nd concealed nothing from the friend who was both mother and
priest-neither of what had happened to her in external circumstances,
nor of what had moved her heart and mind ever since she had first
entered the house of the Mtikaukas. Not a corner of her soul did she
leave unsearched; she neither concealed nor palliated anything; and
when she described her lover's strenuous efforts to apprehend the whole
seriousness of life, her love and enthusiasm fairly carried her away,
making his image shine all the more brightly by comparison with the
brief, but dark shadow, that had fallen upon it. When Paula had at last
ended her confession, the superior had remained silent for some time;
then drawing the girl to her, she had affectionately asked her:

"And now? Now, tell me truly, does not the passion that has such
wonderful power over you prompt and urge your inmost soul to yield--to
fly to the embrace of the man you love--to give all up for him and say:
'Here I am--I am yours! Call a priest to bless our union!--Is it not
so--am I not right?'"

Paula, deeply blushing, bowed assent; but the old woman drew her head on
to her motherly bosom, and went on thoughtfully:

"I saw him drive past in his quadriga, and was reminded of many a noble
statue of the heathen Greeks. Beauty, rank, wealth, aye--and talents and
intellect--all that could ruin the heart of a Paula are his, and she--I
see it plainly--will give it to him gladly."

And again the maiden bowed her head. The abbess sighed, and went on as
though she had with difficulty succeeded in submitting to the inevitable
"Then all warning would be in vain.--Still, he is not of our confession,
he...."

"But how highly he esteems it!" cried Paula. "That he proves by risking
his freedom and life for you and your household."

"Say rather for you whom he loves," replied the other. "But putting that
out of the question, it pains me deeply to think of Thomas' daughter
as the wife of a Jacobite. You will not, I know, give him up; and the
Father of Love often leads true love to good ends by wonderful ways,
even though they are ways of error, passing through pitfalls and
abysses."

Paula fell on her neck to kiss her gratefully: but the abbess could only
allow the girl a few minutes to enjoy her happiness. She desired her
to sit down by her side, and holding Paula's hand in both her own, she
spoke to her in a tone of calm deliberation. She and her sisterhood, she
began by saying, were deep