" Caryl Carne smiled; and the church clock of
Springhaven solemnly struck midnight.
CHAPTER XXXII
THE TRIALS OF FAITH
He following day, the 27th of October, was a dark one in the calendar of
a fair and good young lady. Two years would then have passed since Faith
Darling, at the age of twenty, had received sad tidings, which would
make the rest of her life flow on in shadow. So at least she thought,
forgetful (or rather perhaps unconscious, for she had not yet learned
the facts of life) that time and the tide of years submerge the loftiest
youthful sorrow. To a warm and stedfast heart like hers, and a nature
strong but self-controlled, no casual change, or light diversion, or
sudden interest in other matters, could take the place of the motive
lost. Therefore, being of a deep true faith, and staunch in the belief
of a great God, good to all who seek His goodness, she never went away
from what she meant, that faith and hope should feed each other.
This saved her from being a trouble to any one, or damping anybody's
cheerfulness, or diminishing the gaiety around her. She took a lively
interest in the affairs of other people, which a "blighted being"
declines to do; and their pleasures ministered to her own good cheer
without, or at any rate beyond, her knowledge. Therefore she was liked
by everybody, and beloved by all who had any heart for a brave and
pitiful story. Thus a sweet flower, half closed by the storm, continues
to breathe forth its sweetness.
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