Presently she felt her husband's hand upon her shoulder, and heard his voice saying: "Many happy returns! Here is my double present for your wedding and your birthday," and he placed an important looking envelope in her hands. At first Margaret gazed at the packet uncomprehendingly, then the nature of the gift became clear. "_The Abbey House!_" she exclaimed. "You have bought the Abbey--House--Gordon?" "Yes, and I now present it to my wife," he said gaily. "I hope she is pleased?" "Pleased? I can scarcely believe it--the dear old home--ours?" "Yes, the late owners are going abroad and wanted to sell, and at last I have got what I have been hoping to have the opportunity of purchasing for some time. We will go there to live, dear, as soon as you like." "Oh, I don't know how to thank you!--it is beyond my wildest dreams," answered Margaret. "I so loved the place. But, Gordon (the brightness fading a little from her face), how will Ellice like leaving Oaklands? She is just as attached to it as I was to the old home." "I know," answered Mr. Medhurst; "we will keep it, dear, and come out here in the summer months. Betsy and James can remain in charge." "That will be splendid, and please us all," she answered quietly, adding, as if to herself, "I sometimes wonder why God has been so bountiful to me." We leave Margaret Woodford, while yet the ministry of life is unfinished, and her future and that of her loved ones an unwritten page, knowing that for her and all God's servants, the promise remains unshakable--"I will be with thee all the days. When thou passest through the waters, they shall not overflow thee."