ed to part from him forever,--she had been
nerving herself for the final interview at the depot; but now it came
with a shock that utterly stunned her, and she reeled against the
door-facing, as if recoiling from some fearful blow.

The livid pallor of her lips, and the spasm of agony that contracted
her features, frightened him, and, as he sprang closer to her, the
candle fell from her fingers. He caught it, ere it reached the mat,
and placed it on a chair.

"My dear child, your arm pains you, and I beg you to defer your
journey at least until Tuesday. I shall be anxious and miserable
about you, if you go this morning, and, for my sake, Salome, if not
for your own, remain here one day longer. I have not asked many things
of you, and I trust you will not refuse this last request I may ever
be allowed to make."

She attempted to speak, but there came only a quiver across her mouth,
and a sickly smile that flickered over the ghastly proud face, like
the lying sunshine of Indian summer on marble cenotaphs.

"Salome, you will, to oblige me, wait until Tuesday?"

She shook her head, and mastered her weakness.

"No, Dr. Grey; I must go at once. I take all the hazard."

"Then you will find on the mantelpiece in my room, a paper containing
directions for the treatment of your arm, which demands care and
attention. I am sorry you are so obstinate, and, if I possessed the
authority, I would forbid your departure."

He could not endure the despairing expression of her eyes, which
seemed supernaturally large and brilliant, and his own quailed, for
the first time within his recollection. She knew that she was going
away forever, to avoid the sight of his happiness with Mrs. Gerome;
that, in comparison with that torture, all other trials, even
separation, would be endurable, but the least evil was more severe
than she had dreaded. Now, as she looked up at his noble face,
overshadowed with anxiety and regret, and paler than she had ever seen
it, the one prayer of her heart was, that, ere a wife's lips touched
his, death might claim him for its prey.

"Salome, I am deeply pained by the course you persist in following,
but I will not provoke and annoy you by renewed expression of a
disapprobation that has proved so ineffectual in influencing your
decision. God grant that the results may sanction your confidence in
your own judgment,--your distrust of mine. I promised you once that I
would pray for you, and I wish to assure yo