wall. I cannot bear to see the reproaches that must fill
those kind eyes."

"But, my dear, thee shall not see any reproaches in my eyes. Who am I
that I should judge thee? We are commanded in the holy Bible to judge
not, lest we be judged again. Tell thy story without fear. Thee shall
tell it to ears that shall hear thee patiently, and a heart that is not
devoid of pity."

"I cannot, cannot," cried Pepeeta, "do as I pray! Look out of the
window. Look anywhere but at my face. Let me lie here and look up. Let
me tell my story as if to God alone. It will be easy for me to do that,
for I have told it to Him again and again."

Fearing to agitate her, Dorothea did as she desired.

"Are we alone?"

"Yes, all alone."

"Well, then, I will begin," Pepeeta said, and in a voice choked with
emotion, the poor sufferer breathed out the tale of her sin and her
sorrow. She told all. She did not shield herself, and everywhere she
could she softened the wrong done by David. It was a long story, and was
interrupted only by the ticking of the great clock in the hallway,
telling off the moments with as little concern as when three years
before it had listened to the story told to David by his mother. When
the confession was ended a silence followed, which Dorothea broke by
asking gently:

"May I look, now?"

"If you can forgive me," Pepeeta answered.

The tender-hearted woman rose, approached the bedside and kissed the
quivering lips.

"Have you forgiven me?" Pepeeta asked, seizing the face in her thin
hands and looking almost despairingly into the great blue eyes.

"As I hope to be forgiven," Dorothea answered, kissing her again and
again.

A look of almost perfect happiness diffused itself over the pale
countenance.

"It is too much--too much. How can it be? It was such a great wrong!"
she exclaimed,

"Yes, it was a great wrong. Thee has sinned much, but much shall be
forgiven if thee is penitent, and I think thee is. No love nor pardon
should be withheld from those who mourn their sins. Our God is love! And
we are so ignorant and frail. It is a sad story, as thee says, but it is
better to be led astray by our good passions than by our bad. I have
noticed that it is sometimes by our holiest instincts that we are
betrayed into our darkest sins! It was heaven's brightest light--the
light of love--that led thee astray, my child, and even love may not be
followed with closed eyes! But thee does not need to be preached to."