shining out of the loveliest of all eyes, and spring bringing back the roses to the bonniest cheeks in the world. We laughed as if we should never stop, so heartily, so merrily, so absolutely without reason. What am I saying! without reason? Ah, no! never has laughter had a better reason. We laughed and we asked all at once! 'Where have you been? I thought you were dead.' 'And what about you? I thought you had left town.' 'But why did you not write? ' 'Because you had forbidden it.' 'I had quite forgotten that.' Then we laughed again.
Now I can hear my stern censor ask: And when you grinning idiots had finished laughing, I hope you went each your own way!
My gracious, no! we went home together!
XXXIVMarie was with me once more. But not exactly as before. To begin our old relationship all over again was impossible—on that we were agreed. Those days when Marie was in very truth my little girl had passed for ever, and of course Marie was perfectly right when she said that, quite apart from all common sense had to say, it would be silly to expose herself over again to the chance of misery, now that she had gone through all the wretchedness of parting, and after an heroic struggle, had conquered her own heart. She finished up with my own pretty words, 'that we must never harm each other for the world.'
