a time get the upper hand; but I
believe the Lord and Master will prevail. Perhaps we are never dearer to
Him than when the wings on which we once _flew_ to Him, hang drooping
and broken at our side, and we have to make our weary way on foot.

I am always thankful to have my heart stirred and warmed by Christian
letters or conversation; always glad to see any signs of the presence
of the Holy Spirit at work in a human soul. But never force yourself to
write or talk of spiritual things; try rather to get so full of Christ
that mention of Him shall be natural and spontaneous.

_To the Same, April 15, 1873._

I have just been reading the sermon of Dr. Hopkins on prayer you sent
me. It sounds just like him. I think his brother and mine (by marriage)
would have treated the subject just as logically and far more
practically; still, under the circumstances, that was not desirable.
As to myself, I would rather have the simple testimony of some unknown
praying woman, who is in the habit of "_waiting_" on God, than all the
theological discussions in the world. The subject, as you know, is one
of deep interest to me.

I have not answered your letter, because I was not quite sure what it
was best to say. During the winter I was not sure what had come between
us, and thought it best to let time show; and I have been harassed and
perplexed by certain anxieties, with which it did not seem necessary to
trouble you, to a degree that may have given me a preoccupied manner.
There have been points where I wanted a divine illumination which I did
not get. I wanted to hear, "This is the way, walk in it"; but that word
has not come yet, and almost all my spiritual life has been running in
that one line, keeping me, necessarily, out of sympathy with everybody.
As far as this has been a fault, it has reacted upon you, to whom I
ought to have been more of a help. But I can say that it delights me to
see you even trying to take a step onward, and to know that while still
young, and with the temptations of youth about you, you have set
your face heavenward. Your temptations, like mine, are through the
affections. "Only God can satisfy a woman"; and yet we try, every now
and then, to see if we can't find somebody else worth leaning on. _We
never shall_, and it is a great pity we can not always realise it. I
never deliberately make this attempt now, but am still liable to fall
into the temptation. I am _sure_ that I can never be really happy and