Holding each other's hands as we talked, she questioning, I answering, things too sacred to be repeated here were dwelt upon for hours. At last she said, rising hastily: "I will leave you for a little while--nay, you must not go," as I would have risen, "there is much yet to be said; wait here, I will return." I had already learned not to question the judgment of these wiser friends, and yielded to her will. As she passed through the doorway to the inner house, I saw a stranger at the front entrance and arose to meet him. He was tall and commanding in form, with a face of ineffable sweetness and beauty. Where had I seen him before? Surely, surely I had met him since I came. "Ah, now I know!" I thought; "it is St. John, the beloved disciple." He had been pointed out to me one morning by the river-side. "Peace be unto this house," was his salutation as he entered. How his voice stirred and thrilled me! No wonder the Master loved him, with that voice and that face! "Enter. Thou art a welcome guest. Enter, and I will call the mistress," I said, as I approached to bid him welcome. "Nay, call her not. She knows that I am here; she will return," he said. "Sit thou awhile beside me," he continued, as he saw that I still stood, after I had seen him seated. He arose and led me to a seat near him, and like a child I did as I was bidden; still watching, always watching, the wonderful face before me. "You have but lately come?" he said. "Yes, I am here but a short time. So short that I know not how to reckon time as you count it here," I answered. "Ah, that matters little," he said with a gentle smile. "Many cling always to the old reckoning and the earth-language. It is a link between the two lives; we would not have it otherwise. How does the change impress you? How do you find life here?" "Ah," I said, "if they could only know! I never fully understood till now the meaning of that sublime passage, 'Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.' It is indeed past human conception." I spoke with deep feeling. "'For them that love him'? Do you believe that all Christians truly love him?" he asked. "Do you think they love the Father for the gift of the Son and the Son because of the Father's love and mercy? Or is their worship ofttimes that of duty rather than love?" He spoke reflectively and gently. "Oh," I said, "you who so well know the beloved Master--who were so loved by him--how can you doubt the love he must inspire in all hearts who seek to know him?" A radiant glow overspread the wonderful face, which he lifted, looking directly at me--the mist rolled away from before my eyes--and I knew him! With a low cry of joy and adoration, I threw myself at his feet, bathing them with happy tears. He gently stroked my bowed head for a moment, then rising, lifted me to his side.