"He very soon got over his anger when he found how sick you were. At first he was nearly beside himself; for he thought it was the message I had taken to you from him that day that caused your illness. He would come to your bedside, and listen to your appeals for forgiveness with such an expression of pain on his face. Sometimes he would take your hands in his, assuring you of his forgiveness; but you never understood him. I was afraid you would die without ever knowing." "But I would have known all about it, once my spirit had got freed from the body; I cannot describe what glimpses I have had of other worlds than ours. It seemed so restful there; so much better than we have words to describe." "We are so glad you did not leave us for that place, even though it is so beautiful." "When this life is done, and its work all finished, I may slip away there. I think my soul saw its home and can never again be so fully content with earth." "Try not to think about it, Medoline, any more." "Why not?" "When a person's spirits begin to get homesick for a higher existence, usually they soon drift quietly away where they long to be." Another day she told me how much Mrs. Blake had done for me, nursing me with a skill and patience that drew high praise from the dignified city physician accustomed to skilled nurses. Mr. Winthrop used to come and go, watching her closely, and one day he said:-- "No matter what happens, Mrs. Blake's future will be attended to." Then I asked the question that had been troubling me ever since I had been getting better. "Why do I never see or hear anything from Mr. Winthrop? you say he has forgiven me; but he has not so much as sent me a message, or flower since I came to myself." "Why, Medoline, did you not know?" "Know what?" I asked, interrupting her, "has he gone away with Mrs. Le Grande?" I had forgotten for the moment that Mrs. Le Grande was even weaker than myself. "Oh, no, indeed; marriage has been one of her least anxieties of late. Mr. Winthrop is in London before this: I am looking for letters now every day." "Has he gone to Europe?" "Yes; I thought of course you knew; he left the very day the doctor pronounced you out of danger." "Did you know he thought of going?" "No, we were greatly surprised; I cannot think why he left so abruptly." "Perhaps he was afraid of Mrs. Le Grande. He knows how fascinating she can be when she chooses." "I do not think she had anything to do with it. She was perfectly harmless when he left, in the delirium of fever, with two physicians in attendance." I was not convinced by Mrs. Flaxman's words, but said no more on the subject.