sked me
if I were ill, and if I had been lonely and bored while he was away. He
was just as good as good could be, and began to talk again about going
to the sea-shore. I did not object this time, for I could not know what
would be best to do.

"In the evening, after every one else had gone indoors, I begged him to
sit longer on the piazza, and to smoke another cigar. He was quite
surprised, because, as he said, I had never asked him to do such a thing
before, but had rather discouraged his smoking. But I declared I wanted
to sit with him in the moonlight all by ourselves. And so we did until
his cigar was finished.

"For the first hour of that night I did not sleep a wink, my mind was so
troubled. I felt as though I were not really Bernard's wife, but some
sort of a guardian angel who was watching over him to see that somebody
else made him happy. After I had thus been in the depths of grief for a
long while, I became angry.

"'She shall never have him!' I said to myself. 'I will make it the
object of my life to live longer than he does. My grandfather lived to
be much older than ordinary men, and why should not I have as long a
life? Perhaps it was the things he ate and drank, and his jovial
disposition, that gave him such longevity. If I were sure of this I
would be willing to take hot drinks at night, and wine at dinner. No;
Bernard must not be left behind.' It was while making up my mind very
firmly about this that I fell asleep.

"The next morning I was possessed with an overwhelming desire to go to
see Miss Temple. Why I should do so I could not tell myself. I certainly
did not want to see her; I did not wish to speak to her; I did not want
her to say anything to me: but I felt that I must go; and I went. She
received me very pleasantly, and did not say one word about our
conversation of the day before. There were a good many things I should
have liked to say, but I did not know how, unless she gave me the
opportunity. But she did not, and so it happened that we talked only
about something she was sewing--I do not know whether it was a
shirt-waist or an army blanket. In fact, I did not hear one word she
said about her stupid work, whatever it was, I was so busy re-studying
her face, her character, and everything about her. I now found she was
much more than satisfactory--she was really good-looking. Her eyes were
not very large, but they were soft and dark. Her voice was clear and
sweet. I had noticed this b