d not know that her
neighbor in the pew was a girl without baptism, without Christianity,
without the slightest knowledge of holy religion, a heathen--and knew
less than a heathen, for such a one has his teachings, although they are
not Christian. Miss Rudenskoeld thought the girl's question came of a
momentary forgetfulness, and answered, to remind her:--

"Well, you see, it is one of the usual subjects, but unusually well
painted, that is all. High up among the other figures in the painting
you will see the half-reclining figure of one that is dead--see what an
expression the painter has put into the face!--That is the Saviour."

"The Saviour?"

"Yes, God's son, you know; or God Himself."

"And he is dead?" repeated Azouras to herself with wondering eyes. "Yes,
I believe that; it must be so: it is godlike to die!"

Miss Rudenskoeld looked at her neighbor with wide-opened eyes. "You must
not misunderstand this subject," she said. "It is human to live and want
to live; you can see that, too, in the altar-piece, for all the persons
who are human beings, like ourselves, are alive."

"Let us go out! I feel oppressed by fear--no, I will tarry here until my
fear passes away. Go, dearest, I will send you word."

Miss Rudenskoeld took leave of her; went out of the church and over the
churchyard to the Eastern Gate, which faces Oden's lane....

The girl meanwhile stayed inside; came to a corner in the organ stairs;
saw people go out little by little; remained unobserved, and finally
heard the sexton and the church-keeper go away. When the last door was
closed, Azouras stepped out of her hiding-place. Shut out from the
entire world, severed from all human beings, she found herself the only
occupant of the large, light building, into which the sun lavishly
poured his gold.

Although she was entirely ignorant of our holy church customs and the
meaning of the things she saw around her, she had nevertheless,
sometimes in the past, when her mother was in better health, been
present at the church service as a pastime, and so remembered one thing
and another. The persons with whom she lived, in the halls and corridors
of the opera, hardly ever went to God's house; and generally speaking,
church-going was not practiced much during this time. No wonder, then,
that a child who was not a member of any religious body, and who had
never received an enlightening word from any minister, should neglect
what the initiated themselves di