That morning she had asked the Masdakite whether he had besought Heaven to grant him a speedy recovery, and the man replied that Persians never prayed for any particular blessing, but only for “that which was good;” for that none but the Omnipotent knew what was good for mortals.  How wise!  For in this instance might not the most terrible blow that could fall on a son—­his father’s curse—­prove a blessing?  It was undoubtedly that curse which had led him to look into his soul and to start on this new path.  She saw him treading it, she longed to believe in his conversion—­and she did believe in it.  In this letter he spoke of his love; he even asked her hand.  Only yesterday this would have roused her wrath; to-day she could forgive him; for she could forgive anything to this unhappy soul—­to the man on whom she had brought such deep anguish.  Her heart could now beat high in the hope of seeing him again; nay, it even seemed to her that the youth, whose return had been hailed with such welcome and who had so powerfully attracted her, had only now grown and ripened to full and perfect manhood through his sin, his penitence, and his suffering.

And how noble a task it would be to assist him in seeking the right way, and in becoming what he aspired to be!

The prudent care he had given to her worldly welfare merited her gratitude.  What could he mean by the “exchange” he proposed?  The “great love” of which he had spoken to Katharina was legible in every line of his letter, and any woman can forgive any man—­were he a sinner, and a scarecrow into the bargain—­for his audacity in loving her.  Oh! that he might but set his heart on her—­for hers, it was vain to deny it, was strongly drawn to him.  Still she would not call it Love that stirred within her; it could only be the holy impulse to point out to him the highest goal of life and smooth the path for him.  The pale horseman who had clutched her in her dream should not drag her away; no, she would joyfully lift him up to the highest pinnacle attainable by a brave and noble man.

So her thoughts ran, and her cheeks flushed as, with swift decision, she opened her trunk, took out papyrus, writing implements and a seal, and seated herself at a little desk which Rufinus had placed for her in the window, to write her answer.

At this a sudden fervent longing for Orion came over her.  She made a great effort to shake it off; still, she felt that in writing to him it was impossible that she should find the right words, and as she replaced the papyrus in the chest and looked at the seal a strange thing happened to her; for the device on her father’s well-known ring:  a star above two crossed swords—­perchance the star of Orion—­caught her eye, with the motto in Greek:  “The immortal gods have set sweat before virtue,” meaning that the man who aims at being virtuous must grudge neither sweat nor toil.