And now his thoughts came back to Sylvia.  Once more he spoke aloud, in a strange and terrible voice, which was not his.  Every sound came with efforts that were new to him.

‘My wife!  Sylvie!  Once more—­forgive me all.’

She sprang up, she kissed his poor burnt lips; she held him in her arms, she moaned, and said,

‘Oh, wicked me! forgive me—­me—­Philip!’

Then he spoke, and said, ’Lord, forgive us our trespasses as we forgive each other!’ And after that the power of speech was conquered by the coming death.  He lay very still, his consciousness fast fading away, yet coming back in throbs, so that he knew it was Sylvia who touched his lips with cordial, and that it was Sylvia who murmured words of love in his ear.  He seemed to sleep at last, and so he did—­a kind of sleep, but the light of the red morning sun fell on his eyes, and with one strong effort he rose up, and turned so as once more to see his wife’s pale face of misery.

‘In heaven,’ he cried, and a bright smile came on his face, as he fell back on his pillow.

Not long after Hester came, the little Bella scarce awake in her arms, with the purpose of bringing his child to see him ere yet he passed away.  Hester had watched and prayed through the livelong night.  And now she found him dead, and Sylvia, tearless and almost unconscious, lying by him, her hand holding his, her other thrown around him.

Kester, poor old man, was sobbing bitterly; but she not at all.

Then Hester bore her child to her, and Sylvia opened wide her miserable eyes, and only stared, as if all sense was gone from her.  But Bella suddenly rousing up at the sight of the poor, scarred, peaceful face, cried out,—­

‘Poor man who was so hungry.  Is he not hungry now?’

‘No,’ said Hester, softly.  ’The former things are passed away—­and he is gone where there is no more sorrow, and no more pain.’

But then she broke down into weeping and crying.  Sylvia sat up and looked at her.

‘Why do yo’ cry, Hester?’ she said.  ‘Yo’ niver said that yo’ wouldn’t forgive him as long as yo’ lived.  Yo’ niver broke the heart of him that loved yo’, and let him almost starve at yo’r very door.  Oh, Philip! my Philip, tender and true.’

Then Hester came round and closed the sad half-open eyes; kissing the calm brow with a long farewell kiss.  As she did so, her eye fell on a black ribbon round his neck.  She partly lifted it out; to it was hung a half-crown piece.

‘This is the piece he left at William Darley’s to be bored,’ said she, ‘not many days ago.’

Bella had crept to her mother’s arms as a known haven in this strange place; and the touch of his child loosened the fountains of her tears.  She stretched out her hand for the black ribbon, put it round her own neck; after a while she said,

’If I live very long, and try hard to be very good all that time, do yo’ think, Hester, as God will let me to him where he is?’