holy child-servant, and there will be no need to restrain any impulse of
wise affection from pouring itself forth upon her. My firm belief is that
we should then love and honour her far more than if we made her just like
one of our own."

"But what if she should turn out utterly unfit for it?"

"Ah! then would come an obstacle. But it will not come till that discovery
is made."

"But if we should be going wrong all the time?"

"Now, there comes the kind of care that never troubles me, and which I so
strongly object to. It won't hurt her anyhow. And we ought always to act
upon the ideal; it is the only safe ground of action. When that which
contradicts and resists, and would ruin our ideal, opposes us, then we
must take measures; but not till then can we take measures, or know what
measures it may be necessary to take. But the ideal itself is the only
thing worth striving after. Remember what our Lord himself said: 'Be ye
therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.'"

"Well, I will think about it, Harry. There is time enough."

"Plenty. No time only not to think about it. The more you think about it
the better. If a thing be a good thing, the more you think about it the
better it will look; for its real nature will go on coming out and showing
itself. I cannot doubt that you will soon see how good it is."

We then went home. It was only two days after that my wife said to me--