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her arms round his arm and looked into his face with wistful eyes. "Oh, Arthur, I wonder why it is that the two things which you have cared for most in your life have both been denied to you? You wanted two things--just two--and they have both ended in disappointment! If you had been wilful and selfish, it would have been different, but you never were that. You worked hard, and thought of other people before yourself, and still nothing has gone right! How is it? Why is it? Why should it be?" Arthur shook his head sadly. "I don't know, Peg. My luck, I suppose," he replied in a tone so dejected that it brought the tears to his sister's eyes. "No, it is not your luck," she contradicted quickly. "I know what it is--it has just come to me this minute. It is because God has better things waiting for you! It is all rough and miserable just now, but further along the path it will get beautiful again. Oh, I believe it will be very beautiful; and when you get there, Arthur, you will be thankful that you went on, and did not stop half-way." "Dear little Peg," he said fondly, "I hope I shall. It's a cheery thought, and I'll adopt it forthwith, and try to look ahead, not backwards, and you must do the same. No more tears, please! You must help me by being bright and talking persistently of some thing else. And now I must go, or you will never be ready for that dinner you want so badly. I'm wery hungry myself, so please don't keep us waiting." He hurried out of the room, leaving Peggy to continue her hairdressing operations with a tear trickling slowly over her cheek, and a speculative expression in her eye. Hungry? But he had no business to be hungry! Never in the course of her readings had she come across the case of a rejected lover openly avowing an impatience for dinner, and, despite her anxiety for her brother's happiness, Peggy could not subdue a certain regret that he should have showed such a painful inconsistency in the performance of his part! The next day brought the visit to London to a conclusion, but Peggy said her adieux with the pleasant expectation of meeting her friends again before many weeks were over. When Parliament rose, Arthur would be free, and had agreed all the more willingly to come down to Yew Hedge, as Rosalind and her father would at that time be visiting Lady Darcy in Switzerland. An invitation to Eunice for the same time had also been eagerly accepted, and Peggy
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