[My private opinion is, that there was no small amount of punch absorbed on those two occasions, which I think I heard of at the time];—­but the offer is a kind one, and it is n’t fair to question how he would like sitting up without the punch and the company and the songs and smoking.  He means what he says, and it would be a more considerable achievement for him to sit quietly all night by a sick man than for a good many other people.  I tell you this odd thing:  there are a good many persons, who, through the habit of making other folks uncomfortable, by finding fault with all their cheerful enjoyments, at last get up a kind of hostility to comfort in general, even in their own persons.  The correlative to loving our neighbors as ourselves is hating ourselves as we hate our neighbors.  Look at old misers; first they starve their dependants, and then themselves.  So I think it more for a lively young fellow to be ready to play nurse than for one of those useful but forlorn martyrs who have taken a spite against themselves and love to gratify it by fasting and watching.

—­The time came at last for me to make my visit.  I found Iris sitting by the Little Gentleman’s pillow.  To my disappointment, the room was darkened.  He did not like the light, and would have the shutters kept nearly closed.  It was good enough for me; what business had I to be indulging my curiosity, when I had nothing to do but to exercise such skill as I possessed for the benefit of my patient?  There was not much to be said or done in such a case; but I spoke as encouragingly as I could, as I think we are always bound to do.  He did not seem to pay any very anxious attention, but the poor girl listened as if her own life and more than her own life were depending on the words I uttered.  She followed me out of the room, when I had got through my visit.

How long?—­she said.

Uncertain.  Any time; to-day,—­next week, next month,—­I answered.—­One of those cases where the issue is not doubtful, but may be sudden or slow.

The women of the house were kind, as women always are in trouble.  But Iris pretended that nobody could spare the time as well as she, and kept her place, hour after hour, until the landlady insisted that she’d be killin’ herself, if she begun at that rate, ‘n’ haf to give up, if she didn’t want to be clean beat out in less ’n a week.

At the table we were graver than common.  The high chair was set back against the wall, and a gap left between that of the young girl and her nearest neighbor’s on the right.  But the next morning, to our great surprise, that good-looking young Marylander had very quietly moved his own chair to the vacant place.  I thought he was creeping down that way, but I was not prepared for a leap spanning such a tremendous parenthesis of boarders as this change of position included.  There was no denying that the youth and maiden were a handsome pair, as they sat side by