I made an instantaneous motion to withdraw my hand, but he held it
firmly.
Though there was a grim sort of familiarity, there was also decision,
shrewdness, and, above all, kindness, in his dark face--a gleam on the
whole of the masterly and the honest--that along with a certain paleness,
betraying, I thought, restrained emotion, indicated sympathy and invited
confidence.
'I hope, Miss, you are pretty well?' He pronounced 'pretty' as it is spelt.
'I have come in consequence of a solemn promise exacted more than a year
since by your deceased father, the late Mr. Austin Ruthyn of Knowl, for
whom I cherished a warm esteem, being knit besides with him in spiritual
bonds. It has been a shock to you, Miss?'
'It has, indeed, sir.'
'I've a doctor's degree, I have--Doctor of Medicine, Miss. Like St. Luke,
preacher and doctor. I was in business once, but this is better. As one
footing fails, the Lord provides another. The stream of life is black and
angry; how so many of us get across without drowning, I often wonder. The
best way is not to look too far before--just from one stepping-stone to
another; and though you may wet your feet, He won't let you drown--He has
not allowed me.
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