h she blamed him still for his inconsiderate
accusation, she was fond of him as she might have been fond of some
loving Newfoundland, which, splendid in awkward bulk, caressed her and
licked her hand. It was pleasant enough to be in his arms, for the touch
of man--even the wrong man--was, at times, a comfort.

She took up again with determined interest her relations to the
Institute, joining additional classes and pursuing a variety of topics
of study, in regard to some of which she consulted Littleton. She missed
his presence less than she had expected, especially after they had begun
to correspond and were able to keep in touch by letter. His letters were
delightful. They served her in her lecture courses, for they so clearly
and concisely expressed her views that she was able to use long extracts
from them word for word. And every now and then they contained a
respectful allusion which showed that he still retained a personal
interest in her. So the weeks slipped away and she was reasonably happy.
She was absorbed and there was nothing new to mar the tenor of her life,
though she was vaguely conscious that the loss of their little girl had
widened the breach between her and her husband--widened it for the
reason that now, for the first time, he perceived how lonely he was. The
baby had furnished him with constant delight and preoccupation. He had
looked forward all day to seeing it at night, and questions relating to
it had supplied a never-ceasing small change of conversation between him
and her. He had let her go her way with a smile on his face. Selma did
not choose to dwell on the situation, but it was obvious that Lewis
continued to look glum, and that there were apt to be long silences
between them at meals. Now and again he would show some impatience at
the continuous recurrence of the Institute classes as a bar to some
project of domesticity or recreation, as though she had not been an
active member of the Institute before baby was born.

One of the plans in which Mrs. Earle was most interested was a Congress
of Women's Clubs, and in the early summer of the same year--some four
months subsequent to the death of Muriel Grace--a small beginning toward
this end was arranged to take place in Chicago. There were to be six
delegates from each club, and Selma was unanimously selected as one of
the delegation from the Benham Women's Institute. The opinion was
generally expressed that a change would do her good, and t