"Well, mother," said Phil, who shuffled about uneasily, "I have seen so many hypocrites among Church members that I, for one, do not wish to be classed with them. There was Tom Adams, one of Mr. Meach's favorites, who was always in his seat at the meeting-house, who would not shave on Sunday, but had no conscience about shaving us six days in the week. He would not blacken his boots on Sunday, but he did not hesitate to blacken the character of any man in the settlement who disagreed with him in anything, on Sunday or any other day." "The very existence of hypocrites is a proof of the existence of a reality," said Mrs. Wright, "for if you should happen to find a counterfeit coin it would need no argument to convince you that it was copied from a genuine one. There are genuine Christians as well as counterfeits, and the omniscient and omnipresent God knows the one from the other; and as hypocrites have not the faintest chance of heaven, you had better beware, dear boy, lest you should be 'classed with hypocrites' throughout the never-ending ages of eternity." Phil's scepticism was a crushing grief to his mother and sister, who set themselves resolutely to win him to the faith with the full force of their intellects. They read, they pleaded, they wrote, they argued, they reasoned. As time went on their best efforts seemed frustrated, and, when at length they seemed to come to the end of all their resources, both cast themselves in utter despair upon God and prayed as only a mother and sister can. Nor did they pray in vain, for the time came when he found his way out of the darkness into the light of truth. CHAPTER VIII. _CONVENT DAYS._ 1806. Abbie, who was the very reverse of her sister in appearance and disposition, still remained in the convent, the seclusion of which had not transformed her into a religious recluse--rather the reverse. Her association with gay daughters of wealthy Seigneurs and others had the effect of deepening her love of adventure and romance. Sally Smith continued to be her most intimate friend, and any holidays, which in those days were few and far between, were spent at the Citadel. One evening a young officer called, and during the absence of her mother from the room Sally said, her eyes dancing with mischief: "Let me introduce you to my friend, Miss Wabisca Onodis, Lieutenant Randall. Miss Onodis," she continued, "is the daughter of an Algonquin Chief, and is a boarder at the convent." "Aw, indeed," said the officer, "I should never have dreamed that your friend was an Indian girl. Have you had much difficulty in acquiring a knowledge of English?" asked the lieutenant. "Not at all," replied Abbie, "I understand everything that is said, but find difficulty at times in choosing words best fitted to give expression to my deepest emotions."