--joy unalloyed and infinite! God,
who never wearies but ever smiles! God, who pours into the soul fresh
treasures day by day; who purifies and leaves no bitterness; who is all
harmony, all flame! God, who has placed Himself within our hearts to
blossom there; who hearkens to our prayers; who does not stand aloof
when we are His, but gives His presence absolutely! He who revives us,
magnifies us, and multiplies us in Himself; _God_! Minna, I love thee
because thou mayst be His! I love thee because if thou come to Him thou
wilt be mine."

"Lead me to Him," cried Minna, kneeling down; "take me by the hand; I
will not leave thee!"

"Lead us, Seraphita!" cried Wilfrid, coming to Minna's side with an
impetuous movement. "Yes, thou hast given me a thirst for Light, a
thirst for the Word. I am parched with the Love thou hast put into my
heart; I desire to keep thy soul in mine; thy will is mine; I will do
whatsoever thou biddest me. Since I cannot obtain thee, I will keep thy
will and all the thoughts that thou hast given me. If I may not unite
myself with thee except by the power of my spirit, I will cling to thee
in soul as the flame to what it laps. Speak!"

"Angel!" exclaimed the mysterious being, enfolding them both in
one glance, as it were with an azure mantle, "Heaven shall by thine
heritage!"

Silence fell among them after these words, which sounded in the souls of
the man and of the woman like the first notes of some celestial harmony.

"If you would teach your feet to tread the Path to heaven, know that
the way is hard at first," said the weary sufferer; "God wills that you
shall seek Him for Himself. In that sense, He is jealous; He demands
your whole self. But when you have given Him yourself, never, never will
He abandon you. I leave with you the keys of the kingdom of His Light,
where evermore you shall dwell in the bosom of the Father, in the heart
of the Bridegroom. No sentinels guard the approaches, you may enter
where you will; His palaces, His treasures, His sceptre, all are
free. 'Take them!' He says. But--you must _will_ to go there. Like
one preparing for a journey, a man must leave his home, renounce his
projects, bid farewell to friends, to father, mother, sister, even
to the helpless brother who cries after him,--yes, farewell to them
eternally; you will no more return than did the martyrs on their way to
the stake. You must strip yourself of every sentiment, of everything to
which man clings. U