made a false step, now I must go more carefully and watchfully." Do this each time, however frequently you fall. When you are at peace use it profitably, making constant acts of meekness, and seeking to be calm even in the most trifling things. Our Lord says, "He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much." Above all, do not be discouraged; be patient; wait; strive to attain a calm, gentle spirit. God will uphold you with His Hand, and if He should let you stumble it will only be to show you that without Him you would fall altogether, and to teach you to hold His Hand the tighter. Farewell.

be His wholly, solely, irrevocably.

May you

...

TO MADAME BRULART.

June 25, 1608.

You speak of your impatience. Is it real impatience, or only natural repugnance? But as you call it impatience, I will take for granted that it is such, and till I can talk with you more fully on the subject, I will tell you freely that, judging from your letters, more than from the little conversation we have had, yours seems to me a heart which clings too vehemently to the objects it desires.

I know that your chief desire is the Love of God, and to attain that we must make use of means, exercises, practices. Now I think that you cling vehemently to such means as are to your taste, and would have everything yield before them, so that you uneasy when anything hinders or disturbs you. The remedy is to endeavour to rid yourself of this restless feeling; God would have you serve Him as you are, in actions suitable to the position to which He has called you; and while endeavouring to perform these, you must strive to accept both your actual position and the duties attached to it, for His Sake Who has called you to them. But, my dear sister, it is not enough merely to give a passing thought to this; it must abide in your heart, and be graven there by recollectedness and meditation. Believe me, all that is opposed to this habit of mind is mere self-will.

As to Holy Communion, I approve of your wish to receive it frequently, so long as your wish is duly submitted to your confessor, who is the best judge of the present state of your soul.

The fluctuations of your mind, both in and out of prayer, now earnest, then languid; one while attracted to the world, and the next disgusted at it ;-all these are God's way of rendering you very humble and gentle, for you see what you are of yourself, and what under the guidance of His Hand; but there is nothing

in this which ought to discourage you.. I commend you continually to our Dear Lord; your progress is very near my heart, and I will remember you at the Holy Sacrifice.

TO A LADY IN SICKNESS.

Sept. 29, 1608. I UNDERSTAND, my dear daughter, that your illness is more suffering than dangerous, and I know that such sickness is apt to make people disobedient to their doctors, so I wish to tell you that you must in no way refuse to take anything prescribed for you, whether rest, medicine, food, or recreation. You can accept

all these in a spirit of obedience and resignation, which will be most acceptable to our Lord, for all these are crosses and mortifications, which you have neither chosen nor sought. God has laid them on you with His Own Holy Hand: receive them, embrace them, love them; in truth they carry an atmosphere of grace with them. Farewell, my dear daughter. I feel tenderly for you, and would say more had I time, for I desire exceedingly that you may be faithful through all these vexatious little trials, and that in small and great things alike you may always say, Hail Jesus! Yours, &c.

[155]

XXXI.

TO MADAME DE CHANTAL.

ANNECY, Sept. 29, 1608.

YOUR wishes as to this life are good, provided they do not become more urgent than their object warrants. It is right, no doubt, to wish for the life of him whom God has sent as your guide. But, my dear daughter, God has a hundred, I would rather say endless, means of guiding you, apart from me. It is He Who leads you like a sheep of His pasture. I intreat you to keep your heart fixed on high; bind it irrevocably to the Sovereign Will of our Loving God and Father. May He, and He only, be ever obeyed by us. Nevertheless, I shall take care of my health as I promised. . . . . My dear daughter, so long as God wills that you remain in the world, I would have you remain there willingly and cheerfully. Many people quit the world without forsaking self: they really seek to indulge their taste for rest and quiet, and such persons grow very restless, for the self-love which rules them is ill-regulated, eager, and turbulent. Let us not be like these: let us forsake the world in order to serve God, to follow Him, to love Him; and in the same spirit, so long as He wills us to serve Him in the world, let us abide in it heartily and cheerfully. We

Letters.

do nothing save to serve Him, and we are satisfied to be wherever we can do that. Then be at rest, my daughter, and do that well for which you are dwelling in the world do it heartily, and believe that you are more acceptable to God while so doing, than you could be by leaving the world of your own will. Be at rest, keep the Crucified Saviour in the midst of your heart. Not long ago I saw a girl carrying a pail of water on her head, into the midst of which she put a piece of wood. I asked why she did that, and she answered that the wood steadied her pail, and prevented the water from being spilt. Even so, I said to myself, we must carry the Cross in the midst of our heart to hinder it from swaying to and fro, and from overflowing with the anxieties and disturbances of this restless life. I like to tell you my stray cogitations.

[159.]

MADAME,

XXXII.

TO MADAME DE MIENDRY.

AGAINST A TROUBLED MIND.

Νου. 4, 1608. Write to me as often as you please, in perfect confidence, and without ceremony; such freedom befits our friendship. I beg you to despise all these foolish, self-conceited thoughts which flit across your mind concerning your good deeds; they are really no more