"Oh, I have studied and practiced medicine," she answered, "and expect
to do a great deal more of it before we begin operations. The
physician's art is my true vocation."
"And you will leave the House of Martha?" I asked.
"Yes," she replied. "The period for which I entered it has nearly
expired. I do not regret the time I have spent there, but I must admit I
shall be glad to leave the sisterhood. That life is too narrow for me,
and perhaps too shallow. I say nothing against it in a general way; I
only speak of it as it relates to myself. The very manner in which I
rejoice in the prospect of freedom proves to me that I ought to be free,
and that I did a wise thing in limiting the term of my sisterhood."
As Mother Anastasia spoke there was a glow of earnest pleasure upon her
face. She was truly very happy to be able to talk of her approaching
freedom.
I am a prudent man and a cautious one. This frank enthusiasm alarmed me.
How deftly she had put Sylvia out of sight! How skillfully she had
brought herself into full view, free and untrammeled by vows and
rules,--a woman as other women!
The more I saw of Mother Anastasia the better I liked her, but I
perceived that she was a woman with whom it was very necessary to be
cautious.
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