magnet draws the iron? All these are of one quality. The iron, the seed,
the cloud, and the soul of man are _what_ they are, do _what_ they do,
love as they love, live as they live, and die as they die because they
must--because they have no other choice. We think we are free because at
times we act as we please, forgetting that God gives us the "please," and
that every act of our being is but the result of a dictated motive.
Dorothy was not immodest. This was her case. She was the iron, the seed,
the cloud, and the rain. You, too, are the iron, the seed, the cloud, and
the rain. It is only human vanity which prompts you to believe that you
are yourself and that you are free. Do you find any freedom in this world
save that which you fondly believe to exist within yourself? Self! There
is but one self, God. I have been told that the people of the East call
Him Brahma. The word, it is said, means "Breath," "Inspiration," "All." I
have felt that the beautiful pagan thought has truth in it; but my
conscience and my priest tell me rather to cling to truths I have than to
fly to others that I know not of. As a result, I shall probably die
orthodox and mistaken.




CHAPTER III

THE PITCHER GOES TO THE WELL.


Dorothy and I went to the inn parlors, where I received a cordial welcome
from my cousin, Lady Crawford. After our greeting, Dorothy came toward me
leading the fair, pale girl whom I had seen in the courtyard.