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Rh the gentleman failed to indicate what parts of the Bible he should read. So the student began at the beginning, and stumbled through whole chapters which bore no relation to his own needs, nor to the cry of his heart, until the task became insufferable. Again and again he asked himself, "What could have led this friend to exact such a promise?" It all seemed so completely beside the mark. When Exodus was finished, he simply closed the book, and, for a time, closed with it his researches in the literature of Christianity. Still he was eager to receive any fresh light. He not only maintained as far as possible an open mind, but he endeavoured to place himself where truth might be found.

He even accustomed himself to attend the Churches. On one occasion he heard C. H. Spurgeon. He also listened to Archdeacon Farrar: but neither of these preachers impressed him. He was unable to start from their premises, or follow their line of thought, and he left their Churches without grasping their message. With Dr. Parker it was different. His Thursday mid-day talks at the City Temple appear to have attracted the student. "It was his appeal to the thoughts of young men that laid hold of me," said Mr. Gandhi, "and I went again