o yield further he was forced to consent to
these terms, we gave ourselves up to enjoyment of the few hours which we
could still pass together. I talked and laughed, over-bubbling with
happiness; but he would sigh ever and anon, as though he felt that I
were about to slip from his sight to return no more. Once in the gayety
of my mood I called Ike to me, and stooped to pat his pudgy sides. "Ike
the imperious, beautifully ugly Ike!" I cried with glee, and with a
daring that but for its very boldness might have disclosed all.

But my lover was in no mood to make deductions. "You seem so joyous,
Alice, one would suppose that you were glad to leave me."

"I am joyous,--yes, very joyous,--for I have been brave enough to save
the man I love from a _mesalliance_."

V.

The effect on a woman of the revelation that she loves him who has
proffered her his heart, is like the awakening of buds in spring, which
beneath the soft mysterious breath of an invisible power burst their
bonds with graceful reluctance, and shyly gladden Nature.

It seemed to me as if I had never lived before. Unlike the untutored
passion of my extreme youth, my happiness was calm and reflective, but
none the less satisfying. Under its sway I found it a comparatively easy
task to overcome the querulousness and revive the hopes of Aunt Helen on
my return home. It was my desire, of course, to avoid any further
deception, and I sought refuge in silence, beyond the statement that the
future Duke of Clyde had gone to the West without making any definite
proposal. But I assured her that he was certain to visit us within a few
months.

I took up the round of my avocations as if nothing had happened. We had
hired a cottage at Newport for the summer, and there I ensconced myself,
and strove by means of books and friends to keep the alternate
exuberance and depression of my spirits within bounds. But though I was
at times melancholy for a sight of my lover, joy was chiefly predominant
in my heart,--so much so that people commented on my cheerfulness, and
Aunt Helen dropped occasional hints which led me to believe she
cherished secretly the opinion that I was enamoured of her idol.

My visits to Mr. Chelm's office were of course renewed. I told him that
I had visited the street where the office of Francis Prime and Company
was situated, and had been pleased at getting a glimpse of it. In answer
to my questions as to what he thought of the progress of the firm h