Van Berg had not been very long in discovering that Miss Burton had a ruling passion,and it seemed to him a rather unique one.
He was familiar with the many forms of self-seeking,common in society;he knew of those who were devoted to literature,science,or some favorite calling,as he was to his art;he had seen a few who apparently so abounded in genial good-nature that they rarely lost an opportunity of performing a kind act;and there were men and women in the world who,he believed,had fully consecrated themselves to the work of doing good from the purest and divinest motives:but he did not remember of ever having met with one whose whole thought appeared bent on disseminating immediate sunshine.
And yet this seemed true of Miss Burton.With admirable tact,with a tireless patience,and an energy out of proportion in one so fragile,she kept herself quietly and unobtrusively busy among the miscellaneous people of the house.Her charity was wide enough for all.Wherever she could discover gloom,despondency,dulness,or pain,there she tried to shine like a sunbeam,as if that were the primal law of her being.She rarely sought to "do good"in the ordinary acceptance of the term;still more rarely did she speak of her own personal faith;to cheer and to brighten appeared to be her one constant impulse.It was evident that this had become a kind of second nature in her now;but the thought occurred more than once to Van Berg that she had adopted this course at first to escape from herself and her own unhappy memories.Every day increased the conviction that sorrow was the black,heavy soil that produced this constant bloom of unselfish deeds.
Before the week was over she gave him special reason to believe that this was true.They were walking up and down the piazza one evening and had been talking with much animation on a subject of mutual interest.But she proved that there was in her mind a deeper and stronger current of thought than that which had been apparent.
As the duskiness increased,and as in their promenade their faces were turned away from those who might have observed them,she said a little abruptly and yet with tremulous hesitancy:
"Mr.Van Berg,does your philosophy teach you to believe,as you sung,on Sabbath evening,that 'There is no power to sever The strong and true in mind?'"Before answering he turned to look at her.Her face seemed to stand out from the gloom of the night with a light of its own,and was so white and eager as to be almost spirit-like.His tones were sad as he replied:
"I wish I could answer you otherwise than as I must,for the impulse to say some words of comfort,which I feel you need,is very strong.