. . . How shall we
live without the Reverend Mother? But the will of our blessed Lady must
be done."
"Antony!" said the Prioress. "Wake up, dear Antony! You are dreaming
again. You are thinking of the robin and the pea. I have not gone from
you; nor am I going. See! I am here."
She turned the old face about, and brought herself into Mary Antony's
field of vision.
Slowly a light of recognition dawned in those fixed eyes; then came a
cry, as of fear and of a great dismay; then a gasping sound, a clutching
of the air. Mary Antony had fallen prone, before the shrine of the
Madonna.
An hour later she lay upon her bed, whither they had carried her. She
had recovered consciousness, and partaken of wine and bread.
The colour had returned to her cheeks, when the Prioress came in,
dismissed the lay-sister in attendance, closed the door, and sat down
beside the couch.
"Thou art better, dear Antony," said the Prioress. "They tell me thy
strength has returned, and this strange fainting is over. Thou must lie
still yet awhile; but will it weary thee to speak?"
"Nay, Reverend Mother, I should dearly love to speak. My soul is full of
wonder; yet to none saving to you, Reverend Mother, can I tell of that
which I have seen."
"Tell me all, dear Antony," said the Prioress. "Sister Mary Rebecca says
thy symptoms point to a Divine Vision."
Mary Antony chuckled. "For once Sister Mary Rebecca speaks the truth,"
she said.
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