HIS LAST SUNDAY. 467 



give an account of our faith to all men with humbleness 

 and meekness, that whereas they backbite and slander 

 us as evil-doers, they may be ashamed and once stop 

 their mouths seeing our good conversation in Christ 

 Jesus, for whose sake we beseech Thee, Lord God, to 

 guide, govern, and prosper this our enterprise in as- 

 sembling our brethren to praise Thy Holy name. And 

 not only to be here present with us Thy children ac- 

 cording to Thy promise, but also mercifully to assist 

 Thy like persecuted people, our brethren, gathered in 

 all other places, that they and we, consenting together 

 in one spirit and truth, may (all worldly respects set 

 apart) seek Thy only honour and glory in all their and 

 our assemblies. So be it ! ' 



Next day Mr and Mrs Miller went to church in the 

 forenoon, and, on the way home, he remarked that the 

 wind was cold, and that he did not feel well, and asked 

 whether she would remain at home with him in the 

 afternoon. She consented, adding that she was very 

 tired, and that one of her limbs pained her. Mrs 

 Miller usually went to church in a basket phaeton, 

 but did not use it that day, and her husband observed 

 affectionately that he wished he could carry her. In a 

 lane opening on the main road, a few yards from the 

 gate of Shrub Mount, there was a poor woman who, 

 some days previously, had met with an accident, and 

 Mrs Miller now said that she would go and inquire for 

 her, remaining not more than a few minutes. An ex- 

 pression of pain crossed his face, as if he disliked the 

 momentary separation. 



The time of the afternoon service, the rest of the 

 household being in church, was passed by Hugh Miller 

 and his wife in solemn, thoughtful converse. The reader 

 knows what she was to him. She had been his friend, 



