l, and wast made
exceedingly beautiful, and wast advanced to be a queen."[5]

Yes, Our Lord has done all this for me. I might take each word of
that striking passage and show how it has been completely realised
in me, but the graces of which I have already told you are
sufficient proof. So I will only speak now of the food with which
my Divine Master abundantly provided me. For a long time I had
nourished my spiritual life with the "fine flour" contained in the
_Imitation of Christ._ It was the only book which did me good, for
I had not yet found the treasures hidden in the Holy Gospels. I
always had it with me, to the amusement of my people at home. My
aunt used often to open it, and make me repeat by heart the first
chapter she chanced to light upon.

Seeing my great thirst for knowledge, God was pleased, when I was
fourteen, to add to the "fine flour," "honey" and "oil" in
abundance.

This "honey" and "oil" I found in the conferences of Father
Arminjon on _The End of this World and the Mysteries of the World
to Come._ While reading this book my soul was flooded with a
happiness quite supernatural. I experienced a foretaste of what
God has prepared for those who love Him; and, seeing that eternal
rewards are so much in excess of the petty sacrifices of this
life, I yearned to love Our Lord, to love Him passionately, and to
give Him countless proofs of affection while this was still in my
power.

Celine had become the most intimate sharer of my thoughts,
especially since Christmas. Our Lord, Who wished to make us
advance in virtue together, drew us to one another by ties
stronger than blood. He made us sisters in spirit as well as in
the flesh. The words of our Holy Father, St. John of the Cross,
were realised in us:

Treading within Thy Footsteps
Young maidens lightly run upon the way.
From the spark's contact,
And the spiced wine,
They give forth aspirations of a balm divine.

It was lightly indeed that we followed in the footsteps of Our
Saviour. The burning sparks which He cast into our souls, the
strong wine which He gave us to drink, made us lose sight of all
earthly things, and we breathed forth sighs of love.

Very sweet is the memory of our intercourse. Every evening we went
up to our attic window together and gazed at the starry depths of
the sky, and I think very precious graces were bestowed on us
then. As the _Imitation_ says: "God communicates Himself s