ss, she continued in this mood most of the summer.
But while "gay as a lark," she was also grave and thoughtful. Her
delight in nature seemed only to increase her interest in divine things
and her longing to be like Christ. In a letter to one of her young
friends, having spoken of prayer as "the greatest favor one friend can
render another," she adds:

But perhaps I may put one beyond it--Christian example. I ought to be so
saintly, so consecrated, that you could not be with me and not catch the
very spirit of heaven; never get a letter from me that did not quicken
your steps in the divine life. But while I believe the principle of love
to Christ is entrenched in the depths of my soul, the emotion of love is
hot always in that full play I want it to be. No doubt He judges us
by the principle He sees to exist in us, but we can't help judging
ourselves, in spite of ourselves, by our feelings. At church this
morning my mind kept wandering to and fro; I thought of you about twenty
times; thought about my flowers; thought of 501 other things; and then
got up and sang

"I love Thy kingdom, Lord,"

as if I cared for that and nothing else. What He has to put up with in
me! But I believe in Him, I love Him, I hate everything in my soul and
in my life that is unlike Him. I hope the confession of my shortcomings
won't discourage you; it is no proof that at my age you will not be far
beyond such weakness and folly as often carry me away captive.... As far
as earthly blessings go I am as near perfect happiness as a human being
can be; everything is _heaped_ on me. What I want is more of Christ, and
that is what I hope you pray that I may have.

To another young friend she writes, June 12th:

We have varied experiences, sick or well, and the discipline of a heart
not perfectly satisfied with what it gets from God, often alternates
with the peace of which you speak as just now yours. What a blessed
thing this "very peace of God" is! There is no earthly joy to be
compared with it. But to go patiently on without it, when it is not
given, is, I think, a great achievement; for instance, if I held no
communication with you for a year, would it not be a wonderful proof of
your love to and faith in me, if you kept on writing me and telling me
your joys and trials? To go back--I have been a good deal confused by
the contradictory testimony of different Christians, and am driven more
and more to a conviction that human beings, _at the b