left the same
impression upon the soul that subdued colors give to the eyes, a sense
of serene repose and of tranquil peace.

"To a superficial observer, their life would have seemed terribly
monotonous. There was something chilling about the appearance of the
interior of the house. Day after day I used to see everything, even the
furniture in constant use, always standing in the same place, and this
uniform tidiness pervaded the smallest details. Yet there was something
very attractive about their household ways. I had been used to the
pleasures of variety, to the luxury and stir of life in Paris; it was
only when I had overcome my first repugnance that I saw the advantages
of this existence; how it lent itself to continuity of thought and to
involuntary meditation; how a life in which the heart has undisturbed
sway seems to widen and grow vast as the sea. It is like the life of the
cloister, where the outward surroundings never vary, and thought is
thus compelled to detach itself from outward things and to turn to the
infinite that lies within the soul!

"For a man as sincerely in love as I was, the silence and simplicity of
the life, the almost conventual regularity with which the same things
are done daily at the same hours, only deepened and strengthened love.
In that profound calm the interest attaching to the least action, word,
or gesture became immense. I learned to know that, in the interchange of
glances and in answering smiles, there lies an eloquence and a variety
of language far beyond the possibilities of the most magnificent of
spoken phrases; that when the expression of the feelings is spontaneous
and unforced, there is no idea, no joy nor sorrow that cannot thus be
communicated by hearts that understand each other. How many times I have
tried to set forth my soul in my eyes or on my lips, compelled at once
to speak and to be silent concerning my passion; for the young girl who,
in my presence, was always serene and unconscious had not been informed
of the reason of my constant visits; her parents were determined that
the most important decision of her life should rest entirely with her.
But does not the presence of our beloved satisfy the utmost desire of
passionate love? In that presence do we not know the happiness of the
Christian who stands before God? If for me more than for any other it
was torture to have no right to give expression to the impulses of
my heart, to force back into its depths the