uce is the matter now?'

'I'm crying for you, Arthur,' I replied, speedily drying my tears; and
starting up, I threw myself on my knees before him, and clasping his
nerveless hand between my own, continued: 'Don't you know that you are a
part of myself? And do you think you can injure and degrade yourself,
and I not feel it?'

'Degrade myself, Helen?'

'Yes, degrade! What have you been doing all this time?'

'You'd better not ask,' said he, with a faint smile.

'And you had better not tell; but you cannot deny that you have degraded
yourself miserably. You have shamefully wronged yourself, body and soul,
and me too; and I can't endure it quietly, and I won't!'

'Well, don't squeeze my hand so frantically, and don't agitate me so, for
heaven's sake! Oh, Hattersley! you were right: this woman will be the
death of me, with her keen feelings and her interesting force of
character. There, there, do spare me a little.'

'Arthur, you must repent!' cried I, in a frenzy of desperation, throwing
my arms around him and burying my face in his bosom. 'You shall say you
are sorry for what you have done!'

'Well, well, I am.'

'You are not! you'll do it again.'

'I shall never live to do it again if you treat me so savagely,' replied
he, pushing me from him. 'You've nearly squeezed the breath out of my
body.' He pressed his hand to his heart, and looked really agitated and
ill.

'Now get me a glass of wine,' said he, 'to remedy what you've done, you
she tiger! I'm almost ready to faint.'

I flew to get the required remedy. It seemed to revive him considerably.

'What a shame it is,' said I, as I took the empty glass from his hand,
'for a strong young man like you to reduce yourself to such a state!'

'If you knew all, my girl, you'd say rather, "What a wonder it is you can
bear it so well as you do!" I've lived more in these four months, Helen,
than you have in the whole course of your existence, or will to the end
of your days, if they numbered a hundred years; so I must expect to pay
for it in some shape.'

'You will have to pay a higher price than you anticipate, if you don't
take care: there will be the total loss of your own health, and of my
affection too, if that is of any value to you.'

'What! you're at that game of threatening me with the loss of your
affection again, are you? I think it couldn't have been very genuine
stuff to begin with, if it's so easily demolished. If you don't mind, my
p