“I am afraid that we sometimes ask for blessings which we have no earnest desire to obtain. Do we not sometimes pray to be delivered from pride and uncharitableness, when at the time we are fostering these enemies as welcome guests in our hearts? Have we fully entered into the spirit of that prayer which we have so often uttered:— ‘The dearest idol I have known, Whate’er that idol be, Help me to tear it from thy throne, And worship only Thee?’ If we were quite certain that such prayers would be granted _directly_, would we not sometimes be afraid to breathe them, and is there then no insincerity in having them so frequently on our lips?” “O Ida!” exclaimed Mabel, with a sigh; “you look a great deal too closely into the heart! If our very prayers be full of sin, what must our worldly actions be? The most disagreeable duty in the world is this searching for hidden evil, this dreadful self-examination! I am sure that a great many good people never practise it, and are much happier for their ignorance of themselves.” “What should we say, dear one, of a man of business who refused to look into his books, lest he should find the balance against him? of the owner of a dwelling who should be content to keep one room swept and cleansed, leaving all the rest, with locked doors and closed shutters, to darkness and pollution? what should we think of the governor of a castle, who should pace proudly along the battlements, careless whether a lurking foe had not penetrated to the heart of the fortress?” “I should certainly think the two first fools, and the third a traitor to his trust,” replied Mabel. “But, Ida, this self-examination only makes us miserable! If I find every round in my ladder broken, and have my fierce enemy behind me, and before me the heights which I shall never be able to reach,—what can I do but sit down and despair?” “You forget, you forget,” cried Ida, with animation, “the bright golden cord which is let down to you from above. We cannot climb to heaven by our good works; but faith, living, loving faith, can grasp the means of salvation held out by a merciful Saviour. The more helpless we feel ourselves, the more eagerly we cling to our only sure hope. Mabel, this is the glory of the Gospel. It humbles the sinner, but exalts the Saviour; it shows us that we can do nothing in ourselves, yet can do all things through Him who loved and gave himself for us!” Mabel made no reply in words, but she drooped her head till it found its resting-place on a sister’s bosom. An arm was gently drawn around her, and Ida imprinted a silent kiss on her brow. The demon Pride stood gloomily aloof; he felt himself baffled for a time, and dared not intrude his presence on the sisters during the remainder of that peaceful day! CHAPTER XI. THE QUARREL.