Her attention was nailed; the
listless, careless mood in which she sat down was changed for
one of rapt delight; she devoured every word that fell from
the reader's lips; indeed they were given their fullest effect
by a very fine voice and singularly fine reading. Whenever
anything might not be quite clear to Ellen, John stopped to
make it so; and with his help, and without it, many a lesson
went home. Next day she looked a long time for the book; it
could not be found; she was forced to wait until evening.
Then, to her great joy, it was brought out again, and John
asked her if she wished to hear some more of it. After that,
every evening while he was at home, they spent an hour with
the "Pilgrim." Alice would leave her work and come to the
sofa, too; and with her head on her brother's shoulder, her
hand in his, and Ellen's face leaning against his other arm,
that was the common way they placed themselves to see and
hear. No words can tell Ellen's enjoyment of those readings.
They made her sometimes laugh and sometimes cry; they had much
to do in carrying on the cure which John's wisdom and kindness
had begun.
They came to the place where Christian loses his burden at the
cross; and as he stood looking and weeping, three shining ones
came to him. "The first said to him, 'Thy sins be forgiven
thee;' the second stripped him of his rags, and clothed him
with a change of raiment; the third also set a mark on his
forehead.
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