"Dear father!" But he did not reply.
"It is my life-discipline, father," she said; "I will be happier and better, no doubt, in the end for this severe trial.

Dear father, do not let what is inevitable so break down your heart.

You are my strong, brave, good father, and I shall need now more than ever, your sustaining arm.

There was no help for this.

It had to come, sooner or later.