ge. And by the sick-bed, when through the long
nights and silent days they met there, Atlung repeated this promise as
often as his wife wished. She had never been more beautiful, he had
never loved her more devotedly; she was in one continual state of
ecstasy. She confided to Atlung that from the first time, about half a
year before, he had declared that the boys must go away, she had prayed
the Lord to prevent it, prayed incessantly, and in all this time had
prayed for nothing else. She knew that a prayer offered in the name of
Jesus must be granted. She had prayed in this way several times before
in regard to circumstances which seemed to herself to be brought into
her life under the guidance of faith, brought into it in the most
natural way. This time she had called her father to her aid and finally
Stina; both of them had promised to pray only for this one thing. It did
not seem to occur to her for a moment that there was another way of
gaining her point, for instance, as far as lay within her power, and as
far as her faith permitted it, to study Atlung's ideas on education, and
to endeavor to persuade him to unite with her in an attempt, that it
might be proved whether they were equal to the task. She started from
the standpoint that she was utterly incompetent; what, indeed, was she
able to do? But God could do what He would. This was his own cause, and
that to a far higher degree than any other matter concerning which he
had granted her prayers, and so she was sure He would hear her. Every
occurrence, every individual who came to the gard, was sent; in one way
or another everything must be a link in the chain of events, which was
to lead Atlung to other thoughts. When she told Atlung this, in her
innocence and her faith, he felt that, at all events, there was no human
power which could resist her. He was so completely borne along in the
current of her fancies that he not only became convinced that the boys
would recover, but he even failed to perceive how ill she was.

The long stay in the park, without any out-door wraps and with wet feet,
the overstrained mental condition and long night vigils, the pursuit of
one fixed idea, without any regard to its effect on herself, being so
wholly absorbed in it that she forgot to eat, indeed, no longer felt the
need of food--wholly robbed her of strength at last. But the first
symptoms of illness were closely united with her restless, ecstatic
condition; neither she herself