f which hurried him into maturity. But the
most important factor in his happiness was his adoration of Eleanor. He
was perfectly contented, evening after evening in the hotel, to play
her accompaniments (on a rented piano), read poetry aloud, and beat her
at solitaire. Also, she helped him in his practicing with a certain
sweet authority of knowledge, which kept warm in his heart the sense of
her infinite superiority. So when, later, they found a house, he entered
very gayly upon the first test of married life--house furnishing! It was
then that his real fiber showed itself. It is a risky time for all
husbands and wives, a time when it is particularly necessary to
"consider the stars"! It needs a fine sense of proportion as to the
value, relatively, of peace and personal judgment, to give up one's idea
in regard, say, to the color of the parlor rug. Maurice's likes and
dislikes were emphatic as to rugs and everything else,--but his sense of
proportion was sound, so Eleanor's taste,--and peace,--prevailed. It was
good taste, so he really had nothing to complain of, though he couldn't
for the life of him see why she picked out a _picture_ paper for a
certain room in the top of the house! "I thought I'd have it for a
smoking room," he said, ruefully; "and a lot of pink lambs and green
chickens cavorting around don't seem very suitable. Still, if you like
it, it's all right!" The memory of the night on the mountain, when
Eleanor gave all she had of strength and courage and fear and passion to
the saving of his life--made pink lambs, or anything else, "all right"!
When the house-furnishing period was over, and they settled down, the
"people" Eleanor didn't want to see, seemed to have no particular desire
to see them; so their solitude of two (and Bingo, who barked whenever
Maurice put his arms around Eleanor) was not broken in upon--which made
for domestic, even if stultifying, content. But the thing that really
kept them happy during that first rather dangerous year, was the
smallness of their income. They had very little money; even with
Eleanor's six hundred, it was nearer two thousand dollars than three,
and that, for people who had always lived in more or less luxury, was
very nearly poverty;--for which, of course, they had reason, so far as
married happiness went, to thank God! If there are no children, it is
the limited income which can be most certainly relied upon to provide
the common interest which welds husband and