"I have had a letter from my sister," Genevieve went on. "I brought it with me, thinking that you might like to hear it, for it is so _beautifully_ expressed. As you don't care to lie down, I'll read it to you now. My sister reminds me, mamma, that in the midst of my grief I ought to remember that I have had one great blessing--a blessing not granted to all wives; and that is, that from the first moment of our engagement to his last breath, dear Jay was perfectly devoted to me; he never looked--he never cared to look--at any one else!" Mrs. Franklin refolded her arms; her hands, laid over her elbows, tightened on her sleeves. Genevieve began to read the letter. But when she came to the passage she had quoted, the tears began to fall. "I won't go on," she said, as she wiped them away. "For we must not dwell upon our griefs--don't you think so, mamma? Not _purposely_ remind ourselves of them; surely that is unwise. I have already arranged to give away Jay's clothes, for instance--give them to persons who really need them. For as long as they are in the house I can't help cr-crying whenever I see them." Her voice broke, and she stopped; her effort at self-control, both here and at home, was sincere. She replaced the letter in her pocket. And as she did so, the crape of her sleeve, catching on the edge of the newspaper which lay over Mrs. Franklin's knees, drew it so far to one side that it fell to the floor. And there, revealed on the mother's lap, lay a little heap: a package of letters in a school-boy hand; a battered top, and one or two other toys; a baby's white robe yellow with age; some curls of soft hair, and a little pair of baby shoes. "Oh, mamma, are you letting yourself brood over these things? Surely it is not wise? Let me put them away." But Mrs. Franklin, gathering her poor treasures from Genevieve's touch, placed them herself in her secretary, which she locked. Then she began to walk to and fro across the broad room--to and fro, to and fro, her step feverishly quick. After a minute, Genevieve followed her. "Mamma, try to be resigned. Try to be calm."