e
seriously ill."

He saw a spark leap up in her eyes, like a bubble tossed into sunshine
by a sudden ripple, and she shook back the hair that seemed to oppress
her.

"Do not tease and torment me, now. I want to be quiet."

"My task is an unpleasant one, therefore I shall not postpone it. In a
short time--within the next hour--Elsie will be buried, and you owe a
last tribute of gratitude and respect to her remains. Will you refuse
it to the faithful friend to whom you are indebted for so much
affection and considerate care?"

"She would not wish me to do anything that is so repugnant, so painful
to me."

"Have you no desire to look at her kind, placid face once more?"

"I wish to remember it as in life,--not rigid and repulsive in
death."

"She looks so tranquil you would think she was sleeping."

"No,--no! Don't ask me. I never saw but one corpse, and that was of
a sailor drowned in mid ocean, and I shall never be able to forget
its ghastliness and distortion as it lay on deck, under sickly
moonshine."

"Mrs. Gerome, you must follow Elsie's body to the grave. Believe that
I have good reasons for this request, and grant it."

She shook her head.

"Your habits of seclusion have subjected you to uncharitable remarks,
and your absence from the funeral would create more gossip than any
woman can afford to give grounds for. There is a rumor that you are
deranged, and the best refutation will be your quiet presence at the
grave of your faithful nurse."

She straightened herself, haughtily.

"Seven years ago I turned my back upon the world, and scorned its
verdict."

"The men or women who defy public opinion invite social impalement,
and rarely fail to merit the branding and opprobrium they invariably
receive. Madam, I should imagine that to a nature so refined and
shrinking as yours, almost any trial would seem slight in comparison
with the certainty of becoming a target for sarcasm, pity, and malice,
in every kitchen in the neighborhood. Permit my prudence to prevail
over your reluctance to the step I have advised, and some day you will
thank me for my persistency. You have time to make the proper changes
in your dress, and, when the hour arrives, I will knock at your own
door. My dear madam, do not delay."

She rose, and began to replace the papers in the drawers of her desk,
which she closed and locked.

"Dr. Grey, why should you care if I am slandered?"

"Because I am now your best friend, and mus