certain reluctance, and solely through obedience. When conversing with a novice I am careful to mortify myself and to avoid asking her questions which would gratify my curiosity. If she commence to speak of something interesting, then, leaving it unfinished, pass to a subject wearisome to me, I take care not to remind her of the interruption, for it seems to me that one can do no good by self-seeking.
HIST. D'UNE AME, CH. X
God did not permit that our Mother
should tell me to write down my poems
according as I composed them, and I
would not have liked to ask her, fearing
lest that might be a fault against poverty.
So I used to wait until the hour of free
time, and it was not without extreme
difficulty that I recalled to mind, at
eight o'clock in the evening, what I had
composed in the morning.
These little nothings are a martyrdom it is true, but we must be well on our guard not to lessen it by allowing our-
