n a manner which would have given poor Ponsonby infinite
pleasure. French spared no expense, especially in the color drawings
from Simeon's photographs and specimens, which were exceptionally
valuable. The printing was done in Boston, and Stephen was there much
of the time. During Deena's illness he was glad of an excuse to be
near enough to get daily reports of her progress, but as she became
strong and resumed the routine of living, so that intercourse became
unavoidable, he found the strain of silence more than he could bear.
He resigned his professorship permanently, and went abroad, making the
book his excuse. He wished to see that it was properly heralded by
both English and Continental scientific periodicals, and he preferred
to attend to it himself. To say that Deena missed him but feebly
expresses the void his going made in her life, but, knowing her own
heart, and suspecting the state of his, she was glad to be spared his
presence in these early days of widowhood, and could not but approve
his decision.

Dicky's society was hardly calculated to stifle her longings for
higher things, for his conduct called for constant repression. At
first he had nearly driven her wild by his prying interest in what did
not concern him, his way of unmasking her secret thoughts, his powers
of seeing round corners, if not through sealed envelopes, but as time
went on she grew fond of his honest boy-nature, and learned to laugh
at his precocious acuteness. Perhaps with Stephen's departure there
were fewer occasions for her to resent the challenge of his intrusive
eye. There were, also, alleviations coincident with the school year,
for then she was free from his company from the time he slammed the
front door, at five minutes to nine, till he returned at two, ravenous
for dinner.

On the particular morning indicated at the beginning of the chapter,
the season was the late autumn--the clock was pointing ominously near
nine--the lady opposite to Master Shelton looked more beautiful than
ever in her widow's weeds. Dicky conveyed half a sausage and a wedge
of buttered toast to the sustenance of boyhood before he asked--with
some difficulty, if the truth were confessed:

"May I take a bunch of grapes to school, Deena?"

She was about to give a cheerful consent, when he defeated his own
ends by adding:

"None of the other boys have hothouse grapes; it makes 'em think a lot
of me. I guess they know where they come from, too!"

"In