Year: 1861

her throat, and coughed again two or
three times. There was sound in that
: cough that was unpleasant to my ears.
) glanced towards my friend to see how
IT affected him, but he appeared not to
notice it. ss
"And kills the mother sometimes" I
ventured to remark.


My friend looked at me for a moment
or two as if had disturbed him slightly,
) and then went on with his breakfast
noticed the cough again once or twice
!, during the meal


After breakfast, my friend and l re-
tired alone to the library, leaving Ber-
] tia to her maternal and household cares
A sail on the river, which ran along one
D side of my friend s. estate, and in that
''fairest of pleasure boats about which
he had written me, was to be our fore
Moons occupation, After spending an
hour or two in the library, talking and
reading, we went down to the river, my
friend carrying lunch basket, which
Bertha had placed in his hand.


"Why can't you go with us?" I
asked. as I looked into her fading face


She shook her head and half turned
it toward the door, from which she had
stepped into the portico to give her
husband the basket, thus indicating that
duty must go before pleasure.


ats no use to invite her, said my
friend, in what struck me as light and
careless manner. ''She never goes any
where. Leave her with her babies and
servants, she is the happies; among
them.


I I stood nearest to Bertha when this
was SAID, and could not have been mis-
taken in the sound that reached met
was faint sigh.


"There's something wrong here, said
l to myself as we walked toward the
river A life is wasting rapidly away,
and no suspicion of the fact seems to
have been awakened. My friend is
either very selfish or very blind. How
can he lock into his own ruddy face, as
it stands each day reflected to him in
his mirror, and then look upon that
pale, shadowy, heeting countenance, and
not feel the truth?"


A week at Fern Dale confirmed all
my first Impressions as to the rapidly
failing condition of Bertha. And yet
my friend showed no anxiety, no dim
consciousness, even, of the peril in
which his wife stood. Glow can he
gaze into that pale, thin face would
ask myself over and over again, "and
not take the warning that nature gives?'
Was his own enjoyment of mere SEN
suous life SO great that he could not un-
derstand condition like Bertha So
He love her-nay, almost idoiized her;
and when I would hint, occasionally, in
concerned way, my fears touching her
health he would regard me with a vague,
bewildered countenance, as if | were
troubling him with the shadow of some
! far-off evil 1t never seemed to occur
to him that the. evil was at his door.


One morning Bertha did not make
her appearance, as usual, at the break
fast table On asking for her, my friend
answered, that she had been up for most
of the night with her baby, and was too
much indisposed to rise.


'.Nothing serious?" | remarked.


''Oh, no!' he answered. "She often
has such spells. We shall see her at
dinner-time as usual, only looking a
little p@ler perhaps. j"


Ouly little paler! "That must be a
death-like parlor,' I said to myself
! This morning We were to have sail
on the river. Soon after breakfast we
went to tie boat-house and unmoored
the fairy bark in which we had already
spent so many pleasant hours together.
As she gided gently out, like bird
floating on the buoyant water, through
some mishap the light cord by which
my friend held her, slipped from his
hand, and she passed from his reach,
and in a moment was out into the cur
rent, and commenced drifting away
Ny friend became instantly excited, and
showed great anxiety about the boat
His face flushed, his eyes dilated, all his
movements were hurried and disturbed.
He ran here and there in an incoherent
manner, and appeared, for some mo-
ments, to lose all self-possession. At
last catching at a small coil of rope, he
tied stone to one end of it and gave
me the other end to hold; then throw
ing the stone with all his strength, it
fell into the boat. Eagerly taking
the rope from my hand, he drew on it
till the slack was all in. Now came the
moment of suspense The boat was
moving steadily with the current; should
the stone not obtain firm anchorage
inside, but release itself and be drawn
over the guBwale, the little vessel
would float beyond our present means
of rescue. But the expedient proved
successful. The stone held with sufi-
cient tenacity to overcome the pressure
of the current, and soon the pleasure
boat came floating to our outstretched
hands.


"Safe!" exclaimed my friend, as he
grasped the side of his pet with eager
fondness Glow careless l was!'' he
added, as he slept over the side and
commenced adjusting the SAIL


"You could easily have recovered her
again, said [, "even if she had drifted
away mile or so before a row boat
could be procured in which to SO after
her"


ooh yes!' he replied, but I didn't
mink or that. L was only conscious
that my beauty was drifting away be-
yond my reach. Don't laugh at me;
but l have real affection for this
boat"


Soon we were moving away over the
ripping water under the pressure of a
gentle breeze, my friend every now and
then recurring to the little incident l
have mentioned.


"You don't know" he said, as we
hoatad into little sheltered cove, where
the wind no longer laid its soft cheek
against our snowy sail, that hung