"Bless you! my dear child, for those kind words; they cheer my heart. I look upon them as an answer to my prayer; for this morning there was an hour of darkness, when I thought of them, especially of Effie; but now I can keep my eyes fixed upon Heaven, and bid adieu forever to earthly cares." Effie was weeping bitterly, her mother turned her face towards her and said, "Do not distrust our Heavenly Father, my child; he will comfort and sustain you; he has sent this dear little friend to us in our hour of sorrow." Turning to Madeline, she continued, "Tell your father, Maddy, that we shall never forget his kindness; for weeks your family physician has been attending me, sent by your father; he has done all that he can, but vain is the help of man." Madeline was deeply impressed by the lesson of that solemn hour, for she had never been so near the presence of death before. From that hour, she spared no pains to administer to the comfort of her precious friend. Betty, the old cook, was a kind-hearted woman, and daily prepared some little delicacy grateful to the invalid, which Madeline and Lucy took with their own hands. Deep was the sorrow settling down upon the heart of Roland Bruce; for his mother was parent, friend, guide--his only earthly stay. When he looked into the wilderness of life without his mother, it did indeed seem a desolate, dreary waste. He sat looking upon the pale face regarding him with such a look of unutterable love. "Roland, come sit by me; I have much to say to you while I have strength to speak." He arose and seated himself close by his mother's side. "You are seventeen now, my son, with almost the character of a man; and, blessed be God! I believe that you are his dear child." Roland took his mother's hand, and while tears rained over it, he replied, "To you, dear mother, under God, I owe all that I am. I can never forget the lessons of wisdom, truth, trust in God, and heroic endurance that you have taught me by examples from the Bible, from the world, and especially from our own honored race." "You must never forget your lineage, Roland; you are not descended from those who derive their greatness from outward show, magnificent adornment, or the pomp and equipage of courts. Your ancestors were trained in the humble manse, in the lowly cottage, among the rude mountains of Scotland, and their grandeur was moral only. They were born in the days when to be a spiritual Christian was to hold life very cheap--the spirit of those days has always distinguished our race, for in every generation, there has been a witness for God among the Gordons." "I have never forgotten it, mother," answered Roland. "I think it is that which makes me think so little of the pomp of this world. I have never felt at all impressed by what I have seen at Woodcliff, because I contrast it all with the humble tomb-stone in that Scottish glen, and with all else that you have told me of the name of Gordon."