alarmed us.

She told me more than once that a sense of sin oppressed her; she must be
more wicked than other people, or she thought Providence would not permit
her to be so unhappy. Sometimes she blamed herself with influencing Eric
wrongly: she ought not to have taken his part against his brother. '"He
that hateth his brother is a murderer." Ursula, there were times, I am
sure, when I hated Giles.' And with this thought upon her she would beg
him to forgive her when he next came into the room.

He never seemed surprised at these exaggerated expressions of penitence:
he treated it all as part of her malady.

'Very well, I will forgive you, my dear,' he would say, feeling her
pulse. 'Have you taken your medicine, Gladys?'

'Oh, but, Giles, I do feel so wretched about it all! Are you sure that
you really and truly forgive me?'

'Quite sure,' he returned, smiling at her. 'Now you must shut your eyes,
like a good child, and go to sleep.' But, though she tried to obey him, I
could see she was not satisfied: tears rolled down her cheeks from under
her closed eyelids.

'What is it, my darling?' I asked, kissing her. 'Do you feel more ill
than usual?'

'No, no; it is only this sense of sin. Oh, Ursula, how nice it would be
to die, and never do anything wrong again!' And so she went on bemoaning
herself.

I had thought it better to move her into Lady Betty's room. It was a
large square room opening out of the turret-room, and very light and
airy. I had a little bed put up for my use, so that I could hear her
every movement. I told Mr. Hamilton that I could not feel easy to have
her out of my sight; and he quite agreed with me.

In the daytime we carried her into the turret-room. The little recess
formed by the circular window made a charming sitting-room, and just held
Gladys's couch and an easy-chair and a little round table with a basket
of hot-house flowers on it. Mr. Hamilton declared that we looked very
cosy when he first found us there.

In the cool of the evening, when Gladys could bear the blind raised, it
was very pleasant to sit there looking down on the little oak avenue,
where the girls had set their tea-table that afternoon: we could watch
the rooks cawing and circling about the elms. Sometimes Mr. Hamilton
would pass with Nap at his heels and look up at us with a smile. Once a
great bunch of roses all wet with dew came flying through the open window
and fell on Gladys's muslin gown. 'Did Giles throw th