"Is it hard," replied Viner gently, "that we should give up something for Him who has given us all? Let us remember the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, though He was rich, yet for our sakes, He became poor! He was rich, indeed, for the Son of God sat on the throne of heaven; He became poor indeed, for the Son of Man had not where to lay His head! 'He was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin; and inasmuch as He suffered being tempted, He is able to succour them that are tempted.' He knows—He feels for our trials!" "The faith of His early followers was far more severely tried than ours. They had to endure not only want, but tortures, mockings, cruel deaths, for the sake of the Master whom they loved. And do you think that any martyr at the stake then, or any saint on his death-bed now, thought or thinks that he has done or given up too much for the Saviour who gave His life for him?" "Oh no!" exclaimed Nelly, "Never! Only think of the glory and the crown! It is better to walk barefoot on a thorny way, and know that we will come to a kingdom at the end of our journey, and be happy for ever and ever, than to roll along in a golden carriage, and to feel that every minute brings us nearer and nearer to misery that never will end! We never can be really happy but when we do God's will like the angels!" "How do the angels do God's will?" said Viner. The child paused a moment to think, then replied, "Faithfully, readily, joyfully." "But the angels have not to suffer God's will as well as to do it," observed Walter. "No," replied Viner, "in this, man alone has the honour of following the steps of his Lord! We only are able, in this our short life, to imitate Him who in agony prayed, 'Not my will but Thine be done!'" Walter had nothing to answer; he remained silent, though scarcely convinced. The convict's son could not feel the full force of the Scripture: "What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" Nor knew he yet how much is comprised in the prayer: "THY WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN!" [Illustration] CHAPTER V. "Give us this day our daily bread." I WILL now pass over a space of ten years, with all its joys and sorrows, its hopes and fears, and take my reader once more to E—.