"Never mind that, daughter," said Mrs. Montgomery, kissing
her; "I am bent upon it; it would be quite as much of a
disappointment to me as to you, not to go. We have a lovely
day for it, and we will take our time and walk slowly, and we
haven't far to go either. But I must let Dr. Green make his
visit first."

To fill up the time till he came, Mrs. Montgomery employed
Ellen in reading to her, as usual. And this morning's reading
Ellen long after remembered. Her mother directed her to
several passages in different parts of the Bible that speak of
heaven and its enjoyments; and though, when she began, her own
little heart was full of excitement, in view of the day's
plans, and beating with hope and pleasure, the sublime beauty
of the words and thoughts, as she went on, awed her into
quiet, and her mother's manner at length turned her attention
entirely from herself. Mrs. Montgomery was lying on the sofa,
and for the most part listened in silence, with her eyes
closed, but sometimes saying a word or two that made Ellen
feel how deep was the interest her mother had in the things
she read of, and how pure and strong the pleasure she was even
now taking in them; and sometimes there was a smile on her
face that Ellen scarce liked to see; it gave her an indistinct
feeling that her mother would not be long away from that
heaven to which she seemed already to belong. Ellen had a sad
consciousness, too, that she had no part with her mother in
this matter. She could hardly go on. She came to that
beautiful passage in the seventh of Revelation: —