nions whereso I might go;
That I through ten and threescore weary years
Should stumble on beset by pains and fears,
Fierce conflict round me, passions hot within,
Enjoyment brief and fatal but in sin.
When all was ended then should I demand
Full compensation from thine austere hand:
For, 'tis thy pleasure, all temptation past,
To be not just but generous at last._

_Lord, here am I, my threescore years and ten
All counted to the full; I've fought thy fight,
Crossed thy dark valleys, scaled thy rocks' harsh height,
Borne all the burdens Thou dost lay on men
With hand unsparing threescore years and ten.
Before Thee now I make my claim, O Lord,--
What shall I pray Thee as a meet reward?_

_I ask for nothing. Let the balance fall!
All that I am or know or may confess
But swells the weight of mine indebtedness;
Burdens and sorrows stand transfigured all;
Thy hand's rude buffet turns to a caress,
For Love, with all the rest. Thou gavest me here,
And Love is Heaven's very atmosphere,
Lo, I have dwelt with Thee, Lord. Let me die.
I could no more through all eternity._

THE STORY OF THE INNUMERABLE COMPANY.

There was once a great mountain which rose from the shore of the sea,
and on its flanks it bore a mighty forest. Beyond the crest of the
mountain were ridges and valleys, peaks and chasms, springs and
torrents. Farther on lay a sandy desert, which stretched its
monotonous breadth to the shore of a wide, swift river. What lay
beyond the river no one knew, because its shores were always hid in
azure mist.

Year by year there came up from the shore of the sea an Innumerable
Company. Each one must cross the mountain and the forest, faring
onward toward the desert and the river. And this was one condition of
the journey--that whosoever came to the river must breast its waters
alone. Why this was so, no one could tell; nor did any one know aught
of the land beyond. For of the multitude who had crossed the river not
one had ever returned.

As time went on there came to be paths through the forest. Those who
went first left traces to serve as guides for those coming after. Some
put marks on the trees; some built little cairns of stones to show the
way they had taken in going around great rocks. Those who followed
found these marks and added to them. And many of the travelers left
little charts which showed where the cliffs and chasms were and by what