esence of the ladies permitted,
which I lavished upon workmen in general, and these strikers in
particular. I had abundant sympathy from those about me, and the
remarks made in the desultory conversation which followed, upon the
unprincipled conduct of the labor agitators, were calculated to make
those gentlemen's ears tingle. It was agreed that affairs were going
from bad to worse very fast, and that there was no telling what we
should come to soon. "The worst of it," I remember Mrs. Bartlett's
saying, "is that the working classes all over the world seem to be
going crazy at once. In Europe it is far worse even than here. I'm
sure I should not dare to live there at all. I asked Mr. Bartlett the
other day where we should emigrate to if all the terrible things took
place which those socialists threaten. He said he did not know any
place now where society could be called stable except Greenland,
Patagonia, and the Chinese Empire." "Those Chinamen knew what they
were about," somebody added, "when they refused to let in our western
civilization. They knew what it would lead to better than we did. They
saw it was nothing but dynamite in disguise."

After this, I remember drawing Edith apart and trying to persuade her
that it would be better to be married at once without waiting for the
completion of the house, spending the time in travel till our home
was ready for us. She was remarkably handsome that evening, the
mourning costume that she wore in recognition of the day setting off
to great advantage the purity of her complexion. I can see her even
now with my mind's eye just as she looked that night. When I took my
leave she followed me into the hall and I kissed her good-by as usual.
There was no circumstance out of the common to distinguish this
parting from previous occasions when we had bade each other good-by
for a night or a day. There was absolutely no premonition in my mind,
or I am sure in hers, that this was more than an ordinary separation.

Ah, well!

The hour at which I had left my betrothed was a rather early one for a
lover, but the fact was no reflection on my devotion. I was a
confirmed sufferer from insomnia, and although otherwise perfectly
well had been completely fagged out that day, from having slept
scarcely at all the two previous nights. Edith knew this and had
insisted on sending me home by nine o'clock, with strict orders to go
to bed at once.

The house in which I lived had been occupied by