Transcriber's note: Unusual and inconsistent spelling is as printed. [Illustration: THERE WAS SOMETHING IMPOSING AND SUMPTUOUS ABOUT HER BEAUTY.] LOUIE'S MARRIED LIFE BY SARAH DOUDNEY AUTHOR OF "WHEN WE TWO PARTED," "WHERE THE DEW FALLS IN LONDON," "A ROMANCE OF LINCOLN'S INN," ETC. ILLUSTRATED BY W. RAINEY, R. I. LONDON S. W. PARTRIDGE & CO. 8 & 9 PATERNOSTER ROW. [Illustration] CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. BEGINNING II. LOOKING BACK III. INEZ IV. RONALD V. RECOVERY VI. THE GUITAR VII. JARS VIII. MARIAN IX. GOING OUT X. SHADOWS DEEPEN XI. POISONED WORDS XII. JEALOUSY XIII. ANGUISH XIV. STRICKEN XV. FLIGHT XVI. A FEVERISH DREAM XVII. AWAKING XVIII. HEART TO HEART XIX. THE OLD ALBUM XX. THE JEWELS XXI. CLOSING WORDS [Illustration] [Illustration] LOUIE'S MARRIED LIFE CHAPTER I. BEGINNING. "Sweetheart, sweetheart," I hear the two clear notes, And see the sunlight shining through the shower; "Sweetheart," how faintly from the meadow floats The early fragrance of the cuckoo-flower! The wind is keen, and April skies are grey; But love can wait till rain-clouds break apart; And still the bird sings through the longest day; "Sweetheart, sweetheart." When lives are true, the springtide never dies, When souls are one, the love-notes never cease; Our bird sings on beneath the cloudy skies, Our little world is full of light and peace; Fresh as the breath of violets new-born Comes the sweet thought to hearts that cannot part, "After the night of weeping breaks the morn, "Sweetheart, sweetheart." SURELY no one would ever believe that this song was written by a Londoner, and yet I, who wrote it, am a Londoner in heart and soul. But I was born far away in the country, and all the familiar sights and sounds of old days lend themselves to my rhymes, so that I oftener sing of fields, and birds, and flowers, than of those things which are always before my eyes. Moreover, as all authors know, it is sometimes easier to write of the unseen than of the seen, and these home fields of mine have borrowed much of their beauty from the glamour of distance.