much above her
station--pity that it is so! She is almost beautiful--quite beautiful
at times, and not in any way what you have been led to fancy. The poor
child had no story to tell. I have again seen her, and talked with her
for an hour as kindly as I could. I could gather nothing more than we
know. It is just a woman's history as it invariably commences. Richard
is the god of her idolatry. She will renounce him, and sacrifice herself
for his sake. Are we so bad? She asked me what she was to do. She would
do whatever was imposed upon her--all but pretend to love another,
and that she never would, and, I believe, never will. You know I am
sentimental, and I confess we dropped a few tears together. Her uncle
has sent her for the Winter to the institution where it appears she
was educated, and where they are very fond of her and want to keep her,
which it would be a good thing if they were to do. The man is a good
sort of man. She was entrusted to him by her father, and he never
interferes with her religion, and is very scrupulous about all that
pertains to it, though, as he says, he is a Christian himself. In the
Spring (but the poor child does not know this) she is to come back, and
be married to his lout of a son. I am determined to prevent that. May
I not reckon on your promise to aid me? When you see her, I am sure
you will. It would be sacrilege to look on and permit such a thing. You
know, they are cousins. She asked me, where in the world there was one
like Richard? What could I answer? They were your own words, and spoken
with a depth of conviction! I hope he is really calm. I shudder to think
of him when he comes, and discovers what I have been doing. I hope I
have been really doing right! A good deed, you say, never dies; but we
cannot always know--I must rely on you. Yes, it is; I should think, easy
to suffer martyrdom when one is sure of one's cause! but then one must
be sure of it. I have done nothing lately but to repeat to myself that
saying of yours, No. 54, C. 7, P.S.; and it has consoled me, I cannot
say why, except that all wisdom consoles, whether it applies directly or
not:

"'For this reason so many fall from God, who have attained to Him; that
they cling to Him with their Weakness, not with their Strength.'

"I like to know of what you are thinking when you composed this or
that saying--what suggested it. May not one be admitted to inspect
the machinery of wisdom? I feel curious to know how thou