Till then it seemed to him that
his emotions had been tranquilly discharging themselves, like the
water which drips from the edge of a fountain basin; that now
something stronger and larger seemed to flow back upon him,
something external and prodigious, which at the same time seemed,
not only to invade and permeate his thought but to become one with
himself; that was the wonder; it did not seem to him like something
added to his spirit, but as though his soul were enlarged and
revived by a force which was his own all the time, an unclaimed,
unperceived part of himself.
He said something of this to Maud, speaking of the happiness that
she had brought him. She said, "Ah, you can't expect me to realise
that! I feel as though you were giving everything and receiving
nothing, as if I were one more of the duties you had adopted. Of
course, I hope that I may be of some use, some time; but I feel at
present as if you had been striding on your way somewhere, and had
turned aside to comfort and help a little child by the roadside who
had lost his way!"
"Oh," said Howard, "it's not that; it isn't only that you are the
joy and light of my life; it is as if something very far away and
powerful had come nearer to both of us, and had lifted us on its
wings--what if it were God?"
"Yes," said Maud musingly, "I think it is that!"
XXVI
LOVE IS ENOUGH
The days slipped past, one by one, with an incredible swiftness.
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