But the power that kept me back, its hold upon me, its strength over me, all that I am unable to communicate, makes my situation appear strange to others, and to myself irreconcilable with my former state.

Still, I trust that, in a short period, all things will take their peaceful and orderly course." TO GEORGE HECKER.--"Brook Farm, May 12, 1843 .-- How much nearer to you I feel on account of your good letter you cannot estimate--nearer than when we slept in the same bed.

Nearness of body is no evidence of the distance between souls, for I imagine Christ loved His mother very tenderly when He said, 'Woman, what have I to do with thee ?'" "I have felt, time and again, that either I would have to give up the life that was struggling in me, or withdraw from business in the way that we pursue it.

This I had long felt, before the period came which suddenly threw me involuntarily out of it.

Here I am, living in the present, without a why or a wherefore, trusting that something will shape my course intelligibly.