attend his
bedside. He talked to her as a philosopher; said his life's work was
done, and he was just as glad to go in the harness; the estate should
yield something, and there was his life insurance--a third would be for
her. And when Mrs. Hardy was not at his side he found opportunity to
whisper, "And if you really love that boy out west, _marry him_."

The sudden bereavement wrought a reconciliation between Mrs. Hardy and
her daughter. Mrs. Hardy took her loss very much to heart. While
Irene grieved for her father, Mrs. Hardy grieved for herself. It was
awful to be left alone like this. There was something in her demeanour
that suggested that Andrew had been rather unkind in departing as he
did. And when the lawyers found that instead of a hundred thousand
dollars the estate would yield a bare third of that sum she spoke
openly of her husband's improvidence. He had enjoyed a handsome
income, upon which his family had lived in luxury. That it was unequal
to the strain of providing for them in that fashion and at the same
time accumulating a reserve for such an eventuality as had occurred was
a matter which his wife could scarcely overlook.

About this time it came to the notice of Mrs. Hardy that when the late
Mr. Deware had departed this life Mrs. Deware, with her two daughters,
had gone on a trip to England to dull the poignancy of their
bereavement. The Dewares moved in the best circles, Mr. Deware having
amassed a considerable fortune in the brewing business. It was obvious
that whatever Mrs. Deware might do under such circumstances would be
correct. Upon arrival at this conclusion Mrs. Hardy lost no time in
buying two tickets for London.

Her health, however, had suffered a severe shock, for beneath her
ostentation she felt as deep a regard for her late husband as was
possible in one who measured everything in life by various social
formulae. On the ocean voyage she contracted a cough, which the fogs
of London did little to dispel, and February found her again on the
Atlantic, with her mind occupied by more personal affairs than a seat
at the captain's table. The voyage was a particularly unhappy one, and
the widow's first concern upon reaching home was to consult a
specialist who had enjoyed a close professional acquaintanceship with
Dr. Hardy. The specialist gave her a careful, meditative, and solemn
examination.

"Your condition is serious," he told her, "but not alarming. You must
have a