soon--very soon!


VIII.


A week after my rejection, I went up to my chamber, and drew from the
depths of my wardrobe, the old coat which Annie had mended. I had promised
her to preserve it. I had kept my promise. Yes, there it was, just as I
had worn it at the hall--my shabby old coat of five years ago! I put it
on, smiling, and surveyed myself in a mirror. It was strangely
old-fashioned; but I did not think of that. I seemed to have returned, all
at once, to the past; its atmosphere embraced me; all its flowers bloomed
gaily before my eyes.

I looked at the hole in the elbow. There were Annie's stitches--her
fingers had clasped the worn, decayed cloth--the old garment had rested on
her arm!

I think I must have gazed at the coat for an hour, motionless in the
sunlight, and thinking of old days. Then I aroused myself, suddenly, put
on my hat, and, with a beating heart, went to ask if Annie remembered.

I shall not relate the details of our interview. She remembered! Oh, word
so sweet or so filled with sadness! with a world of sorrow or delight in
its sound! She remembered--and her heart could resist no longer. She
remembered the poor youth who had loved her so dearly--whom she, too, had
loved in the far away past. She remembered the days when her father was
well and happy--when his kind voice greeted me, and his smile gave me
friendly welcome. She remembered the old days, with their flowers and