in the Caribbean, or Grenada, the very little island.... And
on that island they know only vaguely that such great lands as Africa
and Europe and Asia are.... They don't know it from experience.... But
Peking of the bells exists, and stately Madrid, and Paris that is a
blaze of light, and London where the fog rolls inland from the sea....
Heart of my heart, how terrible it is that cannot, will not see,
understand.... And they say: Well, we don't see it. Here we were born
and here we die.... And they say: Show us somebody who has been
there.... They forget how long is the journey and how a man may have
affairs in the crowning cities.... Dearest, I am losing myself, but I
know.

"And this is what I want to tell you, Shane, that when you die--oh,
such an ugly word that is, Shane, for the bud bursting into flower--when
it is your time to leave here, Shane, there will be a place for you, not
idleness at all.... All the stars, Shane, the valleys of the moon....
There is work, Shane dear. Nothing is perfect, else there should be no
reason for life. There must be stars that are old, as Dublin is old, and
need vitality.... There must be stars that are young and cruel, as this
city is young and cruel, and need sweet strength.... But I am very
presumptuous, Shane, to try and fathom the Great Master's plan.... It is
so colorless--oh, there is no word or symbol for it, Shane.... But there
is a Great Master and there is a Plan....

"Heart, I tell you this, showing all my weakness of thought. You know it
is the truth, too.... But I tell you I know, so that our two selves'
knowing may make it a little stronger in us....

"O Shane, I have no logic, but I know.... And all the logicians in the
world could not shame me to myself. All the reason in the world could
not shake me. It would be artillery shot against the wind.... A star is
a promise to me, Shane, and the wind a token, and the new moon just a
pleasant occurrence, like the coming of spring....

"Shane, I know all this. I know it not for myself but for you.... I
know three things: I know God lives, I know I love you, I know we shall
not die.... I love you, Shane, and there is no shame on me telling it to
you, for you are as my heart and I am as yours.... When I see you at
times there comes over me a sweetness from head to foot, and at times
when I see you, a great dignity comes to me, because you love me, and
your love is good.... I know there is a place in the coming days, and