his nostrils the sweet odors, into his lungs
the pure air, into his soul the beauty and glory of the world, and then,
filling his hand with the golden grain, he flung it into the bosom of
the waiting earth.

All day long he strode across the clearing and with rhythmical swinging
of his brawny arm lavishly scattered the golden grain.

As the sun went down and the sower neared the conclusion of his labor,
his emotions became deeper and yet more deep. He entered more and more
fully into the true spirit and significance of his act. He felt that it
was a sacrament. Thoughts of the operation of the mighty energies which
he was evoking; of the Divine spirit who brooded over all; of the coming
into this wilderness of the woman who was to be the good angel of his
life; of the ceremony that was to be enacted in the little meeting
house; of the work to which he was dedicated in the future, kindled his
soul into an ecstasy of joy. He ceased to be conscious of his present
task. The material world loosened its hold upon his senses. His thoughts
became riveted upon the elements of that spiritual universe that lay
within and around him, and that seemed uncovered to his view as to the
apostle of old. "Whether he was in the body, or out of the body, he
could not tell!" Finally he ceased to move; his hand was arrested and
hung poised in mid-air with the unscattered seed in its palm; he eyes
were fixed on some invisible object and he stood as he had stood when we
first caught sight of him in the half-plowed meadow--lost in a trance.

How long he stood he never knew, but he was wakened, at last, as it was
natural and fitting he should be.

Fulfilling her agreement to come and bring him home on the eve of their
wedding day, Pepeeta emerged like a beautiful apparition from an opening
in the green wall of the great cathedral. She saw David standing
immovable in the furrow. For a few moments she was absorbed in
admiration of the grace and beauty of the noble and commanding figure,
and then she was thrilled with the consciousness that she possessed the
priceless treasure of his love. But these emotions were followed by a
holy awe as she discovered that the soul of her lover was filled with
religious ecstasy. She felt that the place whereon she stood was holy
ground, and reverently awaited the emergence of the worshiper from the
holy of holies into which he had withdrawn for prayer.

But the rapture lasted long and it was growing late. The sh