Melissa listened breathlessly to the singing, of which she could hear
every word; and how gladly would she have mingled her voice with theirs
in thanksgiving to the kind Father in heaven who was hers as well as
theirs! There lay His wondrous works before her, and her heart echoed
the verse:

"Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with loving-
kindness and tender mercies," as though it were addressed especially to
her and sung for her by the choir of women.

The gods of whom she had but just been thinking with pious remembrance
appeared to her now as beautiful, merry, sportive children, as graceful
creatures of her own kind, in comparison with the Almighty Creator and
Ruler of the universe, whose works among the nations, whose holy name,
whose wonders, greatness, and loving-kindness these songs of praise
celebrated. The breath of His mouth dispersed the whole world of gods to
whom she had been wont to pray, as the autumn wind scatters the many-
tinted leaves of faded trees. She felt as though He embraced the garden
before her with mighty and yet loving arms, and with it the whole world.
She had loved the Olympian gods; but in this hour, for the first time,
she felt true reverence for one God, and it made her proud to think that
she might love this mighty Lord, this tender Father, and know that she
was beloved by Him. Her heart beat faster and faster, and she felt as
though, under the protection of this God, she need never more fear any
danger.

As she looked out again at the palm-trees beyond the tamarisks, above
whose plumy heads the evening star now rode in the azure blue of the
night sky, the singing was taken up again after a pause; she heard once
more the angelic greeting which had before struck her soul as so