第2章

tree，andyoungMorlandstoodlookingather。Whyshouldonefaceandnotanother，thisvoiceandnotthat，makeaheartbeat;whyshouldatouchfromonehandawakenrapture，andatouchfromanotherawakennothing？Hekneltdownandpressedhislipstoherfoot。Hereyesgrewverybright;butshegotupandranon——shehadnotexpectedhimtokissherfoot。Sheheardhimhurryingafterher，andstopped，leaningagainstabirchtrunk。Herushedtoher，and，withoutawordspoken，hislipswereonherlips。Themomentinlife，whichnowordscanrender，hadcomeforthem。Theyhadfoundtheirenchantedspot，andtheymovednofurther，butsatwiththeirarmsroundeachother，whilethehappyBeingofthewoodwatched。A

marvellousspeeder—upofLoveisWar。Whatmighthavetakensixmonths，wasthusaccomplishedinthreeweeks。

Ashorthourpassed，thenNoelsaid:

"ImusttellDaddy，Cyril。Imeanttotellhimsomethingthismorning，onlyIthoughtI’dbetterwait，incaseyoudidn’t。"

Morlandanswered:"Oh，Noel！"Itwasthestapleofhisconversationwhiletheysatthere。

Againashorthourpassed，andMorlandsaid:

"Ishallgooffmychumpifwe’renotmarriedbeforeIgoout。"

"Howlongdoesittake？"

"Notime，ifwehurryup。I’vegotsixdaysbeforeIrejoin，andperhapstheChiefwillgivemeanotherweek，ifItellhim。"

"PoorDaddy！Kissmeagain;alongone。"

Whenthelongonewasover，shesaid:

"ThenIcancomeandbenearyoutillyougoout？Oh，Cyril！"

"Oh，Noel！"

"Perhapsyouwon’tgososoon。Don’tgoifyoucanhelpit！"

"NotifIcanhelpit，darling;butIshan’tbeable。"

"No，of，coursenot;Iknow。"

YoungMorlandclutchedhishair。"Everyone’sinthesameboat，butitcan’tlastforever;andnowwe’reengagedwecanbetogetherallthetimetillI’vegotthelicenceorwhateveritis。Andthen——！"

"Daddywon’tlikeournotbeingmarriedinachurch;butIdon’tcare！"

Lookingdownatherclosedeyes，andtheirlashesrestingonhercheeks，youngMorlandthought:

’MyGod！I’minheaven！’

Anothershorthourpassedbeforeshefreedherself。

"Wemustgo，Cyril。Kissmeoncemore！"

Itwasnearlydinner—time，andtheyrandown。

4

EdwardPierson，returningfromtheEveningService，wherehehadreadtheLessons，sawtheminthedistance，andcompressedhislips。

Theirlongabsencehadvexedhim。Whatoughthetodo？InthepresenceofLove’syoungdream，hefeltstrangeandhelpless。Thatnight，whenheopenedthedoorofhisroom，hesawNoelonthewindow—seat，inherdressing—gown，withthemoonlightstreaminginonher。

"Don’tlightup，Daddy;I’vegotsomethingtosay。"

Shetookholdofthelittlegoldcrossonhisvest，andturneditover。

"I’mengagedtoCyril;wewanttobemarriedthisweek。"

Itwasexactlyasifsomeonehadpunchedhimintheribs;andatthesoundhemadeshehurriedon:

"Yousee，wemustbe;hemaybegoingoutanyday。"

Inthemidstofhisachingconsternation，headmittedakindofreasoninherwords。Buthesaid:

"Mydear，you’reonlyachild。Marriageisthemostseriousthinginlife;you’veonlyknownhimthreeweeks。"

"Iknowallthat，Daddy"hervoicesoundedsoridiculouslycalm;"butwecan’taffordtowait。Hemightnevercomeback，yousee，andthenIshouldhavemissedhim。"

"But，Noel，supposeheneverdidcomeback;itwouldonlybemuchworseforyou。"

Shedroppedthelittlecross，andtookholdofhishand，pressingitagainstherheart。Butstillhervoicewascalm:

"No;muchbetter，Daddy;youthinkIdon’tknowmyownfeelings，butIdo，"’

ThemaninPiersonsoftened;thepriesthardened。

"Nollie，truemarriageistheunionofsouls;andforthat，timeiswanted。Timetoknowthatyoufeelandthinkthesame，andlovethesamethings。"

"Yes，Iknow;butwedo。"

