with Sylvia.

Still gazing on the floor, with her hands folded before her, she asked
me what I wished. At first I could not answer her. It seemed impossible
to open my heart to a woman such as this one. But if I said anything, I
must say it without hesitation, and so I began.

"Of course," I said, "I have come to see you about Sylvia Raynor. I am
in much trouble regarding her. You promised to aid me, and I have come
to ask for the fulfillment of that promise. My love for that girl grows
stronger day by day, hour by hour, and I have been thwarted, mystified,
and I may say deceived. I have come"--

"She of whom you speak," interrupted Mother Anastasia, "is not to be
discussed in that way. She has declared her intention to unite herself
permanently with our sisterhood, and to devote her life to our work. She
can have nothing more to do with you, nor you with her."

"That will not do at all," I said excitedly. "When I last saw you, you
did not talk like that, and the opinions you expressed at that time are
just as good now as they were then. I want to go over this matter with
you. There are things that I have a right to know."

A little frown appeared upon her brow. "This conversation must cease,"
she said; "the subjects you wish to discuss are forbidden to our
sisterhood. You must mention them no more."

I tried hard to restrain myself and speak quietly. "Madam"--said I.

"You must not call me 'madam,'" she broke in. "I am the Mother Superior
of this house."

"I understand that," I continued, "and I understand your feeling of
duty. But you have other duties besides those you owe to your
sisterhood. You made me a promise, which I accepted with an honest and
confiding heart. If you cannot do what you promised, you owe it to me to
explain why you cannot do it. I do not know what has happened to change
your views and her views, and, so far as I am concerned, the whole
world. You can set me right; you can explain everything to me."

The frown disappeared, and her face seemed paler. "It is absolutely
impossible to discuss anything of the sort in this house. I must
insist"--

I did not permit her to finish her sentence. "Very well, then," I
exclaimed, "if you cannot talk to me here, talk to me somewhere else.
When you desire it, you go outside of these walls, and you speak freely
and fully. You have so spoken with me; and because you have done so, it
is absolutely necessary that you do it again. Your own heart, your