fame, and he that seeks gold, and he that seeks power, may all alike,
when this shadowy existence is over, look back upon life "as a dream
when one awaketh."




THE VOICE AT MIDNIGHT.


"It is the King's highway that we are in; and know this, His messengers
are on it. They who have ears to hear will hear; and He opens the eyes
of some, and they see things not to be lightly spoken of."

It was John Balmuto who said these words to me. John was a Shetlander,
and for forty years he had gone to the Arctic seas with the whale boats.
Then there had come to him a wonderful experience. He had been four days
and nights alone with God upon the sea, among mountains of ice reeling
together in perilous madness, and with little light but the angry flush
of the aurora. Then, undoubtedly, was born that strong faith in the
Unseen which made him an active character in the facts I am going to
relate.

After his marvelous salvation, he devoted his life to the service of God
by entering that remarkable body of lay evangelists attached to the
Presbyterian Church in Highland parishes, called "The Men," and he
became noted throughout the Hebrides for his labors, and for his
knowledge of the Scriptures.

Circumstances, that summer, had thrown us together; I, a young woman,