the pilot, who made us all sit perfectly still; and, indeed, I had no wish
to stir! Do not, however, my daughter, take these words of mine as proofs
of my being very holy. No, they are only little imaginary virtues which I
amuse myself by fancying I possess. When it comes to real earnest, I am by
no means so brave."

The simplicity of the Saint's thoughts when on the water, and of his way
of mentioning them, shows how childlike was his trust in God. It reminds
one of the happiness with which St. John leaned upon the Saviour's breast.
A saying, too, of Saint Teresa which I have read in her life comes to my
mind. She declared she was never more absolutely content than when she
found herself in some peril which obliged her to have recourse to God;
because then it seemed to her that she was clinging more closely to His
holy presence, and saying to Him, as did Jacob to the Angel, that she would
not let Him go until He had blessed her.


OUR MISERY APPEALS TO GOD'S MERCY.

To a soul overwhelmed by the consideration of its infidelities and miseries
he wrote these words of marvellous consolation.

"Your miseries and infirmities ought not to astonish you. God has seen
many and many a one as wretched as you, and His mercy never turns away
the unhappy. On the contrary, by means of their wretchedness, He seeks to
do them good, making their abjection the foundation of the throne of His
glory. As Job's patience was enthroned on a dung-hill, so God's mercy is
raised upon the wretchedness of man; take away man's misery, and what
becomes of God's mercy?"