"Youcan’ttellthat，mydear;noonecouldinthreeweeks。"

"Butthesearen’tordinarytimes，arethey？Peoplehavetodothingsinahurry。Oh，Daddy！Beanangel！Motherwouldhaveunderstood，andletme，Iknow！"

Piersondrewawayhishand;thewordshurt，fromreminderofhisloss，fromreminderofthepoorsubstitutehewas。

"Look，Nollie！"hesaid。"Afteralltheseyearssincesheleftus，I’maslonelyasever，becausewewerereallyone。Ifyoumarrythisyoungmanwithoutknowingmoreofyourownheartsthanyoucaninsuchalittletime，youmayregretitdreadfully;youmayfinditturnout，afterall，nothingbutalittleemptypassion;oragain，ifanythinghappenstohimbeforeyou’vehadanyrealmarriedlifetogether，you’llhaveamuchgreatergriefandsenseoflosstoputupwiththanifyousimplystayengagedtillafterthewar。Besides，mychild，you’remuchtooyoung。"

Shesatsostillthathelookedatherinalarm。"ButImust！"

Hebithislips，andsaidsharply:"Youcan’t，Nollie！"

Shegotup，andbeforehecouldstopher，wasgone。Withtheclosingofthedoor，hisangerevaporated，anddistresstookitsplace。Poorchild！Whattodowiththiswaywardchickenjustoutoftheegg，andwantingtobefull—fledgedatonce？Thethoughtthatshewouldbelyingmiserable，crying，perhaps，besethimsothathewentoutintothepassageandtappedonherdoor。Gettingnoanswer，hewentin。

Itwasdarkbutforastreakofmoonlight，andinthathesawher，lyingonherbed，facedown;andstealinguplaidhishandonherhead。Shedidnotmove;and，strokingherhair，hesaidgently:

"Nolliedear，Ididn’tmeantobeharsh。IfIwereyourmother，I

shouldknowhowtomakeyousee，butI’monlyanoldbumble—daddy。"

Sherolledover，scramblingintoacross—leggedpostureonthebed。

Hecouldseehereyesshining。Butshedidnotspeak;sheseemedtoknowthatinsilencewasherstrength。

Hesaidwithasortofdespair:

"Youmustletmetalkitoverwithyouraunt。Shehasalotofgoodsense。"

"Yes。"

Hebentoverandkissedherhotforehead。

"Goodnight，mydear;don’tcry。Promiseme！"

Shenodded，andliftedherface;hefeltherhotsoftlipsonhisforehead，andwentawayalittlecomforted。

ButNoelsatonherbed，huggingherknees，listeningtothenight，totheemptinessandsilence;eachminutesomuchlostofthelittle，littletimeleft，thatshemighthavebeenwithhim。

III

Piersonwokeafteratroubledanddreamfulnight，inwhichhehadthoughthimselfwanderinginheavenlikealostsoul。

Afterregaininghisroomlastnightnothinghadstruckhimmoreforciblythantheneedlessnessofhiswords:"Don’tcry，Nollie！"

forhehadrealisedwithuneasinessthatshehadnotbeennearcrying。No;therewasinhersomeemotionverydifferentfromthetearful。Hekeptseeinghercross—leggedfigureonthebedinthatdimlight;tense，enigmatic，almostChinese;keptfeelingthefeverishtouchofherlips。Agoodgirlishburstoftearswouldhavedonehergood，andbeenaguarantee。Hehadtheuncomfortableconvictionthathisrefusalhadpassedherby，asifunspoken。And，sincehecouldnotgoandmakemusicatthattimeofnight，hehadendedonhisknees，inalongsearchforguidance，whichwasnotvouchsafedhim。

Theculpritsweredemureatbreakfast;noonecouldhavetoldthatforthelasthourtheyhadbeensittingwiththeirarmsroundeachother，watchingtheriverflowby，talkingbutlittle，throughlipstoobusy。Piersonpursuedhissister—in—lawtotheroomwhereshedidherflowerseverymorning。Hewatchedherforaminutedividingramblersfrompansies，cornflowersfromsweetpeas，beforehesaid:

"I’mverytroubled，Thirza。Nolliecametomelastnight。Imagine！

Theywanttogetmarried——thosetwo！"

Acceptinglifeasitcame，Thirzashowednodismay，buthercheeksgrewalittlepinker，andhereyesalittlerounder。Shetookupasprigofmignonette，andsaidplacidly:

"Oh，mydear！"

