have borne to speak of them. The bitterness of his
death, as it regarded herself, seemed to have passed, the brightness of
his memory alone remaining. Henrietta loved to listen, but scarcely so
much as her mother loved to tell; and instead of agitating her, these
recollections always seemed to soothe and make her happy.

Henrietta knew that Aunt Geoffrey and grandpapa were both of them
anxious about her mother's health, but for her own part she did not
think her worse than she had often been before; and whilst she continued
in nearly the same state, rose every day, sat in her arm-chair, and was
so cheerful, and even lively, there could not be very much amiss, even
though there was no visible progress in amendment. Serious complaint
there was, as she knew of old, to cause the spasms; but it had existed
so long, that after the first shock of being told of it two years ago,
she had almost ceased to think about it. She satisfied herself to her
own mind that it could not, should not be progressing, and that this was
only a very slow recovery from the last attack.

Time went on, and a shade began to come over Fred. He was bright and
merry when anything occurred to amuse him, did not like reading less, or
take less interest in his occupations; but in the intervals of quiet
he grew grave and almost melancholy, and his inquiries after his mother
grew minute and anxious.

"Henrietta," said he, one day when they were alone together, "I was
trying to reckon how long it is since I have seen mamma."

"O, I think she will come and see you in a few days more," said
Henrietta.

"You have told me that so many times," said Fred. "I think I must try to
get to her. That passage, if it was not so very long! If Uncle Geoffrey
comes on Saturday, I am sure he can manage to take me there."

"It will be a festival day indeed when you meet!" said Henrietta.

"Yes," said he thoughtfully. Then returning to the former subject, "But
how long is it, Henrietta? This is the twenty-seventh of March, is it
not?"

"Yes; a whole quarter of a year you have been laid up here."

"It was somewhere about the beginning of February that Uncle Geoffrey
went."

"The fourth," said Henrietta.

"And it was three days after he went away that mamma had those first
spasms. Henrietta, she has been six weeks ill!"

"Well," said Henrietta, "you know she was five weeks without stirring
out of the room, that last time she was ill at Rocksand, and she is
getting b