curtain, showed Mary the boy, again sunk into that sweet refreshing
sleep. 'That is well over,' he said, with a deep sigh of relief,
when they had moved to a safe distance. 'Poor fellow! he had better
become used to the idea while he is too weak to think.'

'He is better?' asked Mary, repressing her agitation with difficulty.

'I believe the danger is over; and you may tell his sister so when
she wakes.'




CHAPTER III



And a heart at leisure from itself
To soothe and sympathize.--Miss Waring


Recovery had fairly set in, and 'better' was the universal bulletin,
eating and drinking the prevailing remedy.

Henry Ward had quickly thrown off his illness. The sense that all
depended on him, acted as a stimulus to his energies; he was anxious
to be up and doing, and in a few days was down-stairs, looking over
his father's papers, and making arrangements. He was eager and
confident, declaring that his sisters should never want a home while
he lived; and, when he first entered his brother's room, his effusion