But when the seasons changed again, and with the last days of November came the bleak northwestern winds that stripped the last leaves from the bare trees, and covered the ground with snow and bound up the streams with ice, and drove the birds to the South, the lovers withdrew within doors, and spent many hours beside the humble cottage fireside.

Here for the first time Herman had ample opportunity of finding out how very poor the sisters really were, and how very hard one of them at least worked.

And from the abundance of his own resources he would have supplied their wants and relieved them from this excess of toil, but that there was a reserve of honest pride in these poor girls that forbade them to accept his pressing offers.

“But this is my own family now,” said Herman.  “Nora is my wife and Hannah is my sister-in-law, and it is equally my duty and pleasure to provide for them.”

“No, Herman!  No, dear Herman! we cannot be considered as your family until you publicly acknowledge us as such.  Dear Herman, do not think me cold or ungrateful, when I say to you that it would give me pain and mortification to receive anything from you, until I do so as your acknowledged wife,” said Nora.

“You give everything—­you give your hand, your heart, yourself! and you will take nothing,” said the young man sadly.

“Yes, I take as much as I give!  I take your hand, your heart, and yourself in return for mine.  That is fair; but I will take no more until as your wife I take the head of your establishment,” said Nora proudly.

“Hannah, is this right?  She is my wife; she promised to obey me, and she defies me—­I ask you is this right?”

“Yes, Mr. Brudenell.  When she is your acknowledged wife, in your house, then she will obey and never ‘defy’ you, as you call it; but now it is quite different; she has not the shield of your name, and she must take care of her own self-respect until you relieve her of the charge,” said the elder sister gravely.

“Hannah, you are a terrible duenna!  You would be an acquisition to some crabbed old Spaniard who had a beautiful young wife to look after!  Now I want you to tell me how on earth my burning up that old loom and wheel, and putting a little comfortable furniture in this room, and paying you sufficient to support you both, can possibly hurt her self-respect?” demanded Herman.

“It will do more than that! it will hurt her character, Mr. Brudenell; and that should be as dear to you as to herself.”

“It is! it is the dearest thing in life to me!  But how should what I propose to do hurt either her self-respect or her character?  You have not told me that yet!”

“This way, Mr. Brudenell!  If we were to accept your offers, our neighbors would talk of us.”

“Neighbors! why, Hannah, what neighbors have you?  In all the months that I have been coming here, I have not chanced to meet a single soul!”