s
carried in, and gently laid upon the sofa, which had been rolled up
close by the bedside of Lord Chetwynde. Her first eager look showed
her plainly that during the interval which had elapsed since she saw
him last a great improvement had taken place. He was still
unconscious, but his unconsciousness was that of a deep, sweet sleep,
in which pleasant dreams had taken the place of delirious fancies.
His face had lost its aspect of horror; there was no longer to be
seen the stamp of death; the lips were full and red; the cheeks were
no longer sunken; the dark circles had passed away from around the
eyes; and the eyes themselves were now closed, as in sleep, instead
of having that half-open appearance which before was so terrible and
so deathlike. The chill damp had left his forehead. It was the face
of one who is sleeping in pleasant slumber, instead of the face of
one who was sinking rapidly into the realm where the sleep is
eternal. All this Hilda saw at the first glance.

Her heart thrilled within her at the rapture of that discovery. The
danger was over. The crisis had passed. Now, whether he lay there for
a longer or a shorter period, his recovery at last was certain, as
far as any thing human and mortal can be certain. Now her eyes, as
they turned toward him, devoured him with all their old eagerness.
Since she had seen him last she too had gone down to the gates of
death, and she had come back again to take her place at his side. A
strange joy and a peace that passed all understanding arose within
her. She sent the nurse out of the room, and once more was alone with
this man whom she loved. His face was turned toward her. She flung
her arms about him in passionate eagerness, and, weak as she was, she
bent down her lips to his. Unconscious he lay there, but the touch of
his lips was now no longer like the touch of death.

She herself seemed to gain new strength from the sight of him as he
thus lay in that manly beauty, which, banished for a time, had now
returned again. She lay there on her sofa by his bedside, and held
his hand in both of hers. She watched his face, and scanned every one
of those noble lineaments, which now lay before her with something
like their natural beauty. Hopes arose within her which brought new
strength every moment. This was the life which she had saved. She
forgot--did not choose to think--that she had doomed this life to
death, and chose only to think that she had saved it from death