it;
but the will alone is enough. No child of mine may cast away the life
that I have lent her as the most sacred and precious of gifts.'"

The letter ended with pious exhortations to the community.

Then a maiden who should voluntarily sacrifice herself in the river to
save the people in their need would be a victim pleasing in the sight of
the Lord--so said the Man of God, through whose mouth the Most High
spoke. And this opinion, this hint, was to Katharina like a distaff from
which she spun a lengthening thread to warp to the loom and weave from it
a tangible tissue.

She would be the maiden whom the patriarch had imagined--the real, true
Bride of the Nile, inspired to cast off her young life to save her people
in their need. In this there was expiation such as Heaven might accept;
this would release her from the burthen of life that weighed upon her,
and would reunite her to her mother; in this way she could show her lover
and the bishop and all the world the immensity of her self-sacrifice,
which was in nothing behind that of "the other"--the much-vaunted
daughter of Thomas! She would do the great deed before Paula's eyes, in
sight of all the people. But Orion must know whose image she bore in her
heart and for whose sake she made that leap from blooming life into a
watery grave.

Oh! it was wonderful, splendid! Would she not thus compel him inevitably
to remember her whenever he should think of Paula? Yes, she would force
him to allow her image to dwell in his soul, inseparable from that
"other;" and would not such an unparalleled act add such height to her
figure, that it would be equal to that of her Syrian rival in the
estimation of all men--even in his?

She now began to long for the supreme moment. Her vain little heart
laughed in anticipation of the delight of being seen, praised and admired
by all. Tomorrow she, her little self, would tower above all the world;
and the more she felt the oppressive heat of the scorching day, the more
delicious it seemed to look forward to finding rest from the torments of
life in the cool element.

She saw no difficulties in the way of her achievement; she was mistress
now, and her slaves and servants must obey her orders. At the same time
she remembered, too, to protect her large possessions from falling into
the hands of relations for whom she did not care; with a firm hand she
drew up a will in which she bequeathed part of her fortune to her uncle
Chrysippus, sma