else!" exclaimed the other. "The last state of that man would be worse
than the first. You must make up your mind to that. And you mustn't show
that you're nervous about it. You mustn't get nervous! You mustn't be
afraid of things. Just you keep a stiff upper lip, and say you WILL get
along, you WILL be happy. That's your only chance, Alice. He isn't going
to be an angel of light, or a saint, or anything of that sort, and it's
no good expecting it. But he'll be just an average kind of man--a little
sore about some things, a little wiser than he was about some others.
You can get along perfectly with him, if you only keep your courage up,
and don't show the white feather."

"Yes, I know; but I've had it pretty well taken out of me," commented
Alice. "It used to come easy to me to be cheerful and resolute and all
that; but it's different now."

Sister Soulsby stole a swift glance at the unsuspecting face of her
companion which was not all admiration, but her voice remained patiently
affectionate. "Oh, that'll all come back to you, right enough. You'll
have your hands full, you know, finding a house, and unpacking all your
old furniture, and buying new things, and getting your home settled.
It'll keep you so busy you won't have time to feel strange or lonesome,
one bit. You'll see how it'll tone you up. In a year's time you won't
know yourself in the looking-glass."

"Oh, my health is good enough," said Alice; "but I can't help thinking,
suppose Theron should be taken sick again, away out there among
strangers. You know he's never appeared to me to have quite got his
strength back. These long illnesses, you know, they always leave a mark
on a man."