rd tell that, in the tree, there is a
wood's-woman and that sometimes she laughs aloud, but he thinks it may
be a soul or something like that.

* * * * *

The only drawback to happiness is the peculiar impermanence of its
character. Happiness is a large, comely person, but, withal, as
elusive as the smallest sprite. Such hours of pain as I spent last
night on this wretched sagging bed--I who was so happy only
yesterday--with nothing to look at save a little lamp with a flame like
a bleary red eye. Truth to tell, it was the eye that looked at me. It
stared till I became hypnotized, when by the blessing of God, I fell
asleep.

This morning, I am consumed between a desire to get up and one to lie
still. In all such crises of the will, it is better to follow the line
of least resistance, and so I lie in bed. My hostess brings me an
amazingly pungent liniment which she calls "Herr the Doctor's
medisome." It came last night, but Daisy, who is a waitress, neglected
to deliver it. Perhaps the sarcastic advice which the doctor set down
for me under the word "Poison," may have frightened Daisy.

"She a lump is, that Daisy!" says the Frau. "Believe me, Madam, for I
know. I tell her a thing to do and she doing it keeps on, till I to
stop tell her. Then I to her explain that she is not for ever to stop,
nor for ever on to go, and all the time, about everything, I have her
so to tell."

The Frau pours on the liniment with generous measure and rubs me till I
prickle with it, and feel for all the world like a wet newspaper caught
in a wire fence. She rubs me with a used-to-things way until I beg her
to desist. I should not be surprised if Herr the Doctor took this
means of venting his spitefulness on me.

The Frau tells me she had a vision once. I wish to experience a
vision, or a miracle, but nothing comes to me save presentments which
have their terrible plain origin on the basis of cause and effect. Her
vision was about heaven. She saw heaven quite distinctly and the
streets were really made of gold. There were no children there, but
only men and women, so that there must be a special Paradise for boys
and girls. The Frau believes heaven will be a failure because there is
no division of the sexes provided for. How, she would like to know,
could a woman enjoy heaven with men there all the time looking at
everything she does. It would be an impossible situation.

After awhile, Dai