Americans and Others
wise old saint to the prioress in Seville, "if she enters, bear with a few defects, for well does she deserve it."
This is not the type of anecdote which looms large in the volumes of "minced saints" prepared for pious readers, and its absence has accustomed us to dissever humour from sanctity. But a candid soul is, as a rule, a humorous soul, awake to the tragi-comic aspect of life, and immaculately free from self-deception. And to such souls, cast like Teresa's in heroic mould, comes the perception of great moral truths, together with the sturdy strength which supports enthusiasm in the face of human disabilities. They are the lantern-bearers of every age, of every race, of every creed, les âmes bien nées whom it behooves us to approach fearlessly out of the darkness, for so only can we hope to understand.
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