rooped on her bosom. She seemed ready to
drop with exhaustion.

"Sit down, sit down, or you will fall!" said Frank, leading her to a
chair; and as he led her, he whispered with fluttering heart, new to its
own happiness, and longing to make assurance sure--"What thought?"

She was silent still; but he felt her hand tremble in his.

"The thought of me?"

She looked up in his face; how beautiful! And in another moment, neither
knew how, she was clasped to his bosom.

He covered her face, her hair with kisses: she did not move; from that
moment she felt that he was her husband.

"Oh, guide me! counsel me! pray for me!" sobbed she. "I am all alone,
and my poor sister, she is going mad, I think, and I have no one to
trust but you; and you--you will leave me to go to those dreadful wars;
and then, what will become of me? Oh, stay! only a few days!" and
holding him convulsively, she answered his kisses with her own.

Frank stood as in a dream, while the room reeled round and vanished; and
he was alone for a moment upon earth with her and his great love.

"Tell me," said he, at last, trying to awaken himself to action. "Tell
me! Is she really going to seek him?"

"Yes, selfish and forgetful that I am! You must help me! she will go to
London, nothing can stop her;--and it will kill her!"

"It may drive her mad to keep her here."

"It will! and that drives me mad also. What can I choose!"

"Follow where God leads. It is she, after all, who must reclaim him.
Leave her in God's hands, and go with her to London."

"But my brother?"

"Mellot or I will see him. Let it be me. Mellot shall go with you to
London."

"Oh that you were going!"

"Oh that I were! I will follow, though. Do you think that I can be long
away from you?... But I must tell your brother. I had a very different
matter on which to speak to him this morning," said he, with a sad
smile: "but better as it is. He shall find me, I hope, reasonable and
trustworthy in this matter; perhaps enough so to have my Valencia
committed to me. Precious jewel! I must learn to be a man now, at least;
now that I have you to care for."

"And yet you go and leave me?"

"Valencia! Because God has given us to each other, shall our
thank-offering be to shrink cowardly from His work?"

He spoke more sternly than he intended, to awe into obedience rather
himself than her; for he felt, poor fellow, his courage failing fast,
while he held that treasure in his arms.

She