seemed to gleam back from the answering eye of Anna, until his whole being was filled with delight.  While she felt that her hitherto dim and indistinct faith was growing into form and fixedness, and her intellect awakened to a sphere of ideas, to a world of perceptions, that endowed her all at once with a charmed existence, and flooded her with the light of a graceful beauty that made her appear to the admiring Gotleib like an angelic spirit.

Thus were the spirit links being woven through the cold bright days of winter.  Madame Hendrickson was no longer confined to her bed; and on the Sabbath days Anna could attend the public worship of God, of whom, now, only she seemed truly to learn.  It was to the Holy Supper she went on that first solemn Sabbath day, after months of confinement and sorrow.  Oh! how blessed it was to listen to the Divine Word, through which God seemed to her awakened perception to shine, in a veiled beauty! and when she tasted the wine of spiritual truth, flowing from the wisdom of the Divine One, and ate of the bread of the celestial good of His love, Heaven seemed to open to her receptive heart and mind—­and, as her heart’s prayers went up with those of the shining angels round the throne of God, it was not for herself that she prayed, but for him that had spoken living truth to her virgin heart.  Oh, the good child!  In that holy moment she rejoiced to reveal her heart’s love to the Divine Father; she knew that her love was born of her knowledge of God, and thus she knew that it was blessed from above.

As she passed out of the church, she encountered the earnest glance of surprised and delighted recognition from Gotleib.  Very soon he was at her side.  In the fullness and stillness of her beautiful thoughts and satisfied affections they walked on.  Oh, how happy the dear mother looked, when she saw the two enter her lonely chamber!  The heavenly light and warmth of love seemed to be within and around them; and she saw that two beings so exactly created the one for the other, could not but find an eternal happiness in each other.  Gotleib was truly in one of his genial, sunny moods; he seemed to soar into worlds of light; his expanding heart was filling with the glory of Heaven.  The teachings of his childhood were all brought forth; he talked of his beloved mother—­now an angel of God—­told of the beautiful hope she awakened in his heart concerning the little maiden created by God for him, when his heart shrunk in such pain from the isolation her death would leave him in.  Then he turned to the blushing Anna, and said he thought the maiden was now found.  She lifted her love-lighted eyes to his—­he clasped her hand and said softly,

“Thou art mine!”

“I am thine,” fell responsive from the maiden’s lips; and an infinite blessedness flowed into the loving, satisfied heart of Gotleib.