"Of your sister's illness? It must have lasted long?"

"Long? Oh longer than long! No one thought of her living. The
doctors said the injury was too extensive to leave any power of
rallying; but she was young and strong, and did not die in the
torture, though people said that such an existence as remained to her
was not worth the anguish of struggling back to it. I think my
father only prayed that she might suffer less, and Julia stayed on
and on, thinking each day would be the last, till Dr. Long could not
spare her any longer; and then Lady Alison nursed her night after
night and day after day, till she had worn herself into an illness,
and when the doctors spoke of improvement, we only perceived worse
agony. It was eight months before she was even lifted up in bed, and
it was years before the burns ceased to be painful or the
constitution at all recovered the shock; and even now weather tells
on her, though since we have lived here she has been far better than
I ever dared to hope."

"Then you consider her still recovering?"

"In general health she is certainly greatly restored, and has
strength to attempt more, but the actual injury, the contraction, can
never be better than now. When we lived at Richmond she had
constantly the best advice, and we were told that nothing more could
be hoped for."

"I wonder more and more at her high spirits. I suppose that was what
chiefly helped to carry her through?"