whispered Natalie, in a tone of tremulous earnestness
and passionate entreaty.

"No, she is better here," he replied.

"Oh, please, Louis!" she pleaded, but he was firm.

She stood, with clasped hands, silently gazing on the babe with a
strange sensation of awe and dread, and a yearning wish to do something
for her.

"You are not required, Natalie," Louis said, "you had better go to bed."
With a gulp she restrained the rising sob, and stooped to kiss her
darling. "You will only disturb her," he said, putting out his arm to
prevent her doing so. Then Natalie could only steal away to her
dressing-room, and there, alone in the darkness, she crept to the sofa
and hid her face in the cushion, to hush the tumultuous sobs, while she
breathed fervent prayers for baby's recovery. But a horrible dread
surrounded her: she could not endure to be absent from her pet, and
noiselessly she stole back to the nursery. She was glad that Louis did
not observe her entrance, and retreated to the dimmest corner of the
room, and there, in the old arm-chair, listened to baby's uneasy
breathing, which caused her an agony of grief and pain. Yet she could do
nothing but sit and suffer--suffer, oh, how deeply! Thus the night wore
away, and Louis was not aware of her presence until, as the day dawned,
he beheld the wan, wretched face of his poor little wife. Going to her
side, he said, "this is wrong, Natalie; go and rest." She shook her
head. "You must, indeed: you know I have to leave her to you the greater
part of the day, and this is no preparation for the watchful care she
will need."

"She cannot need more care than I will gladly give," returned Natalie,
with trembling lip. Her face wore an expression, so sad--so
suffering--that Louis must, indeed, have been adamant if he had not been
softened. Stroking her hair caressingly, he was about to lead her from
the room with gentle force, when, grasping his hand convulsively, she
said, in an almost inaudible voice, "I cannot, cannot go; have pity,
Louis," she added, raising her tearful eyes to his.

"For an hour or two, and then you shall take care of baby."

"If--if--you would let me kiss her, I will lie down here, but I cannot
leave her," she answered, almost choking.

"You may do that," he said, with a disagreeable sense of the fact that
he had been unkind, to use no harsher term. And he lifted a weight from
Natalie's heart, as he placed a shawl over her, saying, "try to sleep,
dear; yo