putting up my things, she continued to rock herself to and fro,
to give little starts and cries, and to gaze thoughtfully at
the ground with eyes which had now regained their original
colour. At last she rose to her feet.

"You are not going yet? " I queried protestingly.

"Yes, I must."

"But--"

"The Blessed Virgin will go with me. So please hand me over the
child."

"No, I will carry him."

And, after a contest for the honour, she yielded, and we walked
away side by side.

"I only wish I were a little steadier on my feet," she remarked
with an apologetic smile as she laid a hand upon my shoulder,

Meanwhile, the new citizen of Russia, the little human being of an
unknown future, was snoring soundly in my arms as the sea
plashed and murmured, and threw off its white shavings, and the
bushes whispered together, and the sun (now arrived at the
meridian) shone brightly upon us all.

In calm content it was that we walked; save that now and then
the mother would halt, draw a deep breath, raise her head, scan