d sometimes I have been near to die."

"But that is impossible," said the man who had loved her.

"If it had not been impossible, I should have died," she said. "I have
stood among people who loved me, and they have not seen me nor known me,
nor heard my cry. I have been outcast from all life, for I belonged to
none. I have longed for you all, and my heart has failed me. Oh how
lonely it is in the world, when you are a wanderer, and can be known of
none--"

"You were warned," said he who was in authority, "that it was more bitter
than death." "What is death?" she said; and no one made any reply.
Neither did any one venture to ask her again whether she had been
successful in her mission. But at last, when the warmth of her appointed
home had melted the ice about her heart, she smiled once more and spoke.

"The little children knew me. They were not afraid of me; they held out
their arms. And God's dear and innocent creatures--" She wept a few
tears, which were sweet after the ice tears she had shed upon the earth.
And then some one, more bold than the rest, asked again, "And did you
accomplish what you wished?"

She had come to herself by this time, and the dark lines were melting
from her face. "I am forgiven," she said, with a low cry of happiness.
"She whom I wronged, loves me and blessed me; and we saw each other face
to face. I know nothing more."

"There is no more," said all together. For everything is included in
pardon and love.

End of Project Gutenberg's Old Lady Mary, by Margaret O. (Wilson) Oliphant

*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OLD LADY MARY ***

***** This file should be named 10049.txt or 10049.zip *****
This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
http://www.gutenberg.net/1/0/0/4/10049/

Produced by Stan Goodman, Mary Meehan
and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team

Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
will be renamed.

Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules,
set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project
Gutenberg is a registered tra