olas, but I am so glad."

Excuse him! I could have hugged him in my own joy.

He arrayed me in one of Mr. Davies's pre-war masterpieces, and we both
stood in front of the long glass in my bedroom, and then we solemnly
shook hands!

It was too glorious!

I wanted to run about! I wanted to shout and sing. I played idiotic
tricks, walking backwards and forwards, like one of Shackleton's
penguins. Then I went back to the glass again, actually whistling a
tune! Except for the black patch over my eye, I appeared very much the
same as I used to do before the war. My shoulder is practically straight
now. I am a little thinner, and perhaps my face bears traces of
suffering, but in general I don't look much altered.

I wonder what Alathea will say when she sees me! I wonder if it will
make any difference to her?

To-morrow morning they are going to put in my eye.

I have not written all this in my journal, it seemed too good to be
true, and I had a kind of superstitious feeling that I must not even
think of it, much less write, in case it did not come off. But now the
moment has come! I am a man again on two feet. Hurrah!

I looked out of the window and kissed my hand to a young girl in the
street. I wanted to call to her, "I could walk with you now, perhaps
soon I could run!" She looked at me with the corner of her eye!

Then I planned how I would surprise Alathea! I would be in my bedroom
when I knew she was in the salon before lunch, and then I would walk in!

I became excited, there was about a quarter of an hour to wait. I tried
to sit down and settle to a book, but it was useless, the words conveyed
no sense. I could not even read the papers!

I began listening to every sound, there were not many things passing at
this time on a Sunday morning, but of course she was walking, not
driving. One o'clock struck. She had not returned. Burton came in to ask
if I would postpone lunch.

"Her Ladyship did not say when she would be back," he said.

"We had better not wait then. I believe now she told me she would not be
in."

Burton had opened a pint of champagne. On this tremendous occasion he
felt I should drink my own health!

I had begun to lose some of my joy.----I wished she had been here to
share it with me.----

* * * * *

I have walked up and down--up and down. It is four o'clock now, and she
has not returned. No doubt her mother is ill, perhaps,--perhaps--

_Midnight:_