The Lost Word | Page 3

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Edited by Charles Aldarondo [email protected]

THE LOST WORD
A Christmas Legend of Long Ago
By HENRY VAN DYKE
New York
MDCCCXCVIII

"DEDICATED TO MY FRIEND HAMILTON W. MABIE"

CONTENTS

I The POVERTY OF HERMAS
II A CHRISTMAS LOSS
III PARTING, BUT NO FAREWELL
IV LOVE IN SEARCH OF A WORD
V RICHES WITHOUT REST
VI GREAT FEAR AND RECOVERED JOY

I
THE POVERTY OF HERMAS

"COME down, Hermas, come down! The night is past. It is time to be stirring. Christ is born to-day. Peace be with you in His name. Make haste and come down!"
A little group of young men were standing in a street of Antioch, in the dusk of early morning, fifteen hundred years ago. It was a class of candidates who had nearly finished their two years of training for the Christian church. They had come to call their fellow-student Hermas from his lodging.
Their voices rang out cheerily through the cool air. They were full of