,--but, still, it should,
it ought, to be borne together. He would not admit to himself that
because of this verdict there ought to be a separation between them
two. It might be that the verdict had been uttered by a Judge against
whom there could be no appeal; but even the Judge should not be
allowed to say that Marion Fay was not his own. Let her come and
die in his arms if she must die. Let her come and have what of life
there might be left to her, warmed and comforted and perhaps extended
by his love. It seemed to him to be certainly a fact, that because
of his great love, and of hers, she did already belong to him; and
yet he was told that he might not see her;--that it would be better
that she should not be disturbed by his presence,--as though he were
no more than a stranger to her. Every day he almost resolved to
disregard them, and go down to the little cottage in which she was
living. But then he remembered the warnings which were given to him,
and was aware that he had in truth no right to intrude upon the
Quaker's household. It is not to be supposed that during this time
he had no intercourse with Marion. At first there came to be a few
lines, written perhaps once a week from her, in answer to many lines
written by him; but by degrees the feeling of awe which at first
attached itself to the act of writing to him wore off, and she did
not let a day pass without sending him some little record of herself
and her doings. It had come to be quite understood by the Quaker
that Marion was to do exactly as she pleased with her lover. No one
dreamed of hinting to her that this correspondence was improper or
injurious. Had she herself expressed a wish to see him, neither would
the Quaker nor Mrs. Roden have made strong objection. To whatever
might have been her wish or her decision they would have acceded. It
was by her word that the marriage had been declared to be impossible.
It was in obedience to her that he was to keep aloof. She had failed
to prevail with her own soft words, and had therefore been driven to
use the authority of others.

But at this period, though she did become weaker and weaker from
day to day, and though the doctor's attendance was constant at the
cottage, Marion herself was hardly unhappy. She grieved indeed for
his grief; but, only for that, there would have been triumph and joy
to her rather than grief. The daily writing of these little notes was
a privilege to her and a happiness, of which