His
dreams were of the old times: words and names long unused came from
his lips as he slept by her side. Although he bore his grief with
more strength than she had hoped, he grew nervous and excitable,--
sometimes unreasonably petulant, sometimes gay to a pitch which
impressed her with pain. When the spring came around, and the
mysterious correspondence again failed, as in the previous year,
his uneasiness increased. He took his place on the high seat on
First-days, as usual, but spoke no more.
Sylvia, on the other hand, seemed to have wholly lost her proud,
impatient character. She went to meeting much more frequently than
formerly, busied herself more actively about household matters, and
ceased to speak of the uncertain contingency which had been so
constantly present in her thoughts. In fact, she and her father
had changed places. She was now the one who preached patience, who
held before them all the bright side of their lot, who brought
Margaret Alison to the house and justified her dead brother's heart
to his father's, and who repeated to the latter, in his restless
moods, "De Courcy foresaw the truth, and we must all in the end
decide as he did.
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