And then the air was filled with exquisite music, for up the hills and through the valley came the sounds of the Sabbath bells. They had not rung before, and they came with a surprise to the people, who for a few minutes hushed their voices and listened in quiet pleasure. And then, for a little while, the homes were filled with the bustle of preparation, and soon the green hill was dotted with ascending figures of “young men and maidens, old men and children,” on their way to “praise the name of the Lord, whose name alone is excellent.” One of the last to go was Fanny Burton, who had lingered in case any laggards among the people needed shepherding. She found several, and took them to church with her. “I will wait for you,” she said; “we must not disappoint Mr. Knight to-day. It is his birthday—don’t you know?—and such a little thing as he asks in return for all the great things he has done for us, we couldn’t be so base as to deny him, not if we tried ever so.” And all the people found a home in the Father’s House. The best places, if there were any best, were allotted to those who had come in their working attire, because they had no other. The children were not put away in the gallery by themselves, but sat with their parents. The church was light and bright and comfortable; the colours were harmonious, and the arrangements simple and artistic. A great hush fell upon the congregation, and then the organ sounded softly, and the choir began to sing the first public words heard in the new sanctuary, “I will arise and go to my Father.” Next they knelt, and repeated together the prayer which Christ taught His disciples; and lips quivered and hearts throbbed as the old words, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven,” seemed to take new meanings. Then the grand _Te Deum_ rang exultingly through the building, and linked it to the sacred edifices of all the centuries, and the minister offered a short dedicatory prayer:—“Let the glory of the Lord fill the house of God. Let Thine eyes be open and Thine ears attend unto the prayer that is made in this place. Choose and sanctify this house that Thy name may be here for ever, and Thine eyes and Thy heart be here perpetually. Here may Thy wandering children come home to Thee, their Father; and here may they learn to love and to keep Thy statutes and Thy commandments. And here may Thy Son, Jesus Christ our Saviour, see of the travail of His soul and be satisfied, because through Him Thy children turn to Thee and are reconciled. Here let the little ones call His name blessed. Here may the old men find rest and peace in Him. And here may men and women come to have all that is good in them strengthened, and all that is evil cast out. From this place let us all go forth to do our work and live our lives in the way that is pleasing in Thy sight. And so let this our Father’s House be the dear home of all this people.”