woman was still more terrible than the man had been;
the spirit of death came from her mouth; I could not breathe for the
stench of death that spread around her. She wished to drive me out into
the cold, and I knew that if she did so she would die. Suddenly her
husband spoke to her of God, and the woman changed at once. And when she
brought me food and looked at me, I glanced at her and saw that death no
longer dwelt in her; she had become alive, and in her, too, I saw God.

"Then I remembered the first lesson God had set me: 'Learn what dwells
in man.' And I understood that in man dwells Love! I was glad that God
had already begun to show me what He had promised, and I smiled for the
first time. But I had not yet learnt all. I did not yet know What is not
given to man, and What men live by.

"I lived with you, and a year passed. A man came to order boots that
should wear for a year without losing shape or cracking. I looked at
him, and suddenly, behind his shoulder, I saw my comrade--the angel of
death. None but me saw that angel; but I knew him, and knew that before
the sun set he would take that rich man's soul. And I thought to myself,
'The man is making preparations for a year, and does not know that he
will die before evening.' And I remembered God's second saying, 'Learn
what is not given to man.'

"What dwells in man I already knew. Now I learnt what is not given
him. It is not given to man to know his own needs. And I smiled for the
second time. I was glad to have seen my comrade angel--glad also that
God had revealed to me the second saying.

"But I still did not know all. I did not know What men live by. And I
lived on, waiting till God should reveal to me the last lesson. In the
sixth year came the girl-twins with the woman; and I recognized the
girls, and heard how they had been kept alive. Having heard the story,
I thought, 'Their mother besought me for the children's sake, and I
believed her when she said that children cannot live without father or
mother; but a stranger has nursed them, and has brought them up.' And
when the woman showed her love for the children that were not her own,
and wept over them, I saw in her the living God and understood What men
live by. And I knew that God had revealed to me the last lesson, and had
forgiven my sin. And then I smiled for the third time."

XII

And the angel's body was bared, and he was clothed in light so that eye
could not look on him; and his vo