"Oh, this racking cough! Shall I never be done with it?" gasped Laura,
as she lay panting upon her pillow after an unusually severe and
exhausting paroxysm.

"Yes; when you reach the other side of Jordan; for there in that blessed
land the inhabitant shall not say 'I am sick,'" returned Grandma Elsie
in low, sympathising tones. "The Bible tells us that 'God shall wipe
away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death,
neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain.'"

"Oh, but I am not fit for that place yet!" exclaimed Laura with a look
of alarm, "and I don't want to die for years to come, though it is hard
to suffer as I do. You don't think I'm a dying woman, Mrs. Travilla?"

"You know, dear friend, that no one of us is certain of life for a day
or an hour," returned Grandma Elsie gently, taking the wasted hand in
hers and gazing tenderly into the anxious, troubled face, "and surely it
is the part of wisdom to make careful preparation for that which we must
inevitably meet, sooner or later. And if our peace is made with God--if
Jesus is our Friend and Saviour--it will only be joy unspeakable to be
called into his immediate presence, there to dwell forevermore."

"Yes, yes, if one is fitted for it, as Eric, Eva's father, was. Death
seemed only joy to him, except for leaving us. But oh, I am afraid of
death! Hard as life is in my weak, ailing condition, I don't want to
die, I can't bear to think of it."

"My poor friend, my heart bleeds for you," said Grandma Elsie in low,
tender tones. "'The sting of death is sin and the strength of sin is the