For life is God's
school, and they that will listen to the Master there will learn at God's
speed. For one moment, I am ashamed to say, I was envious of Shepherd,
and repined that, now old Rogers was gone, I had no such glorious
old stained-glass window in my church to let in the eternal upon my
light-thirsty soul. I must say for myself that the feeling lasted but for a
moment, and that no sooner had the shadow of it passed and the true light
shined after it, than I was heartily ashamed of it. Why should not Shepherd
have the old woman as well as I? True, Shepherd was more of what would
now be called a ritualist than I; true, I thought my doctrine simpler and
therefore better than his; but was this any reason why I should have all
the grand people to minister to in my parish! Recovering myself, I found
her last words still in my ears.
"You are very nice to look at," I said. "You must not find fault with the
work of God, because you would like better to be young and pretty than to
be as you now are. Time and time's rents and furrows are all his making and
his doing. God makes nothing ugly."
"Are you quite sure of that, sir?"
I paused.
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