kissed him and bade him good-bye,
saying that she would not go down-stairs again that evening. He was
to tell Dorothy to go to bed. And so they parted.

But Dorothy did not go to bed for an hour after that. When Brooke
came down into the parlour with his message she intended to go at
once, and put up her work, and lit her candle, and put out her hand
to him, and said good-bye to him. But, for all that, she remained
there for an hour with him. At first she said very little, but by
degrees her tongue was loosened, and she found herself talking with a
freedom which she could hardly herself understand. She told him how
thoroughly she believed her aunt to be a good woman,--how sure she
was that her aunt was at any rate honest. "As for me," said Dorothy,
"I know that I have displeased her about Mr. Gibson;--and I would go
away, only that I think she would be so desolate." Then Brooke begged
her never to allow the idea of leaving Miss Stanbury to enter her
head. Because Miss Stanbury was capricious, he said, not on that
account should her caprices either be indulged or permitted. That
was his doctrine respecting Miss Stanbury, and he declared that, as
regarded himself, he would never be either disrespectful to her or
submissive. "It is a great mistake," he said, "to think that anybody
is either an angel or a devil." When Dorothy expressed an opinion
that with some people angelic tendencies were predominant, and with
others diabolic tendencies, he assented; but declared that it was not
always easy to tell the one tendency from the other. At last, when
Dorothy had made about five attempts to go, Mr. Gibson's name was
mentioned. "I am very glad that you are not going to be Mrs. Gibson,"
said he.

[Illustration: Brooke Burgess takes his leave.]

"I don't know why you should be glad."

"Because I should not have liked your husband,--not as your husband."

"He is an excellent man, I'm sure," said Dorothy.

"Nevertheless I am very glad. But I did not think you would accept
him, and I congratulate you on your escape. You would have been
nothing to me as Mrs. Gibson."

"Shouldn't I?" said Dorothy, not knowing what else to say.

"But now I think we shall always be friends."

"I'm sure I hope so, Mr. Burgess. But indeed I must go now. It is
ever so late, and you will hardly get any sleep. Good night." Then he
took her hand, and pressed it very warmly, and referring to a promise
before made to her, he assured her that h