasped my hand. 'But for your self-denial, my life here and hereafter would have been ruined,' he said. "As he spoke, for we had been so earnestly talking we had not heard the bell, Jane opened the door, and Mrs. Wood was announced. "She came across the floor looking at me, and apparently going to speak to me first, but her eyes fell upon her husband and baby; and forgetting her former intention, she threw herself upon her knees before them, and, encircling her child with her arms, buried her face in its lap, and sobbed out in a broken voice, 'Oh, Harry, forgive, forgive me!' "I saw him put his arm round them both with a smothered, 'My dear, I am only too glad,' and then I slipped away. "When I went back again after half-an-hour, they were sitting side by side, holding each other's hands, and looking, oh, so happy! Charlie had fallen asleep in his father's arms, and his mother had lifted his feet into her lap, and was holding them in her disengaged hand. "She looked up in my face with a somewhat mournful look replacing the joyful one. 'He will not come to me,' she said; 'he does not know me.'