se first years of her sorrow; but as time passed by, and the
inevitable healing began to make itself felt, there came moments of
restlessness and rebellion--moments when a life of philanthropy no
longer satisfied, when the inner Ego awoke, and clamoured for
recognition. A duller woman might have looked upon these outbursts as
backslidings, and have taken herself severely to task for faltering in
the path, but Vanna, more clear-sighted, recognised in them a natural
and healthy revival of her old spirit. She made no attempt to stifle
the growth of this unrest, but rather welcomed it as a sign of recovered
strength, and took a keen natural joy in ministering to herself, even as
she had done to others. The first longing for a pretty new dress, the
first time that a social gathering became a pleasure instead of a bore,
the first interested planning for the future on her own behalf--she
congratulated herself on each impulse as it came, and so far as might
be, gratified it to the full.

"You are the sanest woman I ever met." Piers's words were echoed by
more than one person who knew Vanna at this period of her life--by Dr
Greatman himself, between a frown and a sigh. "Absolutely sane; no
extremes--a perfectly balanced woman, sweet and capable, and humorous--
one in ten thousand! It seems as though she had inherited the extra
share of ballast which her relations have lacked; and yet it is there,
the danger, the shadow. I was right. If I were consulted again I
should say the same. Even in the last year another cousin has developed
symptoms. Such a family ought to be stamped out. But I'd give five
years of my life to see that woman happy."

This evening as she paced the muddy streets, Vanna's thoughts were
engaged with half a dozen details of her busy life. From ten o'clock in
the morning she had been hurrying from house to house, yet had not been
able to finish the list with which she had started the day. More people
had been waiting for her, longing for her coming, than she had been able
to visit; the memory of grateful words sounded in her ears. She was
returning home to rest and ease, or, if she pleased, to go forth in
search of amusement and distraction of mind. For the hundredth time she
told herself that she was one of the fortunates of earth; and for the
hundredth time "_But I am alone_" answered the woman's heart, and could
find no solace to fill that void. Vanna threw back her head with the
quick, defia