The Argosy — page 325: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

306 In the Past. Then there was another silence, and Mr. Dewar, lying still, with moist eyes, marvelled greatly that he could have been so long blind to the blessing that lay ever within his grasp—that he could have dwelt miserably in the past, when the poignancy of recollection might have been soothed by the priceless blessings of a woman’s love, sym- pathy and forgiveness. The mother’s instinct impelled Mrs. Dewar to ask one question. “What of the child, John?” she inquired, gently. Then he told her how his inquiries had failed to elicit any informa- tion on that subject, and of the strange meeting and discovery in the cemetery. Mrs. Dewar became very agitated. “Tt is the same!” she exclaimed, with much emotion. “He is Frank’s friend: he has been very good to him. John, you must see this young man. It is Azs forgiveness that you must seek. After that, we will all forget the past.” John Carson’s forgiveness was not hard to obtain. On the follo-y- ing day he was closeted with the sick man for an hour, and when they parted there was no bitterness in either man’s heart. Frank and Carson, who still live together, and are making steady progress in their respective professions, often run down for a few days to Ilfracombe, whither Mr. and Mrs. Dewar have moved, by the doctor’s advice. John Dewar is a confirmed invalid, and his days cannot be long ; but what he has lost in health and strength, he has gained in peace and happiness. He has gained, too, in breadth of sympathy. Affliction, in his case, has cleared the moral vision. So great a failure himself, he has grown to look with more charity upon the failings of others. Ina word, he has caught, for the first time, a little of the true spirit of the teaching of that great Master whom he has so long professed to follow—Who hated the sin, but loved the sinner—the golden spirit of forbearance, tolerance, and eternal love. - His temper is still imperfect: he is especially irritable when his wife is away from him, even for an hour. But when she is with him, his eyes rest upon her with the contentment of a child ; and to him- self he often murmurs thankfully: ‘‘ Whereas I was blind, now I see.” ECORNIELOOKS Com