tal celibacy; but he did not attempt to formulate it, and he
listened submissively while she went on: "_One_ thing: I am certainly
not going to let you see him again till you've seen the doctor, and I
hope he won't come about. If he does, _I_ shall see him."

The menace in this declaration moved Ewbert to another protest, which he
worded conciliatingly: "I shall have to let you. But I know you won't
say anything to convey a sense of responsibility to him. I couldn't
forgive myself if he were allowed to feel that he had been preying upon
me. The fact is, I've been overdoing in every way, and nobody is to
blame for my morbid fancies but myself. I _should_ blame myself very
severely if you based any sort of superstition on them, and acted from
that superstition."

"Oh, you needn't be afraid!" said Mrs. Ewbert. "I shall take care of his
feelings, but I shall have my own opinions, all the same, Clarence."

Whether a woman with opinions so strong as Mrs. Ewbert's, and so
indistinguishable from her prejudices, could be trusted to keep them to
herself, in dealing with the matter in hand, was a question which her
husband felt must largely be left to her goodness of heart for its right
solution.

When Hilbrook came that night, as usual, she had already had it out with
him in several strenuous reveries before they met, and she was able to
welcome him gently to the interview which she made very brief. His face
fell in visible disappointment when she said that Mr. Ewbert would not
be able to see him, and perhaps there was nothing to uplift him in the
reasons she gave, though she obscurely resented his continued dejection
as a kind of ingratitude. She explained that poor Mr. Ewbert was quite
broken down, and that the doctor had advised his going to the seaside
for the whole of August, where he promised everything from the air and
the bathing. Mr. Ewbert merely needed toning up, she said; but to
correct the impression she might be giving that his breakdown was a
trifling matter, she added that she felt very anxious about it, and
wanted to get him away as soon as possible. She said with a confidential
effect, as of something in which Hilbrook could sympathize with her:
"You know it isn't merely his church work proper; it's his giving
himself spiritually to all sorts of people so indiscriminately. He can't
deny himself to any one; and sometimes he's perfectly exhausted by it.
You must come and see him as soon as he gets back, Mr. Hil