Willet, in her earnest, gentle way,
"is not that a loving Providence which helps us to a knowledge of
the truth, even though the lesson prove a hard one to learn--nay,
even if it be acquired under the rod of a stern master?"
"Oh, yes, yes!" said Mrs. Markland, unhesitatingly.
"It is undoubtedly true," said Mrs. Willet, "that all things of
natural life are arranged, under Providence, with a special view to
the formation and development within us of spiritual life, or the
orderly and true lives of our spirits. We are not born into this
world merely to eat, drink, and enjoy sensual and corporeal
pleasures alone. This is clear to any mind on the slightest
reflection. The pleasures of a refined taste, as that of music and
art, are of a higher and more enduring character than these; and of
science and knowledge, still more enduring. Yet not for these, as
the highest development of our lives, were we born. Taste, science,
knowledge, even intelligence, to which science and knowledge open
the door, leave us still short of our high destiny.
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