ing
conflict of feeling, and for my two children of tears, silent misery and
struggling passion, culminating at last, when the storm burst, in
complete mutual understanding, and a joint determination that carried
all before it--when, I say, Aunt Rennie, defeated, prepared to take her
leave, she said a word to me which I often thought of afterwards. "She
is choosing blindfold, tinsel for gold." I thought of it, not on account
of the expression, but of Aunt Rennie herself. There was something in
the pallor of her face, and in her tone, that made me ask myself whether
there could be anything in this matter that concerned Aunt Rennie
herself more closely than we thought--and, for the moment, a new and
motherly feeling rose up in my heart towards her.

Well, she has left me my two children, and though John is only "in
business," and they live on three hundred a year, they are very happy,
and I am happy in their happiness.

It was a year after their marriage, that the news came that Aunt Rennie
was engaged to be married to her cousin. Horace Wetherell. And, as I
pondered on it. I doubted whether I had, after all, quite understood the
nobility of Aunt Rennie's character.

Horace Wetherell has become an M.P., and he and his wife write books
together on social problems.

Poor John will never be an M.P., but I am glad that Tabitha loved him.

[Illustration:]

***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A LOOSE END AND OTHER STORIES***

******* This file should be named 15922.txt or 15922.zip *******

This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/5/9/2/15922

Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
will be renamed.

Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules,
set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project
Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you
do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any