reluctantly compelled to refuse compliance with this request, in
justice to the claims of my lord's housekeeper; who had been
accustomed to exercise undivided authority in the household, and
who had made every preparation for my comfort. With her own
hands, Mrs. Mozeen packed everything that I required, including
the medicines prescribed for the occasion. She was deeply
affected, poor soul, when we parted.

I bore the journey--happily for me, it was a short one--better
than had been anticipated. For the first few days that followed,
the purer air of the country seemed, in some degree, to revive
me. But the deadly sense of weakness, the slow sinking of the
vital power in me, returned as the time drew near for the
marriage. The ceremony was performed at night. Only Susan and her
mother were present. No persons in the house but ourselves had
the faintest suspicion of what had happened.

I signed my new will (the priest and Mrs. Rymer being the
witnesses) in my bed that night. It left everything that I
possessed, excepting a legacy to Mrs. Mozeen, to my wife.

Obliged, it is needless to say, to preserve appearances, Susan
remained at the lodge as usual. But it was impossible to resist
her entreaty to be allowed to attend on me, for a few hours
daily, as assistant to the regular nurse. When she was alone with
me, and had no inquisitive eyes to dread, the poor girl showed a
depth of feeling, which I was unable to reconcile with the
motives that could alone have induced her (as I then supposed) to
consent to the mockery of our marriage. On occasions when I was
so far able to resist the languor that oppressed me as to observe