angel sang through tears. Never had I heard anything so divinely
pure and compassionate,--and all my being strove to lift itself
towards that supernal height which seemed to be the hidden source of
its melodious utterance.

"O Soul, wandering in the region of sleep and dreams!" said the
Voice,--"What is all thy searching and labour worth without Love?
Why art thou lost in a Silence without Song?"

I raised my eyes, seeking for the one who thus spoke to me, but
could see nothing.

"In Life's great choral symphony"--the Voice continued--"the keynote
of the dominant melody is Love! Without the keynote there can be no
music,--there is dumbness where there should be sound,--there is
discord where there should be harmony. Love!--the one vibrant tone
to which the whole universe moves in tune,--Love, the breath of God,
the pulsation of His Being, the glory of His work, the fulfilment of
His Eternal Joy,--Love, and Love alone, is the web and texture and
garment of happy Immortality! O Soul that seekest the way to wisdom
and to power, what dost thou make of Love?"

I trembled and stood mute. It seemed that I was surrounded by solemn
Presences whose nearness I could feel but not see, and unknowing who
it was that spoke to me, I was afraid to answer.

"Far in the Past, thousands of ages ago," went on the Voice--"the
world we call the Sorrowful Star was a perfect note in a perfect
scale. It was in tune with the Divine Symphony. But with the sweep
of centuries it has lagged behind; it has fallen from Light into