Page:Swedenborg, Harbinger of the New Age of the Christian Church.djvu/247

 leave which he took of me in my own house. It seemed to me as if this truly venerable old man was much more eloquent this last time, and spoke differently from what I ever heard him speak before. He admonished me to continue in goodness and to acknowledge the Lord for my God. 'If it please God, I shall once more come to you in Amsterdam; for I love you.' 'O my worthy Mr. Swedenborg,' I interrupted him, 'this will probably not take place in this world; for I, at least, do not attribute to myself a long life.' 'This you cannot know,' he continued, 'we are obliged to remain as long in the world as the Divine providence and wisdom sees fit. If any one is conjoined with the Lord, he has a foretaste of the eternal life in this world; and if he has this, he no longer cares so much about this transitory life. Believe me, if I knew that the Lord would call me to Himself to-morrow, I would summon the musicians to-day, in order to be once more really gay in this world.' In order to feel what I felt then, you would have had to hear the old man say this, in his second childhood. This time also he looked so innocent and so joyful out of his eyes as I had never seen him look before. I did