love?"

A line came between his brows. "Well!" he said at last, "I would say, I
think, that a woman who crucifies her flesh with a cheerful spirit in
obedience to God's law, stands higher in the eyes of God than one who
undergoes no such sacrifice in her married life." And I had the feeling
that his stare was passing through me, on its way to an unseen goal.

"You would desire, then, I suppose, suffering as the greatest blessing
for yourself?"

"Humbly," he said, "I would try to."

"And naturally, for others?"

"God forbid!"

"But surely that is inconsistent."

He murmured: "You see, I have suffered."

We were silent. At last I said: "Yes, that makes much which was dark
quite clear to me."

"Oh?" he asked.

I answered slowly: "Not many men, you know, even in your profession, have
really suffered. That is why they do not feel the difficulty which you
feel in desiring suffering for others."