"Thinkofit，Thirza——thatchild！Why，it’sonlyayearortwosincesheusedtositonmykneeandticklemyfacewithherhair。"

Thirzawentonarrangingherflowers。

"Noelisolderthanyouthink，Edward;sheismorethanherage。Andrealmarriedlifewouldn’tbeginforthemtillafter——ifiteverbegan。"

Piersonexperiencedasortofshock。Hissister—in—law’swordsseemedcriminallylight—hearted。

"But——but——"hestammered;"theunion，Thirza！Whocantellwhatwillhappenbeforetheycometogetheragain！"

Shelookedathisquiveringface，andsaidgently:

"Iknow，Edward;butifyourefuse，Ishouldbeafraid，inthesedays，ofwhatNoelmightdo。Itoldyouthere’sastreakofdesperationinher。"

"Noelwillobeyme。"

"Iwonder！Therearesomanyofthesewarmarriagesnow。"

Piersonturnedaway。

"Ithinkthey’redreadful。Whatdotheymean——Justamomentarygratificationofpassion。Theymightjustaswellnotbe。"

"Theymeanpensions，asarule，"saidThirzacalmly。

"Thirza，thatiscynical;besides，itdoesn’taffectthiscase。I

can’tbeartothinkofmylittleNolliegivingherselfforamomentwhichmaycometonothing，ormayturnoutthebeginningofanunhappymarriage。Whoisthisboy——whatishe？Iknownothingofhim。HowcanIgivehertohim——it’simpossible！IftheyhadbeenengagedsometimeandIknewsomethingofhim——yes，perhaps;evenatherage。Butthishastypassionateness——itisn’tright，itisn’tdecent。Idon’tunderstand，Ireallydon’t——howachildlikethatcanwantit。Thefactis，shedoesn’tknowwhatshe’sasking，poorlittleNollie。Shecan’tknowthenatureofmarriage，andshecan’trealiseitssacredness。Ifonlyhermotherwerehere！Talktoher，Thirza;youcansaythingsthatIcan’t！"

Thirzalookedaftertheretreatingfigure。Inspiteofhiscloth，perhapsalittlebecauseofit，heseemedtoherlikeachildwhohadcometoshowherhissorefinger。And，havingfinishedthearrangementofherflowers，shewentouttofindherniece。Shehadnotfartogo;forNoelwasstandinginthehall，quiteevidentlylyinginwait。Theywentouttogethertotheavenue。

Thegirlbeganatonce:

"Itisn’tanyusetalkingtome，Auntie;Cyrilisgoingtogetalicense。"

"Oh！Soyou’vemadeupyourminds？"

"Quite。"

"Doyouthinkthat’sfairbyme，Nollie？ShouldIhaveaskedhimhereifI’dthoughtthiswasgoingtohappen？"

Noelonlysmiled。

"Haveyoutheleastideawhatmarriagemeans？"

Noelnodded。

"Really？"

"Ofcourse。Gratianismarried。Besides，atschool——"

"Yourfatherisdeadagainstit。Thisisasadthingforhim。He’saperfectsaint，andyououghtn’ttohurthim。Can’tyouwait，atleasttillCyril’snextleave？"

"Hemightneverhaveone，yousee。"

Theheartofherwhoseboyswereouttheretoo，andmightalsoneverhaveanotherleave;couldnotbutberesponsivetothosewords。Shelookedatherniece，andadimappreciationofthisrevoltoflifemenacedbydeath，ofyouththreatenedwithextinction，stirredinher。Noel’steethwereclenched，herlipsdrawnback，andshewasstaringinfrontofher。

"Daddyoughtn’ttomind。Oldpeoplehaven’ttofight，andgetkilled;theyoughtn’ttomindustakingwhatwecan。They’vehadtheirgoodtime。"

ItwassuchajustlittlespeechthatThirzaanswered:

"Yes;perhapshehasn’tquiterealisedthat。"

"IwanttomakesureofCyril，Auntie;IwanteverythingIcanhavewithhimwhilethere’sthechance。Idon’tthinkit’smuchtoask，whenperhapsI’llneverhaveanymoreofhimagain。"

Thirzaslippedherhandthroughthegirl’sarm。

"Iunderstand，"shesaid。"Only，Nollie，suppose，whenallthisisover，andwebreatheandlivenaturallyoncemore，youfoundyou’dmadeamistake？"

Noelshookherhead。"Ihaven’t。"

