er we have become so dear to each other?"
I asked. "Something has happened to change your purpose since I have
been ill--tell me what it is."

"To speak frankly, Kendric, I must say that the world has sadly
disappointed me. It is full of vanity and deceit and selfishness. Every
day brings to me some hideous revelation which the mercy of heaven has
hidden from others. I have seen the righteous forsaken of men, and the
wicked receiving homage; I have seen the unjust triumphing over the
just; I have seen some reveling in abundance while others were begging
for bread. Everywhere I have found want and misery staring me in the
face.

"Remembering what Christ said, I sold all I had and gave to the poor,
and now there is nothing more I can do. My best pictures, my money and
all my extra clothing have gone to feed the hungry and cover the naked.
And even now, when I have nothing left to give, I find as much misery as
before. Often, since I have been alone, I have had nothing to eat and no
fire to keep me warm. Then I feared to tell you what I had done, and I
bore it in silence, hoping that I might earn more money by painting. But
I could not work. When Hester came back I told her all my troubles, and
she gave me money, not only for my own use but for the use of others who
needed it more than I. She and I have wandered about the city by day and
by night, ministering to the sick and the friendless."

He ceased speaking, his head bent forward upon his hands. It was indeed
a serious situation into which a too generous heart had betrayed him.
Nearly all his fortune had descended to him in cash on deposit, and
payable either to my order or to his. He had therefore saved nothing
for himself that had been available for the satisfaction of his good
impulses. Instead of displeasing me, however, as he feared, his action
only increased my love for him, if that were possible.

"Do not let these things trouble you, Rayel," I said. "We shall find no
difficulty, I think, in earning money enough for our needs. I cannot see
you shut yourself away from the world: you have yet an important work
to do among men. You are now morbidly sensitive to the misery that
surrounds us, but you will feel it less keenly as it grows more
familiar."

"You do not understand me, Kendric," said he, starting from his chair,
and pacing restlessly up and down the room. "I cannot deceive you
any longer. In begging you to leave me, it is your own happiness I am
thin