She pressed her arms about him more tightly, and there were tears in his eyes as he stooped to kiss her brow.

Beth thought of all his tenderness that night as she lay in bed, and then slept, with the rain beating on the roof overhead.

It was a bright sunshiny Sabbath morning when she awoke.  She remembered with pleasure how much she had liked Mr. Perth, the new minister, that Sunday.  She had heard him before she went away.  He had seemed such an energetic, wide-awake, inspiring man!  Beth liked that stamp of people.  She meant to be a progressive girl.  She meant to labor much and to have much success.

She was quite early at church that morning, and interested herself by looking at Mrs. Perth, whom she had never seen before.  She was a fair, slender, girlish creature—­very youthful indeed for a married woman.  She had a great mass of light hair, drawn back plainly from a serenely fair forehead.  The fashion became her well, for, in fact, the most striking thing about her face was its simplicity and purity.  She was certainly plain-looking, but Beth fancied her face looked like the white cup of a lily.  She had such beautiful blue eyes, too, and such a sweet smile.

“I think I shall love her.  I believe we shall be great friends,” thought Beth, after she had had an introduction to Mrs. Perth; and they did become fast friends.

Beth had seldom been at Sunday-school since she left home, but an impulse seized her to go this afternoon.  She was quite early, and she sat down in a seat by herself to muse awhile.  She gazed at the lilies about the altar and the stained-glass windows above the organ.  How long it seemed to look back to that Sunday of two months ago!  She shuddered slightly, and tried to change her thoughts, but she could not help going back to it.  It seemed as though years had since passed.  So it is always.  We go about our daily tasks, and the time passes swiftly or slowly, according as our lives are active or monotonous.  Then a crisis comes—­an upheaval—­a turn in the current.  It lasts but a moment, perhaps, but when we look back, years seem to have intervened.  Beth gave a half sigh, and concluded she was a little weary, as the people poured into the Bible-class.  Mrs. Perth came and sat beside Beth.  Is it not strange how, in this world of formality and convention, we meet someone now and again, and there is but a look, a word, a, smile, and we feel that we have known them so long?  There is something familiar in their face, and we seem to have walked beside them all along the way.  It was just so with Beth and Mrs. Perth.  Sweet May Perth!  She soon learned to call her that.