o not think I could bear it
as well as you do."

Annie, smiling faintly, said,

"But the end is not yet, Edith."

The sun had finished his journey in the sky, and twilight was
gathering around them, when, with arms entwined round each other, they
pursued their way back, conversing upon the disappointments of life,
and the misery that is produced by inconstancy and faithlessness.

"Mrs. Thornton," continued Edith, "was a beauty, as you may even now
perceive by its traces upon her weather beaten countenance, and
her position in society was far above Mr. Thornton; but won by his
addresses, she consented to become his wife. They came to this
country, among strangers, to an humble home, where she suffered many
privations, which she bore with woman's fortitude. But when her
husband became an inebriate, and treated her with moroseness and
brutality, reason forsook its throne, and she became a maniac. Hannah
Pease was an intimate friend of hers, who seems to be ever in her
mind, perhaps because she used her influence to prevent the unhappy
union."

"O," said Annie, "when I reflect upon the misery that sometimes exists
in the married state, I almost feel it is well to be situated as I
am now, as to be united, even to Edward. But then, the cruel
disappointment rankles deep."

"And how many men," said Edith, "make the indifference, the ill
temper, or the untidiness of a wife an excuse for their intemperance,
tavern-haunting, and all their neglect of home. But it does seem to me
that it devolves as much upon a man, to contribute to home happiness
as upon a woman. But many men of my acquaintance seem ever to cast a
shadow upon the sunlight of home, and their wives and children shrink
from their presence. Is this the wife's fault?"

"I think not. If so, I think the stronger yield very readily to the
weaker, and certainly should receive our sympathy."

"But, Annie, how much there is in this little world of ours, that is
mysterious and beyond our comprehension, and nothing so much so as
the want of union in the marriage relation. For there the greatest
fondness is often turned to the greatest inattention. But, oh, may
Heaven save me from such a lot!"

By this time the cousins reached the house, and soon retiring to rest,
Edith was wandering in the land of dreams, while Annie lay busied in
thought, counting the hours of night, and seeking to look "beyond the
narrow bounds of time, and fix her hopes of happiness on heaven."