“I know little of these vanities,” replied Holden.  “In my giddy youth, I drank such follies, even as the ass sucketh up the east wind.  But it pleased the Lord to open mine eyes.  In thoughts from the visions of the night,” he continued—­and his eyes shone brighter, and his stature seemed to increase—­“when deep sleep falleth on men, fear came upon me and trembling, which made all my bones to shake.  Then a vision passed before me, and the hair of my flesh stood up.  It stood still, but I could not discern the form thereof:  an image was before mine eyes—­there was silence, and then I heard a voice saying, ’Behold, I come quickly; watch and pray, for thou knowest not the day nor the hour!’ I was not disobedient to the heavenly warning, and thenceforth the pomps and vanities of the world have been as the dust beneath my feet.”

This was not the first time that the doctor heard the Recluse speak of his peculiar opinions; but, although always ready to avow and dilate upon them when others were willing to listen, he had uniformly manifested an unwillingness to allude to himself or the incidents of his life.  Whenever, heretofore, as sometimes happened, the curiosity of his auditors led the conversation in that direction, he had invariably evaded all hints and repulsed every inquiry.  But his mood seemed different to-day.  Elmer was a friend whom Holden highly prized, and he could therefore speak the more freely in his presence; but this is not sufficient to account for the dropping of his reserve.  We know no other explanation than that there are times when the heart of every one is opened, and longs to unburden itself, and this was one of them that unsealed the lips of the Solitary.

“Is it long since the revelation?” inquired the doctor.

“Too long,” said Holden, “did I wander in the paths of sin, and in forgetfulness of my God, and my youth was wasted in that which satisfieth not, neither doth it profit.  My heart was very hard, and it rose up in rebellion against the Lord.  Then it pleased Him (blessed be His holy name) to bray me in the mortar of affliction, and to crush me between the upper and the nether millstone.  Yet I heeded not; and, like Nebuchadnezzar, my mind was hardened in pride, continually.  Then, as the King of Babylon was driven forth from the sons of men, and his heart made like the beasts’, and his dwelling was with the wild asses, and they fed him with grass, like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, even so did the Spirit drive me forth into the tabernacles of the wild men of the forest and the prairie, and I sojourned with them many days.  But He doth not always chide, neither keepeth He His anger for ever.  In His own good time, He snatched me from the fiery furnace, and bade me here wait for His salvation; and here, years, long years, have I looked for His promise.  O, Lord, how long!”