Our Gentleman Boarder 



and proud in their love and their depend- 

 ence, and I think I could have gone on so 

 for ever, had you not come here or any- 

 where else across my road. You have done 

 away with all that now ; you have made me 

 want my life for myself and — and for you. 

 I am not cold ; I have been as happy in 

 the thought of being your wife as any 

 woman ever could be, and now that you are 

 going right away, and so many things for- 

 bid our marriage, I want that happiness as 

 dearly as any woman that ever lived ; but 

 I know what is riofht all the while. I want 

 you not to misunderstand me," she said, 

 looking up into his eyes in a sad, passion- 

 ate kind of way that made me feel ashamed 

 of being there. " Life is hard to bear as 

 it is." 



I heard Mary say that ; I was the only 

 other soul in the room, and I think they 

 were too wretched to mind me ; if they 

 thought of me at all, they very likely con- 

 sidered me too small and too much en- 

 grossed in my picture-book to heed or 

 understand their words. Nevertheless, I 

 went to bed very downhearted, and not a 

 little perplexed that night. As far as I 

 know, that was the first and last occasion 

 on which my sister Mary confessed to any 

 hardship or burden in her devoted life. 

 131 



