y his eyes at
the first glance whether he still cared as much as ever, and if he did,
I would _ask_ him to marry me. But I never saw him again, except with
the eyes of my heart; and I always see him so. Not an hour passes that
I don't see him so."

"You poor darling!" I exclaimed. And there was a note in her voice that
made my eyelids sting. "How little I guessed. And you seem so cheerful
and even merry."

"One isn't in the world to be a wet blanket," said Sally. "Besides, one
isn't actively miserable every minute, for years, because one has
thrown away one's chance of real happiness. One gets along contentedly
enough, except in the bad hours, when, instead of being a mild grey,
the world is ink-black. But I haven't told you this to get sympathy,
dear. It hasn't been quite easy telling, for I don't talk much about
the deep-down things in myself. I've told you in the hope that you'll
remember me, and my wasted years, if _your_ chance comes to be
happy--even if it should be a chance which you think, in a worldly way,
wouldn't be prudent, or what your people would like. People have no
_right_ to try and order our lives, no matter how near they may be to
us. It's we who have to live our lives, not they."

For a minute we were both silent; and then Sally said quietly, as if
she were glad to speak, "Here comes someone we've seen before. Do you
recognise him? And shall you bow?"

Vivace gave such a leap that his leash, which I'd been holding
carelessly, was jerked out of my hand. It was my brown man who was
coming--Jim Brett.

My face did feel red! Vivace was making such a fuss over him, that
Sally could hardly help guessing whose the dog had been before he was
mine. But I made the best of it. "Of course I recognise him, and of
course I shall bow," said I. "He was _very_ kind to me on the dock,
when I was at letter B."

Sally didn't make any remark about Vivace's capers, though by this time
he was wagging all over with joy at his master's feet, and jumping up
to his knees. I was grateful to her.

In another moment we three had met, in the shady path, far away from
everybody else, and Vivace began running back and forth between his
master and me, as if he wanted to make us good friends, and not hurt
either of our feelings.

"How do you do?" said I, holding out my hand. "What a coincidence,
meeting you here. And my dear little dog that _somebody_ sent me, does
seem to take an extraordinary fancy to you, doesn't he?"