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Hester Morley's promise. By Hesba Stretton
Hester Morley's promise By Hesba Stretton Author:Sarah Smith Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. IN SUCCESSION. The church at Little Aston was by no means Carl BramweH's ideal church. With the exception of the Waldrons and Morleys, it consis... more »ted almost exclusively of very ordinary and vulgar persons, of little education and not over-enlightened religion. Their number was not so large as that of his fellow-students, every one of whose faces he could read as he preached to them. But these people looking at him were his souls. .Their eyes were the open windows of spirits who were to be led by him. A fine film of tears threw a hazy glory over them. He saw nothing of the smallness and commonness and vulgarity of this very common church, some of whom " served God," as Carlyle says, " by laboriously selling a red herring." Carl's blue eyes grew dim as he sat at Mr. Waldron's right hand in a square pew under the pulpit; and he felt what an awful thing it is to take the care of souls. He was so wrapt in this enthusiasm, that he neither heard Mr. Waldron speak, nor the congregation rise to their feet, until a voice close beside him, a voice soft and sweet and clear, suddenly rang through his trance and startled him as with an electric shock. It was nothing more than a voice starting the tune for the hymn about to be sung, but Carl turned his head quickly to the spot whence it sounded. He could not be mistaken as to who were the white-haired and sorrow-stricken man, and the young girl standing closely at his side ; and his own face flushed and burned with an uncontrollable emotion as he caught the glance of both their eyes. It was a hymn of welcome, and he could have wept, but for very shame- facedness, as he listened to it. His eyes were still dazzled, and his heart beating painfully, when, after Mr. Waldron had said what he had to say in introducing him to his Ch...« less