Carefully every door of the church was shut; a holy quiet sank upon, and a solemn shade gathered about us.

After a space, breathless and spent in prayer, a penitent approached the confessional.
I watched.

She whispered her avowal; her shrift was whispered back; she returned consoled.

Another went, and another.

A pale lady, kneeling near me, said in a low, kind voice:--"Go you now, I am not quite prepared." Mechanically obedient, I rose and went.