The exercises consisted of reading, verse about, a portion of Scripture, then a verse or two of some well-known hymn was sung, after which Mr. Gurney made a short prayer, using simple words within the comprehension of the little ones.  Special mention was made of the needs of the family.  If any of them were ill, they were mentioned by name, and it gave Dexie a curious feeling the first time she knelt with the family to hear Mr. Gurney ask for a “particular blessing to rest on our young neighbor, who worships with us this morning.”  The charm of it all seemed to be in the feeling of reality there was about it, the decorous behavior of the little ones showing that it meant more than outside form to them.  None of the Gurney family was excused from this morning worship unless sickness made it impossible to appear, and it soon became a regular thing for Dexie Sherwood to make her appearance with her Bible when the bell rang for prayers.  Dexie thoroughly enjoyed these exercises, her religious education having been limited to the little she had learned in Sunday School, for the Bible was not a very well read book in the Sherwood household, and its treasures were almost unknown, until they were opened to her eyes by the Gurneys.

Aunt Jennie was much surprised when she learned the cause of Dexie’s frequent morning visits next door.  The evident desire for instruction which made her niece seek from others what should have been imparted to her at home, came like a reproach to her heart.  She had been reared in a Christian home, where Bible truths had been imparted to her from her cradle up, so she now endeavored to supply what was lacking in the religious education of her young relatives.  It was done quietly and without ostentation, but the last half hour of the day was given to Dexie, and she spent it with her aunt in the privacy of her chamber, where they studied the Book together.  Dexie tried to persuade Gussie to join these readings, but with no success, for Gussie, like many others, “cared for none of these things.”

CHAPTER III.

When Mr. Sherwood returned from New York, he was accompanied by a Mr. Plaisted, a gentleman of a speculative turn of mind, who had attached himself to Mr. Sherwood with a persistency that showed he had “the cheek of a drummer,” and he had invited himself to accompany Mr. Sherwood to his home in Halifax.  Although fond of horses, there was nothing about the appearance of Mr. Plaisted to suggest the jockey:  he was what would have been termed in a later day a fair specimen of the genus dude.  He was of medium height, and was decidedly foppish in his manner, and with his elaborate neck-ties and perfumed curls, he was, in his own estimation at least, quite irresistible.  His hands and feet were unusually small for a man.  The latter he was very proud of, always encasing them in boots of the very latest style; and, no doubt, the “cold cream” and other cosmetics which he nightly used helped to give his hands and face the fair appearance that so delighted himself.