n
after them, and not merely await us at the end, but are permitted to
watch over us as we complete the journey which they began. I am sure that
if people knew this they would never feel lonely or forlorn again."

It was a relief to Paul when they reached home and he could be alone.

In an ecstasy of happiness that was like a delicious pain, he sat till
morning in his unlighted chamber, gazing into the darkness with a set
smile, motionless, and breathing only by deep, infrequent inhalations.
What were the joys of mortal love to the transports that were his? What
were the smoky fires of earthly passion to his pure, keen flame, almost
too strong for a heart of flesh to bear?

As he strove to realize what it was to be beloved by an immortal, the
veil between time and eternity was melted by the hot breath of his
passion, and the confines of the natural and the supernatural were
confounded.

As the east grew light he began to feel the weariness of the intense
mental strain which had led up to, and culminated in, the transcendent
experience of the previous evening. A tranquil happiness succeeded his
exalted mood, and, lying down, he slept soundly till noon, when he went
downstairs to find Miss Ludington anxiously waiting for him to reassure
her that her recollection of the last night was not altogether a dream,
as she had half convinced herself since waking.

Paul had to go into Brooklyn to do some business for Miss Ludington that
day, but the men he dealt with seemed to him shadows.

After finishing with them he went over to New York, and presently found
himself on East Tenth Street. He had not intended to go there. His feet
had borne him involuntarily to the spot. He could not resist the
temptation of drawing near to the place where she had been only a few
hours before. He walked to and fro before Mrs. Legrand's house for an
hour, and then stood a long time on the opposite side, looking at the
closed windows of the front parlour, quite unconscious that he had become
an object of curiosity to numerous persons in adjoining houses, and of
marked suspicion to the policeman at the corner.

Finally he crossed the street, mounted the steps, and rang the bell. The
door was opened, after a considerable interval, by Alta, the elfish
little girl. Paul asked for Mrs. Legrand. Alta said that her mother was
ill to-day, and not able to see any one. Paul then asked for Dr. Hull. He
was not in.

"I wanted to arrange for another sea