’Ono。I’mastiredasadog。I’vehadagoodfeed，andIshallturninstraightoff。Iwanttogetoutatsixo’clockto-morrowifIcan……Ishan’tdisturbyoubymygettingup；itwillbelongbeforeyouareawake。’Andhecameforwardintotheroom。
Whilehereyesfollowedhismovements，Ellasoftlypushedthephotographfurtheroutofsight。
’Sureyou’renotill？’heasked，bendingoverher。
’No，onlywicked！’
’Nevermindthat。’Andhestoopedandkissedher。
NextmorningMarchmillwascalledatsixo’clock；andinwakingandyawningsheheardhimmutteringtohimself:’Whatthedeuceisthisthat’sbeencracklingundermeso？’Imaginingherasleephesearchedroundhimandwithdrewsomething。Throughherhalf-openedeyessheperceivedittobeMr。Trewe。
’Well，I’mdamned！’herhusbandexclaimed。
’What，dear？’saidshe。
’O，youareawake？Ha！ha！’
’WhatDOyoumean？’
’Somebloke’sphotograph——afriendofourlandlady’s，Isuppose。I
wonderhowitcamehere；whiskedoffthetablebyaccidentperhapswhentheyweremakingthebed。’
’Iwaslookingatityesterday，anditmusthavedroppedinthen。’
’O，he’safriendofyours？Blesshispicturesqueheart！’
Ella’sloyaltytotheobjectofheradmirationcouldnotenduretohearhimridiculed。’He’sacleverman！’shesaid，withatremorinhergentlevoicewhichsheherselffelttobeabsurdlyuncalledfor。
’Heisarisingpoet——thegentlemanwhooccupiedtwooftheseroomsbeforewecame，thoughI’veneverseenhim。’
’Howdoyouknow，ifyou’veneverseenhim？’
’Mrs。Hoopertoldmewhensheshowedmethephotograph。’
’O；well，Imustupandbeoff。Ishallbehomeratherearly。
SorryIcan’ttakeyouto-day，dear。Mindthechildrendon’tgogettingdrowned。’
ThatdayMrs。MarchmillinquiredifMr。Trewewerelikelytocallatanyothertime。
’Yes，’saidMrs。Hooper。’He’scomingthisdayweektostaywithafriendnearheretillyouleave。He’llbesuretocall。’
Marchmilldidreturnquiteearlyintheafternoon；and，openingsomeletterswhichhadarrivedinhisabsence，declaredsuddenlythatheandhisfamilywouldhavetoleaveaweekearlierthantheyhadexpectedtodo——inshort，inthreedays。
’Surelywecanstayaweeklonger？’shepleaded。’Ilikeithere。’
’Idon’t。Itisgettingratherslow。’
’Thenyoumightleavemeandthechildren！’
’Howperverseyouare，Ell！What’stheuse？Andhavetocometofetchyou！No:we’llallreturntogether；andwe’llmakeoutourtimeinNorthWalesorBrightonalittlelateron。Besides，you’vethreedayslongeryet。’
Itseemedtobeherdoomnottomeetthemanforwhoserivaltalentshehadadespairingadmiration，andtowhosepersonshewasnowabsolutelyattached。Yetshedeterminedtomakealasteffort；andhavinggatheredfromherlandladythatTrewewaslivinginalonelyspotnotfarfromthefashionabletownontheIslandopposite，shecrossedoverinthepacketfromtheneighbouringpierthefollowingafternoon。
Whatauselessjourneyitwas！Ellaknewbutvaguelywherethehousestood，andwhenshefanciedshehadfoundit，andventuredtoinquireofapedestrianifhelivedthere，theanswerreturnedbythemanwasthathedidnotknow。Andifhedidlivethere，howcouldshecalluponhim？Somewomenmighthavetheassurancetodoit，butshehadnot。Howcrazyhewouldthinkher。Shemighthaveaskedhimtocalluponher，perhaps；butshehadnotthecourageforthat，either。Shelingeredmournfullyaboutthepicturesqueseasideeminencetillitwastimetoreturntothetownandenterthesteamerforrecrossing，reachinghomefordinnerwithouthavingbeengreatlymissed。
Atthelastmoment，unexpectedlyenough，herhusbandsaidthatheshouldhavenoobjectiontolettingherandthechildrenstayontilltheendoftheweek，sinceshewishedtodoso，ifshefeltherselfabletogethomewithouthim。Sheconcealedthepleasurethisextensionoftimegaveher；andMarchmillwentoffthenextmorningalone。
Buttheweekpassed，andTrewedidnotcall。
OnSaturdaymorningtheremainingmembersoftheMarchmillfamilydepartedfromtheplacewhichhadbeenproductiveofsomuchfervourinher。Thedreary，drearytrain；thesunshininginmotedbeamsuponthehotcushions；thedustypermanentway；themeanrowsofwire——thesethingswereheraccompaniment:whileoutofthewindowthedeepbluesea-levelsdisappearedfromhergaze，andwiththemherpoet’shome。Heavy-hearted，shetriedtoread，andweptinstead。
