opportunity of resembling Thee more closely, and thus
helping Thee to save souls.' The Infirmarian soon left me, and I
did not expect to see her again until the following morning. What
was my surprise when she returned a few minutes later with a
refreshing drink! 'It has just struck me that you may be thirsty,'
she said, 'so I shall bring you something every evening.' I looked
at her astounded, and when I was once more alone, I melted into
tears. Oh! how good Jesus is! how tender and loving! How easy it
is to reach His Heart!"

. . . . . . .

On September 6, the little Spouse of Jesus received a touching
proof of the loving thought of His Sacred Heart. She had
frequently expressed a wish to possess a relic of her special
patron, the Venerable Theophane Venard, but as her desire was not
realised, she said no more. She was quite overcome, therefore,
when Mother Prioress brought her the longed-for treasure--received
that very day. She kissed it repeatedly, and would not consent to
part with it.

It may be asked why she was so devoted to this young Martyr. She
herself explained the reason in an affectionate interview with her
own sisters: "Theophane Venard is a _little_ saint; his life was
not marked by anything extraordinary. He had an ardent devotion to
Our Immaculate Mother and a tender love of his own family."
Dwelling on these words she added: "And I, too, love my family
with a tender love; I fail to understand those Saints who do not
share my feelings. As a parting gift I have copied for you some
passages from his last letters home. His soul and mine have many
points of resemblance, and his words do but re-echo my thoughts."

We give here a copy of that letter, which one might have believed
was composed by Therese herself:

"I can find nothing on earth that can make me truly happy; the
desires of my heart are too vast, and nothing of what the world
calls happiness can satisfy it. Time for me will soon be no more,
my thoughts are fixed on Eternity. My heart is full of peace, like
a tranquil lake or a cloudless sky. I do not regret this life on
earth. I thirst for the waters of Life Eternal.

"Yet a little while and my soul will have quitted this earth, will
have finished her exile, will have ended her combat. I go to
Heaven. I am about to enter the Abode of the Blessed--to see what
the eye hath never seen, to hear what the ear hath never heard, to
enjoy those things the heart of man hath not conce