He showed him how the heart of Jesus was, all
through, the heart of a son, a son that adored his perfect father;
and how if he had not had his perfect son to help him, God could not
have made any of us, could never have got us to be his little sons
and daughters, loving him with all our might. Then Davie's heart
would glow, and he would feel ready to do whatever that son might
want him to do; and Donal hoped, and had good ground for hoping,
that, when the hour of trial came, the youth would be able to hold,
not merely by the unseen, but by the seemingly unpresent and unfelt,
in the name of the eternally true.
Donal's youth began to seem far behind him. All bitterness was gone
out of his memories of lady Galbraith. He loved her tenderly, but
was pleased she should be Gibbie's.
How much of this happy change was owing to his interest in lady
Arctura he did not inquire: greatly interested in her--more in very
important ways than he had ever been in lady Galbraith--he was so
jealous of his heart, shrank so much from the danger of folly, knew
so well how small an amount of yielding might unfit him for the
manly and fresh performance of his duties--among which came first a
due regard for her well-being lest he should himself fail or mislead
her--that he often turned his thoughts into another channel, lest in
that they should run too swiftly, deepen it too fast, and go far to
imprison themselves in another agony.
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