A young woman stood looking out of an office window. Below her stretched the city, and beyond circled snow crowned mountains; but it was not at this view she was looking. Instead, human life stood out before her thought like a panorama,—sweet childhood with its glad innocence, womanhood with its noble aspirations, and age with its tender serenity. How kindly it looked,—hope, faith, brotherhood, Christianity, all glowing together! Yet over it all hung the dark shadow of fear and blind belief.
Life had been very sweet to this woman, but now a new experience with great responsibilities was before her. The demand of the hour required a new nature, new ideals,—visions imparting spiritual power. Former ideals and opinions, put to the test, had failed. Though humanly good they were material, and therefore lacked divine power. Was she willing to surrender the established for the unknown, and trust spiritual intuition rather than human judgment? Could she let the old be torn down and pulled to pieces before the new was established?
Just then she heard a great noise. Looking down on the street below she saw a beautiful old residence being pulled down and made over for business purposes. What crashing of falling timber! How the old boards creaked and squeaked as the men worked their picks in and out of the once nicely fitted floors! And with what resistance the staid old place seemed to give up its long cherished materials! Manifestly, being made over was not an easy process; it was full of jarring, resisting, and commotion. With sudden fear the woman yearningly turned backward to reembrace the worn-out illusions of her former life, though still clinging timidly to the vision of the future.
