She bit her under lip between
her teeth; she pressed her feet against the bed, and grasped the loose
clothes with the hand which was disengaged. The virtue on which her
husband most prided himself was calmness and self-possession in
affliction. She knew that he now expected that virtue from her, and that
nothing would so grieve him as to see her render herself weakly up to
her sorrow, and she strove hard to control it; but all her exertion did
not enable her to answer him. It seemed almost miraculous to herself
that she could sit there, and retain her consciousness, and hear him
utter such words. Had she attempted to speak, the effort would have
overcome her.
"For heaven's sake, Victorine, let nothing, let nobody deceive you; know
the worst, and look to Christ for power to bear it, and you will find
the burden not too heavy to be borne. You and I, love, must part in this
world. We have passed our lives together without one shadow to darken
the joy of our union: we have been greatly blessed beyond others.
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