Come near, and hear, and see. Death is nothing, boy;
it will be only a glory to you to die. But God is letting loose His
terrors upon me; He is mocking at my soul, and laughing at my calamity.
Soon, soon I shall be in eternity, without hope, and without God.'
'Oh, master, master,' exclaimed Stephen, 'there is a time yet for our
Father to forgive thee! It doesn't take long to forgive! It didn't take
even me long to forgive; and oh, how quickly God can do it if you'll
only ask Him!'
'Do you forgive me?' asked the master, in astonishment.
'Ah,' he cried, 'I forgave thee long since, directly after I was ill. It
was God who helped me; and wouldn't He rather forgive thee Himself? Oh,
He loves thee! He taught me how to love thee; and could He do that if He
didn't love thee His own self?'
'If I could only believe in being forgiven!' said the dying man.
'Oh, believe it, dear master! See, I am here; I have forgiven thee, and
I do love thee. Little Nan can never come back, and yet I love thee, and
forgive thee from my very heart. Will not Jesus much more forgive thee?'
'Pray for me, Stephen. Kneel down there, and pray aloud,' he said; and
his eyelids closed feebly, and his restless head lay still, as if he had
no more power to move it.
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