Mr。Marchmillwasinathrivingwayofbusiness，andheandhisfamilylivedinalargenewhouse，whichstoodinratherextensivegroundsafewmilesoutsidethecitywhereinhecarriedonhistrade。Ella’slifewaslonelyhere，asthesuburbanlifeisapttobe，particularlyatcertainseasons；andshehadampletimetoindulgehertasteforlyricandelegiaccomposition。ShehadhardlygotbackwhensheencounteredapiecebyRobertTreweinthenewnumberofherfavouritemagazine，whichmusthavebeenwrittenalmostimmediatelybeforehervisittoSolentsea，foritcontainedtheverycoupletshehadseenpencilledonthewallpaperbythebed，andMrs。Hooperhaddeclaredtoberecent。Ellacouldresistnolonger，butseizingapenimpulsively，wrotetohimasabrother-
poet，usingthenameofJohnIvy，congratulatinghiminherletteronhistriumphantexecutionsinmetreandrhythmofthoughtsthatmovedhissoul，ascomparedwithherownbrow-beateneffortsinthesamepathetictrade。
Tothisaddresstherecamearesponseinafewdays，littleasshehaddaredtohopeforit——acivilandbriefnote，inwhichtheyoungpoetstatedthat，thoughhewasnotwellacquaintedwithMr。Ivy’sverse，herecalledthenameasbeingonehehadseenattachedtosomeverypromisingpieces；thathewasgladtogainMr。Ivy’sacquaintancebyletter，andshouldcertainlylookwithmuchinterestforhisproductionsinthefuture。
Theremusthavebeensomethingjuvenileortimidinherownepistle，asoneostensiblycomingfromaman，shedeclaredtoherself；forTrewequiteadoptedthetoneofanelderandsuperiorinthisreply。
Butwhatdiditmatter？hehadreplied；hehadwrittentoherwithhisownhandfromthatveryroomsheknewsowell，forhewasnowbackagaininhisquarters。
Thecorrespondencethusbegunwascontinuedfortwomonthsormore，EllaMarchmillsendinghimfromtimetotimesomethatsheconsideredtobethebestofherpieces，whichheverykindlyaccepted，thoughhedidnotsayhesedulouslyreadthem，nordidhesendheranyofhisowninreturn。EllawouldhavebeenmorehurtatthisthanshewasifshehadnotknownthatTrewelabouredundertheimpressionthatshewasoneofhisownsex。
Yetthesituationwasunsatisfactory。Aflatteringlittlevoicetoldherthat，wereheonlytoseeher，matterswouldbeotherwise。
Nodoubtshewouldhavehelpedonthisbymakingafrankconfessionofwomanhood，tobeginwith，ifsomethinghadnothappened，toherdelight，torenderitunnecessary。Afriendofherhusband’s，theeditorofthemostimportantnewspaperinthecityandcounty，whowasdiningwiththemoneday，observedduringtheirconversationaboutthepoetthathis(theeditor’s)brotherthelandscape-painterwasafriendofMr。Trewe’s，andthatthetwomenwereatthatverymomentinWalestogether。
Ellawasslightlyacquaintedwiththeeditor’sbrother。Thenextmorningdownshesatandwrote，invitinghimtostayatherhouseforashorttimeonhiswayback，andrequestinghimtobringwithhim，ifpracticable，hiscompanionMr。Trewe，whoseacquaintanceshewasanxioustomake。Theanswerarrivedaftersomefewdays。HercorrespondentandhisfriendTrewewouldhavemuchsatisfactioninacceptingherinvitationontheirwaysouthward，whichwouldbeonsuchandsuchadayinthefollowingweek。
Ellawasblitheandbuoyant。Herschemehadsucceeded；herbelovedthoughasyetunseenonewascoming。“Behold，hestandethbehindourwall；helookedforthatthewindows，showinghimselfthroughthelattice，“shethoughtecstatically。“And，lo，thewinterispast，therainisoverandgone，theflowersappearontheearth，thetimeofthesingingofbirdsiscome，andthevoiceoftheturtleisheardinourland。“
Butitwasnecessarytoconsiderthedetailsoflodgingandfeedinghim。Thisshedidmostsolicitously，andawaitedthepregnantdayandhour。
Itwasaboutfiveintheafternoonwhensheheardaringatthedoorandtheeditor’sbrother’svoiceinthehall。Poetessasshewas，orasshethoughtherself，shehadnotbeentoosublimethatdaytodresswithinfinitetroubleinafashionablerobeofrichmaterial，havingafaintresemblancetothechitonoftheGreeks，astylejusttheninvogueamongladiesofanartisticandromanticturn，whichhadbeenobtainedbyEllaofherBondStreetdressmakerwhenshewaslastinLondon。Hervisitorenteredthedrawing-room。Shelookedtowardshisrear；nobodyelsecamethroughthedoor。Where，inthenameoftheGodofLove，wasRobertTrewe？
’O，I’msorry，’saidthepainter，aftertheirintroductorywordshadbeenspoken。’Treweisacuriousfellow，youknow，Mrs。Marchmill。
Hesaidhe’dcome；thenhesaidhecouldn’t。He’sratherdusty。
We’vebeendoingafewmileswithknapsacks，youknow；andhewantedtogetonhome。’
’He——he’snotcoming？’
’He’snot；andheaskedmetomakehisapologies。’
