through the black fog of universal utilitarianism, the materiality
which men have drawn into the very lungs of their souls."

This is not true of the sainted authoress of the chapters that
follow-- "less radiant," in the medium of a translation. In her
own inimitable pages, as in those of a Campion or an Ignatius, a
Teresa of Avila, or a John of the Cross--the Spirit of Poetry is
the handmaiden of Holiness. This new lover of flowers and student
of the stars, this "strewer of roses," has uplifted a million
hearts from the "base earth" and "black fog" to the very throne of
God, and her mission is as yet but begun.

The pen of Soeur Thérèse herself must now take up the narrative.
It will do so in words that do not merely tell of love but set the
heart on fire, and at the same time lay bare the workings of God
in a soul that "since the age of three never refused the Good God
anything." The writing of this Autobiography was an act of
obedience, and the Prioress who imposed the task sought, in all
simplicity, her own personal edification. But the fragrance of its
pages was such that she was advised to publish them to the world.
She did so in 1899 under the title of _L'Histoire d'une Âme._ An
English version by M. H. Dziewicki appeared in 1901.

This new translation relates more fully the story of the
childhood, girlhood, and brief convent days of Soeur Thérèse. It
tells of her "Roses," and sets forth again, in our world-wide
tongue, her world-wide embassy--the ever ancient message of God's
Merciful Love, the ever new _way_ to Him of "confidence and
self-surrender."