"'May He bless and protect you, Marie.'

"'He went off that same day. For the first few months his letters to
me were frequent, and always filled with sentiments of love and
constancy. Then the intervals became longer, and longer, then ceased
altogether. 'He is in a large city, I thought, and in the whirl of
excitement, he has already forgotten me; some other, perhaps, has
taken my place; his heart has another idol. No, I reasoned with
myself; that cannot be, he has become very poor and has married for
money, thinking I would never relent.'

"'Months passed rapidly away, faded into years, and yet no tidings
came. This silence and uncertainty were wearing tear channels down my
cheeks. I waited on; and though pained and sickened, like a true
woman I never allowed my tongue to disclose the anguish I suffered.
The wolf was gnawing at my heart; if the lines I felt growing more
marked on my features did not tell the story, it was my secret, and I
kept it.'

"'One morning, after an absence of three years, John suddenly made his
appearance--without a note of warning. He seemed somewhat older, and
his face had lost that impetuous look of boyhood. But he was handsome
ever, and just the same loving fellow.'

"'I am so rejoiced to be at home again. I have been thinking of you
constantly, Marie.'

"'Why, then, have you been absent so long, and why for two years have
you not written to me--not even a line?'