only that two people chose to live in the
starlight and bound themselves to it eternally,
then had one blinding glimpse of God's great sun.

"'But, Constance, the stars are the same as
always, and we must try to forget that we have
seen the sun. The little lights of the temple must
be the more faithfully tended if the Great Light
goes out. When the white splendour fades, we must
be content with the misty gold of night, and not
mind the shadows nor the great desolate spaces
where not even starlight comes. Your star and mine
met for an instant, then were sundered as widely
as the poles, but the light of each must be kept
steadfast and clear, because of the other.

"'I do not know that I shall have the courage to
send this letter. Everything was said when I told
you that I love you, for that one word holds it
all and there is nothing more. As you can take
your heart in the hollow of your hand and hold it,
it is so small a thing; so the one word 'love'
holds everything that can be said, or given, or
hungered for, or prayed for and denied.

"'And if, sometimes, in the starlight, we dream of
the sun, we must remember that both sun and stars
are God's. Past the unutterable leagues that
divide us now, one day we shall meet again,
purged, mayhap, of earthly longing for earthly