himself capable of discharging; with a trained literary instinct
and a real power of expression; even it he had not hitherto produced
any memorable work, he felt that he was equipped for the task, if only
some great and congenial theme presented itself to his mind. He found
himself with a small circle of friends, with a competence sufficient
for his simple needs; day by day there opened upon his mind ideas,
thoughts, and prospects of ever-increasing mystery and beauty; as to
his character and temperament, he found himself desiring to empty
himself of all extraneous elements, all conventional traditions, all
adopted ideas; his idea of life indeed was that it was an educative
process, and that the further that the soul could advance upon the path
of self-knowledge and sincerity, the more that it could cast away all
the things that were not of its essence, the better prepared one was to
be filled with the divine wisdom. The deeper that he plunged into the
consideration of the mysterious conditions and laws which surrounded
him, the greater the mystery became; but instead of becoming more
hopeless, it seemed to him that the dawn appeared to brighten every
moment, as one came closer to the appreciation of one's own ignorance,
weakness, and humility. Instead of drawing nearer to despair, he drew
every day nearer to a tender simplicity, a larger if more distant hope,
an intenser desire to be at one with the vast Will that had set him
where he was, and that denied him as yet a knowledge of the secret. As
he ascended with slow steps into the dark mountain of life, the
kingdoms of the world became more remote, the noise of their shouting
more faint. He thought, with no compassion, but with a wondering
tenderness, of the busy throng beneath; but he saw that, one by one,
spirits smitten with the divine hope, slipped from that noisy world,
and like himself, began to climb the solitary hills. What lay on the
other side? That he could not even guess; but he had a belief in the
richness, the largeness of the mind of God; and he saw as in a vision
the day breaking on a purer and sweeter world, full of great surprises,
mighty thoughts, pure joys; he knew not whether it was near or far, but
something in his heart told him that it was assuredly there!

XLII

Aconite--The Dropping Veil

How swiftly the summer melted into the autumn! the old lime-trees in
the college court were soon all gold--how bravely that gold seemed to