many more besides.  They showed him lovely forms, that men had sculptured in white marble; and paintings representing many things—­now a stormy sea with waves lashed into fury against the rocks—­again a summer evening landscape whose calm soothed his spirit.  Scenes from the old books were made to live again; and then, again, were painted familiar objects.  Wherever he looked, he saw more to see; whenever he listened, he found there was more to hear.  What surprised him most of all was, that there were some men who did not care to find out and learn more about the wonders in them and around them; and then he noticed that those who would not use their eyes, and ears, and other senses, became dim of sight and hard of hearing, gradually shrinking back into the state they were before they had opened the doors of their cells.

“He thought of the barred door, and sometimes through its chinks he felt something steal as once the sea-breeze stole over his garden wall.  The thought of that something followed him more and more.

“By this time he knew that all sights were not fair to look upon, nor all sounds delightful; and whenever he saw and heard the sad and wrong, he seemed to be most conscious of the something beyond his cell.  He felt that he was in the world not alone to learn its wonders, but also to teach the ignorant, to help the weak, to be kind, and true, and brave, and patient to all.

“Knowledge was a good thing, but goodness was better.  The longer he lived, he felt the less he knew; and the reason was, that he saw more and more clearly the vast extent of creation.

“Then some one came to him and spoke of an old Book which told of the great Creator of the world, and that all its wonderful beauty was the work of His hand; that the sorrow and the wrong which he had seen around him were but for a time, for the Creator was also the Father of the universe, and had sent His Son into the world as its Saviour, and to die for its deliverance.

“Afterwards he read in this Book the story of the life and death of this Son of God, who was also the Son of man; and he learned that a fuller and truer life lay beyond the things that are now seen.  So with reverent feeling he waited, thinking much of the closed door.

“At last, the bars were undone, the key was turned in the lock, the door was opened, the walls of his cell fell down, and he stood young and strong on the outside!  Then he saw and heard things I cannot tell you about, so like the old, and yet so different.  But he felt no fear; for he knew he was under the same wise, kind, righteous laws, under the Ruler of the universe, and that the kingdoms of the seen and the unseen are but one.”

THE END.