IN THE FOREST OF ARDEN. T ^ 



defeats ; for these experiences of ours were in 

 stantly matched by kindred experiences, and in the 

 common sympathy and comprehension a new kind 

 of strength came to us. The humiliation of defeat 

 was shared, we found, by even the greatest ; and 

 that which made these noble souls what they were 

 was not freedom from failure and weakness, but 

 steadfast struggle to overcome and achieve. As 

 the life of a new hope filled our hearts, we remem 

 bered with a sudden pain the world out of which 

 we had escaped, where every one hides his weak 

 ness lest it feed a vulgar curiosity, and conceals his 

 defeats lest they be used to destroy rather than to 

 build him up. 



With what delight did we find that in Arden the 

 talk touched only great themes, in a spirit of beauti 

 ful candor and unaffected earnestness ! To have 

 exchanged the small personal talk from which we 

 had often been unable to escape for this simple, 

 sincere discourse on the things that were of 

 common interest was like exchanging the cloud-en 

 veloped lowland for some sunny mountain slope, 

 where every breath was vital and one mused on half 

 a continent spread out at his feet. There is no 

 food for the soul but truth, and we were filled with 

 a mighty hunger when we understood for how long 

 a time we had been but half fed. A new strength 

 came .to us, and with it an openness of mind and a 

 responsiveness of heart that made life an inexhaust 

 ible joy. We were set free from the weariness of 



