Together they lived, and worked, and
helped the poor. And when, after two
years, the man who had been a clown
died, the hermit felt that he had lost a
brother holier than himself.
For ten years more the hermit lived in
his mountain hut, thinking always of God,
fasting and praying, and doing no least
thing that was wrong. Then, one day, the
wish once more came, to know how his
work was growing, and once more he
prayed that he might see a being--
"Whose soul in the heavenly grace had grown
To the selfsame measure as his own;
Whose treasure on the celestial shore
Could neither be less than his nor more."
Once more his prayer was answered.
The angel came to him, and told him to
go to a certain village on the other side
of the mountain, and to a small farm
in it, where two women lived. In them
he should find two souls like his own, in
God's sight.
When the hermit came to the door of the
little farm, the two women who lived there
were overjoyed to see him, for every one
loved and honored his name. They put
a chair for him on the cool porch, and
brought food and drink. But the hermit
was too eager to wait. He longed greatly
to know what the souls of the two women
were like, and from their looks he could
see only that they were gentle and honest.
One was old, and the other of middle age.
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