for
thee there is a message of love. He is grieved at the hardness of thine
heart. Listen to His voice,--`It is hard _for thee_ to kick against the
pricks.' It is for thy sake that He would have thee come back to thine
allegiance."

The answer was scarcely what he expected.

"Father, it is of no use to talk to me. I hear what you say, of course;
but it does me no good. My heart is numb."

"Thou art right," gently replied Bruno. "The south wind must blow upon
the garden, ere the spices can flow out. Ask the Lord--I will ask Him
also--to pour on thee the gift of the Holy Ghost."

"How many Paters?" said the girl in a weary tone. "One will do, my
daughter, if thou wilt put thy whole heart into it."

"I can put my heart into nothing."

"Then say to Him this only--`Lord, I bring Thee a dead heart, that Thou
mayest give it life.'"

She said the words after him, mechanically, like a child repeating a
lesson. "How long will it take?"

"He knows--not I."

"But suppose I die first?"

"The Lord will not let thee die unsaved, if thou hast a sincere wish for
salvation. He wants it more than thou."

"He wants it!" repeated Margaret wonderingly. "He wants it. He wants
thee. Did He die for thee, child, that He should let thee go lightly?
Thou art as precious in His sight as if the world held none beside
thee."

"I did not think I was that to any one--except my parents and--and
Richard."

"Thou art that, incomparably more than to any of them, to the Lord
Jesus."

The momentary exhibition of feeling was past.

"Well!" she said, with a dreary sigh. "It may be so. But I cannot care
about it."

Bruno's answer was not addressed to Margaret.

"Lord, care about it for her! Breathe upon this dead, that she may
live! Save her in spite of herself!"

There was a slight pause, and then Bruno quietly gave the absolution,
and the confession was over.

The next Sunday, there was the unwonted occurrence of a sermon after
vespers. Sermons were not fashionable at that time. When preached at
all, they were usually extremely dry scholastic disquisitions. Father
Warner had given two during his abode at the Castle: and both were
concerning the duty of implicit obedience to the Church. Father
Nicholas had preached about a dozen; some on the virtues--dreary
classical essays; three concerning the angels; and one (on a Good
Friday) which was a series of fervent declamations on the Passion.

But this time it was B