acantly at the ceiling, and, while
delirious muttering fell upon the ears of the visitor, she saw that
his cheeks were somewhat lacerated, and his hands, partially confined,
were tearing at the inflamed flesh.

She shivered with horror, and a groan broke from her pitying heart.

"What an awful retribution! My God, have mercy upon him! He is
sufficiently punished."

Drawing her perfumed lace handkerchief from her pocket, she leaned
over and wiped away the bloody foam that oozed across his lips, and
lifting his hot head turned it sufficiently to expose the right ear,
where a large mole was hidden by the thick hair.

"Maurice Carlyle! But what a fearful wreck?"

She covered her eyes with her hand, and moaned.

The nurse came nearer, and said hesitatingly,--

"Madam, surely he is not your husband? His clothes are almost in
tatters, while yours are--ahem!--"

"Spare me all comments on the comparison. Can I obtain a comfortable,
quiet room, in this building, and have him removed to it at once? You
hesitate? I will compensate you liberally, will pay almost any price
for an apartment where he can at least have silence and seclusion."

"We can accommodate you, but of course if the patient is carried from
this ward to a private room, we shall be compelled to charge extra."

"Charge what you choose, only arrange the matter as promptly as
possible. How soon can you make the change?"

"In twenty minutes, madam."

The nurse rang for an assistant, to whom the necessary instructions
were given, and in the _interim_ Mrs. Carlyle leaned against the cot,
and brushed away the flies that buzzed about the pitiable victims.

Two men carried the sufferer up a flight of steps, and ere long he was
transferred to a large comfortable bed in an airy, well-furnished
apartment.

The removal had not been completed more than an hour, when the surgeon
made his evening round, and followed the patient to his new quarters.

He paused at sight of the elegantly dressed woman who sat beside the
bed, and said, stammeringly,--

"I am informed that No. 7 is your husband, and that you have taken
charge of his case, and intend to nurse him. Have you had small-pox?"

"No, sir."

"Madam, you run a fearful risk."

"I fully appreciate the hazard, and am prepared to incur it. Do you
regard this case as hopeless?"

"Not altogether, though the probabilities are that it will terminate
fatally."

"I have had too little experience to warrant my un