e who
had a fancy for standing upon the head, on the brink of the pool,
might have easily believed his posture was correct, and that he
looked up into the azure void.

At the north end of this sheltered and sequestered dell was a
rustic seat, looking over the pond; and hard by was a large
crucifix, life size, so that the devout might be stirred thereby to
meditation.

Here came the Lady Sybil, and sat by the side in the arbour one
beautiful day; the autumn of the year of grace, at which we have
now arrived--twelve hundred and sixty. And she sat and mused upon
her dead husband, and her absent nephew, and strove to learn the
secret of true resignation, as she gazed upon the representation of
suffering Love Incarnate.

All at once she heard a voice singing:

Love sets my heart on fire,
Love of the Crucified:
To Him my heart He drew,
Whilst hanging on the tree,
From whence He said to me,
I am thy Shepherd true;
I am thy Bridegroom new.

The sweet plaintive words struck her with deep emotion. And as she
listened eagerly, lo, the branches parted, and two brethren of
Saint Francis came out upon the edge of the pond.

She paused as they knelt before the rood. At length they rose, and
approached the arbour wherein she sat.

"Sister," said the foremost one, "hast thou met Him of Nazareth?
for I know He has been seeking thee!"

What was it which made her gaze upon the speaker with such
surprise? Have any of my readers ever met a member of a well known,
and perchance much loved, family, whom they have never seen before,
and felt struck by the familiar tones of the voice, and by the mien
of the stranger? She looked earnestly at our Martin, but of course
knew him not, only she wondered whether this were the "brother" of
whom Hubert had spoken.

"I know not whether He has found me, but I have long been seeking Him,"
she said sadly.

"Then, my sister, thou dost not yet know what He is to those who find?"

Quam bonus es petentibus
Sed quid invenientibus {27}!

"How may I find Him? I seek Him on the right hand and He is not
there, and on the left and He is not to be found. Oh, tell me all
about Him, and how I may find rest in that Love!"

And there, beside that mirror pond, did a heart all afire with
Divine Love kindle the dry wood, all ready for the blaze, in the
heart of another. After the long colloquy, which we omit, the lady
added:

"Dost thou not know my nephew Hubert? Art thou not his friend
Martin?"

"