Three years, or nearly four must elapse ere he could feel at liberty to marry; not till he beheld himself a minister of God.

Yet interminable as to his imagination the intervening years appeared, still there was no trembling in his trusting heart.

If his Father on high ordained them for each other, it mattered not how long the time that must elapse, and if for some wise purpose his wishes were delayed, he recognised the hand of God, and saw "that it was good." Yet Herbert could not resist the impulse to behold Mary once more ere she quitted England to explain to her his feelings; to understand each other.

He knew the day his father intended going to Dover, and the evening previous, much to the astonishment of his family, made his appearance amongst them.

All expressed pleasure at his intention but one, and that one understood not why; but when she heard the cause of his unexpected visit, a sudden and indefinable pang shot through her young heart, dimming at once the joy with which the sight of him had filled it.