"Weallthinkthat，mydear;butthousandsofmistakesaremadebypeoplewhonomoredreamthey’remakingthemthanyoudonow;andthenit’saveryhorriblebusiness。Itwouldbeespeciallyhorribleforyou;yourfatherbelievesheartandsoulinmarriagebeingforever。"

"Daddy’sadarling;butIdon’talwaysbelievewhathebelieves，youknow。Besides，I’mnotmakingamistake，Auntie！IloveCyrileverso。"

Thirzagaveherwaistasqueeze。

"Youmustn’tmakeamistake。Weloveyoutoomuch，Nollie。IwishwehadGratianhere。"

"Gratianwouldbackmeup，"saidNoel;"sheknowswhatthewaris。

Andyououghtto，Auntie。IfRexorHarrywantedtobemarried，I’msureyou’dneveropposethem。Andthey’renoolderthanCyril。YoumustunderstandwhatitmeanstomeAuntiedear，tofeelthatwebelongtoeachotherproperlybefore——beforeitallbeginsforhim，and——andtheremaybenomore。Daddydoesn’trealise。Iknowhe’sawfullygood，but——he’sforgotten。"

"Mydear，Ithinkheremembersonlytoowell。Hewasdesperatelyattachedtoyourmother。"

Noelclenchedherhands。

"Washe？Well，soamItoCyril，andhetome。Wewouldn’tbeunreasonableifitwasn’t——wasn’tnecessary。Talk，toCyril，Auntie;

thenyou’llunderstand。Thereheis;only，don’tkeephimlong，becauseIwanthim。Oh！Auntie;Iwanthimsobadly！"

Sheturned;andslippedbackintothehouse;andThirza，consciousofhavingbeendecoyedtothisyoungman，whostoodtherewithhisarmsfolded，likeNapoleonbeforeabattle，smiledandsaid:

"Well，Cyril，soyou’vebetrayedme！"

Eveninspeakingshewasconsciousofthereallymomentouschangeinthissunburnt，blue—eyed，lazilyimpudentyouthsincethedayhearrived，threeweeksago，intheirlittlewagonette。Hetookherarm，justasNoelhad，andmadehersitdownbesidehimontherusticbench，wherehehadevidentlybeentoldtowait。

"Yousee，Mrs。Pierson，"hesaid，"it’snotasifNoelwereanordinarygirlinanordinarytime，isit？Noelisthesortofgirlonewouldknockone’sbrainsoutfor;andtosendmeoutthereknowingthatIcouldhavebeenmarriedtoherandwasn’t，willtakealltheheartoutofme。OfcourseImeantocomeback，butchapsdogetknockedover，andIthinkit’scruelthatwecan’ttakewhatwecanwhilewecan。Besides，I’vegotmoney;andthatwouldbehersanyway。So，dobeadarling，won’tyou？"Heputhisarmroundherwaist，justasifhehadbeenherson，andherheart，whichwantedherownboyssobadly，feltwarmedwithinher。

"Yousee，Idon’tknowMr。Pierson，butheseemsawfullygentleandjolly，andifhecouldseeintomehewouldn’tmind，Iknow。Wedon’tmindriskingourlivesandallthat，butwedothinkweoughttohavetherunofthemwhilewe’realive。I’llgivehimmydyingoathoranything，thatIcouldneverchangetowardsNoel，andshe’lldothesame。Oh！Mrs。Pierson，dobeajollybrick，andputinawordforme，quick！We’vegotsofewdays！"

"But，mydearboy，"saidThirzafeebly，"doyouthinkit’sfairtosuchachildasNoel？"

"Yes，Ido。Youdon’tunderstand;she’ssimplyhadtogrowup。Sheisgrown—up——allinthisweek;she’squiteasoldasIam，really——

andI’mtwenty—two。Andyouknowit’sgoingtobe——it’sgottobe——ayoungworld，fromnowon;peoplewillbegindoingthingsmuchearlier。What’stheuseofpretendingit’slikewhatitwas，andbeingcautious，andallthat？IfI’mgoingtobekilled，Ithinkwe’vegotarighttobemarriedfirst;andifI’mnot，thenwhatdoesitmatter？"

"You’veknowneachothertwenty—onedays，Cyril。"

"No;twenty—oneyears！Everyday’sayearwhenOh！Mrs。Pierson，thisisn’tlikeyou，isit？Younevergotomeettrouble，doyou？"

Atthatshrewdremark，Thirzaputherhandonthehandwhichstillclaspedherwaist，andpresseditcloser。

