day is the evil thereof. Take no thought for the morrow; the Same God Who disposes of events to-day will dispose of them to-morrow.

Beware, my dear daughter, of calling men fools; remember our Lord's words, "Whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca," &c. Learn by degrees to tame your eager spirit, and bring it into the subjection of patience, gentleness, and kindliness amid the follies, childishness, and feminine imperfections of your Sisters, who are a little self-indulgent, and apt to worry their Mother. Do not take so much delight in the affection of an earthly father; seek above all the Heavenly Father Who loves you, and gave His Son

for you.

Sleep well; by degrees you can return to six hours sleep only, if you wish it. But to eat little, to work a great deal amid considerable mental anxiety, and then to refuse sufficient sleep to the poor body, is neither more nor less than to expect a worn-out horse to work without his food. I wish you had not ridiculed and laughed at those people, but that you had rather edified them by your modest simplicity and kindliness, as our Lord has taught us to do. . . . Farewell: study to win humility and a kindly spirit. . . . Abide in God. I am, &c.

TO A SUPERIOR OF THE VISITATION.
ON HER DUTIES.

MY VERY DEAR DAUGHTER,

Oct. 2, 1619.

Beware of being disheartened by any little murmurs or by any fault that may be found with you. Indeed, dear daughter, I can assure you that the art of faultfinding is very easy, and that of amending most difficult. Very little talent is needful to pick holes in those who govern, or in their administration; and when we are reproved, or our defective system of rule is set before us, we ought to listen meekly to everything, and then lay it before God, taking counsel with those who are our coadjutors in the work; after which the right thing is to do what seems for the best, with a holy confidence that God's Providence will turn all things to His Own Glory.'

Do not be hasty in making promises, but take leisure to think well over any matter of importance. This is necessary, both for the well-being of the work, and for your personal humility. S. Bernard, writing to a certain Arducius (who was a predecessor of mine in the See of Geneva), says, "Do everything subject

to the advice of but few persons, giving heed that they be peaceable, wise, and good." You should consult with those under you so discreetly as not in any way to lessen the respect which they bear you, or to make them imagine that you cannot do without them; rather they should feel that you consult them out of modesty and humility, and because it is in accordance with your constitutions. You understand, my dear daughter, that as far as possible the love our inferiors bear to us.ought not to lessen their respect, nor should their respect lessen their love.

If there is any Sister who does not hold you in sufficient reverence, let it be mentioned to her by any one of the other Sisters through whom you think it will come best, not as from you, but as of herself: but your gentleness must not run any risk of being mistaken for timidity; therefore, if any Sister should be intentionally wanting in due respect, it would be well for you privately and gently to admonish her that it is her duty to honour your office, and to co-operate with the rest in maintaining the dignity of that which binds the whole community together as one body and one soul. . . .

Now, my dear daughter, hold fast to God, and be humbly courageous for His Sake. Moreover, I pray you often commend my soul to Him. I cherish your soul most exceedingly, and wish it a thousand bless

ings. When I say do not show this letter, I mean, do not show it indiscriminately. If it is a comfort to you to show it to any special person, pray do so.

[482.]

LXXIX.

TO A LADY.

Yours, &c.

ON THE DEATH OF HER NEW-BORN CHILD. MY DEAR CHILD,

ANNECY, Dec. 2, 1619.

The Father Confessor of Sainte Claire de Grenoble has just told me that you have been exceedingly ill.

I can imagine your dear heart accepting all these trials as blessings with a perfect submission to His Divine Will, from Whose Fatherly Hand they come. Oh, how happy that little babe is to have taken flight like an angel to Heaven, almost before it had lighted upon earth! What a precious pledge for you up there, my dear child! But I know well that you have communed not a little with your Saviour, heart to heart, over all this trial; He has before now soothed all the shrinking tenderness of your mother's heart; and you have many a time poured out your childlike trust in His own words, "Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Thy Sight." Oh, my dear child, if so you are most blessed, you are dead" with your babe in Christ, "and your life is hid in Him with God and

I

when He, Who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory." So speaks the Holy Ghost in Holy Scripture.

We groan, we suffer, we die with those we love, by reason of our great love for them; and when they suffer and die in our Lord, and we accept their suffering and death for love of Him Who suffered and died for us, we are indeed "dead" with Him and them. These are the true spiritual riches, my dear child, and we shall realise it one day, when for our present light afflictions" we receive "an eternal weight of glory."

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And now, dear child, as you have willingly accepted your illness, because it was God's Will, strive in like manner to accept your recovery cheerfully, inasmuch as He wills you to recover. I cease not to pray, my dear child, that we may all be His without exception or reserve, in health and in sickness, in sorrow and in joy, in life and in death, in time and in Eternity. With all best wishes to your very filial heart, I am, yours, &c.

Col. iii. 3, 4