-like
to Erica, it was her ideal of comfort; she went there whenever she
wanted quiet, for in the small and crowded lodgings she could never be
secure from interruptions, and interruptions resulted in bad work. There
was something, too, in the atmosphere of the museum which seemed to help
her. She liked the perfect stillness, she liked the presence of all the
books. Above all, too, she liked the consciousness of possession. There
was no narrow exclusiveness about this place, no one could look askance
at her here. The place belonged to the people, and therefore belonged
to her; she heretic and atheist as she was had as much share in the
ownership as the highest in the land. She had her own peculiar nook over
by the encyclopedias, and, being always an early comer, seldom failed to
secure her own particular chair and desk.

On this morning she took her place, as she had done hundreds of times
before, and was soon hard at work. She was finishing her last paper on
Livingstone when a book she had ordered was deposited on her desk by one
of the noiseless attendants. She wanted it to verify one or two dates,
and she half thought she would try to hunt up Charles Osmond's anecdote.
In order to write her series of papers, she had been obliged to study
the character of the great explorer pretty thoroughly. She had always
been able to see the nobility even of those differing most widely
from herself in point of creed, and the great beauty of Livingstone's
character had impressed her very much. Today she happened to open on
an entry in his journal which seemed particularly characteristic of the
man. He was in great danger from the hostile tribes at the union of
the Zambesi and Loangwa, and there was something about his spontaneous
utterance which appealed very strongly to Erica.

"Felt much turmoil of spirit in view of having all my plans for the
welfare of this great region and teeming population knocked on the head
by savages tomorrow. But I read that Jesus came and said: 'All power
is given unto me in Heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore and teach all
nations, and lo! I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.'
It is the word of a gentleman of the most sacred and strictest honor,
and there's an end on't. I will not cross furtively by night as I
intended... Nay, verily, I shall take observations for latitude and
longitude tonight, though they may be the last."

The courage, the daring, the perseverance, the intense fai