"Well，mydear，"shesaidsoftly，"wemustseewhatcanbedone。"

CyrilMorlandkissedhercheek。"Iwillblessyouforever，"hesaid。"Ihaven’tgotanypeople，youknow，exceptmytwosisters。"

AndsomethingliketearsstarteduponThirza’seyelashes。Theyseemedtoherlikethebabesinthewood——thosetwo！

IV

1

Inthedining—roomofherfather’shouseinthatoldLondonSquarebetweenEastandWest，GratianLaird，intheoutdoorgarbofanurse，waswritingatelegram:"ReverendEdwardPierson，Kestrel，Tintern，Monmouthshire。Georgeterriblyill。Pleasecomeifyoucan。

Gratian。"Givingittoamaid，shetookoffherlongcoatandsatdownforamoment。Shehadbeentravellingallnight，afterafullday’swork，andhadonlyjustarrived，tofindherhusbandbetweenlifeanddeath。ShewasverydifferentfromNoel;notquitesotall，butofastrongerbuild;withdarkchestnut—colouredhair，clearhazeleyes，andabroadbrow。Theexpressionofherfacewasearnest，withasortofconstantspiritualenquiry;andasingularlytruthfullook:Shewasjusttwenty;andoftheyearthatshehadbeenmarried，hadonlyspentsixweekswithherhusband;theyhadnotevenahouseoftheirownasyet。Afterrestingfiveminutes，shepassedherhandvigorouslyoverherface，threwbackherhead，andwalkedupstairstotheroomwherehelay。Hewasnotconscious，andtherewasnothingtobedonebutsitandwatchhim。

’Ifhedies，’shethought，’IshallhateGodforHiscruelty。IhavehadsixweekswithGeorge;somepeoplehavesixtyyears。’Shefixedhereyesonhisface，shortandbroad，withbumpsof"observation"onthebrows。Hehadbeensunburnt。Thedarklashesofhisclosedeyeslayondeathlyyellowcheeks;histhickhairgrewratherlowonhisbroadforehead。Thelipswerejustopenandshowedstrongwhiteteeth。Hehadalittleclippedmoustache，andhairhadgrownonhisclean—cutjaw。Hispyjamajackethadfallenopen。Gratiandrewitclose。Itwascuriouslystill，foraLondonday，thoughthewindowwaswideopen。Anythingtobreakthisheavystupor，whichwasnotonlyGeorge’s，butherown，andtheveryworld’s！Thecrueltyofit——whenshemightbegoingtolosehimforever，inafewhoursordays！Shethoughtoftheirlastparting。Ithadnotbeenveryloving，hadcometoosoonafteroneofthoseargumentstheywereinclinedtohave，inwhichtheycouldnotasyetdisagreewithsuavity。Georgehadsaidtherewasnofuturelifefortheindividual;shehadmaintainedtherewas。Theyhadgrownhotandimpatient。Eveninthecabonthewaytohistraintheyhadpursuedthewretcheddiscussion，andthelastkisshadbeenfromlipsonlipsyetwarmfromdisagreement。

Eversince，asifincompunction，shehadbeenwaveringtowardshispointofview;andnow，whenhewasperhapstosolvetheproblem——

findoutforcertain——shehadcometofeelthatifhedied，shewouldneverseehimafter。Itwascruelthatsuchablightshouldhavecomeonherbeliefatthis，ofallmoments。

Shelaidherhandonhis。Itwaswarm，feltstrong，althoughsomotionlessandhelpless。Georgewassovigorous，soalive，andstrong—willed;itseemedimpossiblethatlifemightbegoingtoplayhimfalse。Sherecalledtheunflinchinglookofhissteel—brighteyes，hisdeep，queerlyvibratingvoice，whichhadnotraceofself—

consciousnessorpretence。Sheslippedherhandontohisheart，andbeganveryslowly，gentlyrubbingit。He，asdoctor，andshe，asnurse，hadbothseensomuchofdeaththeselasttwoyears！Yetitseemedsuddenlyasifshehadneverseendeath，andthattheyoungfacesshehadseen，emptyandwhite，inthehospitalwards，hadjustbeenashow。Deathwouldappeartoherforthefirsttime，ifthisfacewhichshelovedweretobedrainedforeveroflightandcolourandmovementandmeaning。

AhumblebeefromtheSquareGardenboomedinandbuzzedidlyroundtheroom。Shecaughtherbreathinalittlesob……

