heart, and forget all it had done?
. . . She knows quite well that her little one will repeat the
fault--no matter, her darling will escape all punishment so long
as it makes appeal to her heart.

Even when the law of fear was in force, before Our Lord's coming,
the prophet Isaias said--speaking in the name of the King of
Heaven: "Can a woman forget her babe? . . . And if she should
forget, yet will I not forget thee."[4] What a touching promise!
We who live under the law of Love, shall we not profit by the
loving advances made by our Spouse? How can anybody fear Him Who
allows Himself to be made captive "with one hair of our neck"?[5]

Let us learn to keep Him prisoner--this God, the Divine Beggar of
love. By telling us that a single hair can work this wonder, He
shows us that the smallest actions done for His Love are those
which charm His Heart. If it were necessary to do great things, we
should be deserving of pity, but we are happy beyond measure,
because Jesus lets Himself be led captive by the smallest action.
. . . With you, dear Leonie, little sacrifices are never lacking.
Is not your life made up of them? I rejoice to see you in presence
of such wealth, especially when I remember that you know how to
make profit thereby, not only for yourself but likewise for poor
sinners. It is so sweet to help Jesus to save the souls which He
has ransomed at the price of His Precious Blood, and which only
await our help to keep them from the abyss.

It seems to me that if our sacrifices take Jesus captive, our joys
make Him prisoner too. All that is needful to attain this end is,
that instead of giving ourselves over to selfish happiness, we
offer to our Spouse the little joys He scatters in our path, to
charm our hearts and draw them towards Him.

You ask for news of my health. Well, my cough has quite
disappeared. Does that please you? It will not prevent Our Lord
from taking me to Himself whensoever He wishes. And I need not
prepare for that journey, since my whole endeavour is to remain as
a little child. Jesus Himself must pay all its expenses, as well
as the price of my admission to Heaven.

Good-bye, dearest one, pray to Him without fail for the last and
least of your sisters.

IV

July 17, 1897.

MY DEAR LEONIE,--I am so pleased to be able to write to you again.
Some days ago I thought I should never again have this
consolation, but it seems God wishes to prolong somewhat the time
of my exile. This doe