The more David went to prayer-meetings, the less likely was he to make inadmissible demands on what belonged to him.

As for poor Reuben, he seemed to have got his wish; while he and Hannah had been doing their best to drive Sandy's son to perdition through a downward course of 'loafing,' God had sent Mr.Dyson to put Davy back on the right road.

But he was ill at ease; he watched the excitement, which all the lad's prickly reticence could not hide from those about him, with strange and variable feelings.

As a Christian, he should have rejoiced; instead, the uncle and nephew shunned each other more than ever, and shunned especially all talk of the revival.

Perhaps the whole situation--the influence of the new man, of the local talk, of the quickened spiritual life around him, did but aggravate the inner strain in Reuben.