2

Piersonreceivedthattelegramatmidday，returningfromalonelywalkafterhistalkwithThirza。ComingfromGratiansoself—

reliant——itmeanttheworst。Hepreparedatoncetocatchthenexttrain。Noelwasout，nooneknewwhere:sowithasickfeelinghewrote:

"DEARESTCHILD，"IamgoinguptoGratian;poorGeorgeisdesperatelyill。Ifitgoesbadlyyoushouldbewithyoursister。Iwillwireto—morrowmorningearly。Ileaveyouinyouraunt’shands，mydear。Bereasonableandpatient。Godblessyou。

"Yourdevoted’DADDY。"

Hewasaloneinhisthird—classcompartment，and，leaningforward，watchedtheruinedAbbeyacrosstherivertillitwasoutofsight。

Thoseoldmonkshadlivedinanagesurelynotsosadasthis。Theymusthavehadpeacefullives，remotedownhere，indayswhentheChurchwasgreatandlovely，andmenlaiddowntheirlivesfortheirbeliefinher，andbuilteverlastingfanestothegloryofGod！Whatachangetothisageofrushandhurry，ofscience，trade，materialprofit，andthisterriblewar！Hetriedtoreadhispaper，butitwasfullofhorrorsandhate。’Whenwillitend？’hethought。Andthetrainwithitsrhythmicjoltingseemedgrindingouttheanswer:

"Never——never！"

AtChepstowasoldiergotin，followedbyawomanwithaveryflushedfaceandcurious，swimmyeyes;herhairwasindisorder，andherlipbleeding，asifshehadbittenitthrough。Thesoldier，too，lookedstrainedanddesperate。Theysatdown，farapart，ontheseatopposite。Pierson，feelingthathewasintheirway，triedtohidehimselfbehindhispaper;whenhelookedagain，thesoldierhadtakenoffhistunicandcapandwasleaningoutofthewindow。Thewoman，ontheseat’sedge，sniffingandwipingherface，methisglancewithresentfuleyes，then，gettingup，shepulledtheman’ssleeve。

"Sitdahn;don’t’angouto’there。"

ThesoldierflunghimselfbackontheseatandlookedatPierson。

"Thewifean’me’s’adabitofarow，"hesaidcompanionably。"Gitsonmenerves;I’mnotusedtoit。Shewasinaraid，and’ernervesareallgonefunny;ain’tthey，oldgirl？Makesmefeelme’ead。

I’vebeenwoundedthere，youknow;can’tstandmuchnow。Imightdosomethin’ifshewastogoonlikethisforlong。"

Piersonlookedatthewoman，buthereyesstillmethisresentfully。

Thesoldierheldoutapacketofcigarettes。"Takeone，"hesaid。

Piersontookoneand，feelingthatthesoldierwantedhimtospeak，murmured:"Weallhavethesetroubleswiththosewe’refondof;thefonderweareofpeople，themorewefeelthem，don’twe？Ihadonewithmydaughterlastnight。"

"Ah！"saidthesoldier;"that’sright。Thewifeandme’llmakeitup。’Ere，comeorfit，oldgirl。"

>Frombehindhispaperhesoonbecameconsciousofthesoundsofreconciliation——reproachesbecausesomeonehadbeenofferedadrink，kissesmixedwithmildslappings，andabuse。WhentheygotoutatBristolthesoldiershookhishandwarmly，butthewomanstillgavehimherresentfulstare，andhethoughtdreamily:’Thewar！Howitaffectseveryone！’Hiscarriagewasinvadedbyaswarmofsoldiers，andtherestofthejourneywaspassedinmakinghimselfsmall。Whenatlasthereachedhome，Gratianmethiminthehall。

"Justthesame。Thedoctorsaysweshallknowinafewhoursnow。

Howsweetofyoutocome！Youmustbetired，inthisheat。Itwasdreadfultospoilyourholiday。"

"Mydear！AsifMayIgoupandseehim？"

GeorgeLairdwasstilllyinginthatstupor。AndPiersonstoodgazingdownathimcompassionately。Likemostparsons，hehadawideacquaintancewiththesickanddying;andoneremorselessfellowshipwithdeath。Death！Thecommonestthingintheworld，now——commonerthanlife！Thisyoungdoctormusthaveseenmanydieintheselasttwoyears，savedmanyfromdeath;andtherehelay，notabletoliftafingertosavehimself。Piersonlookedathisdaughter;whatastrong，promisingyoungcoupletheywere！Andputtinghisarmroundher，heledherawaytothesofa，whencetheycouldseethesickman。