Amroth I know. But who are you, my child? You have not been among us
long. Have you found your work and place here yet?" I told him my story
in a few words, and he smiled indulgently. "There is nothing like being
at work," he said. "Even my business here, which seems sad enough to
most people, must be done; and I do it very willingly. Do not be
frightened, my child," he said to me suddenly, drawing me nearer to him,
and folding my arm beneath his own. "It is only on earth that we are
frightened of pain; it spoils our poor plans, it makes us fretful and
miserable, it brings us into the shadow of death. But for all that, as
Amroth knows, it is the best and most fruitful of all the works that the
Father does for man, and the thing dearest to His heart. We cannot
prosper till we suffer, and suffering leads us very swiftly into joy and
peace. Indeed this Tower of Pain, as it is called, is in fact nothing
but the Tower of Love. Not until love is touched with pain does it
become beautiful, and the joy that comes through pain is the only real
thing in the world. Of course, when my great engine here sends a thrill
into a careless life, it comes as a dark surprise; but then follow
courage and patience and wonder, and all the dear tendance of Love.
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