’Oh！itisgoodtohearyoumovingabout，’saidDick，rubbinghishands。
　　’Tellusallaboutyourbarsuccesses，Bessie，andthewayyoulivenow。’
　　’NevermindthatI’mquiterespectable，asyou’dseebylookingatme。
　　Youdon’tseemtolivetoowellWhatmadeyougoblindthatsudden？
　　Whyisn’tthereanyonetolookafteryou？’
　　Dickwastoothankfulforthesoundofhervoicetoresentthetoneofit。
　　’Iwascutacrosstheheadalongtimeago，andthatruinedmyeyes。
　　I
　　don’tsupposeanybodythinksitworthwhiletolookaftermeanymore。
　　Whyshouldthey？——andMrBeetonreallydoeseverythingIwant。’
　　’Don’tyouknowanygentlemenandladies，then，whileyouwas——well？’
　　’Afew，butIdon’tcaretohavethemlookingatme。’
　　’Isupposethat’swhyyou’vegrowedabeardTakeitoff，itdon’tbecomeyou。’
　　’Goodgracious，child，doyouimaginethatIthinkofwhatbecomesofmethesedays？’
　　’YououghtGetthattakenoffbeforeIcomehereagainIsupposeIcancome，can’tI？’
　　’I’dbeonlytoogratefulifyoudidIdon’tthinkItreatedyouverywellintheolddaysIusedtomakeyouangry。’
　　’Veryangry，youdid。’
　　’I’msorryforit，thenComeandseemewhenyoucanandasoftenasyoucanGodknows，thereisn’tasoulintheworldtotakethattroubleexceptyouandMrBeeton。’
　　’Alotoftroublehe’stakingandshetoo。’Thiswithatossofthehead。
　　’They’veletyoudoanyhowandtheyhaven’tdoneanythingforyou。
　　I’veonlytolookandseethatmuchI’llcome，andI’llbegladtocome，butyoumustgoandbeshaved，andyoumustgetsomeotherclothes——thoseonesaren’tfittobeseen。’
　　’Ihaveheapssomewhere，’hesaidhelplessly。
　　’IknowyouhaveTellMrBeetontogiveyouanewsuitandI’llbrushitandkeepitcleanYoumaybeasblindasabarn-door，MrHeldar，butitdoesn’texcuseyoulookinglikeasweep。’
　　’DoIlooklikeasweep，then？’
　　’Oh，I’msorryforyouI’mthatsorryforyou！’shecriedimpulsively，andtookDick’shandsMechanically，heloweredhisheadasiftokiss——shewastheonlywomanwhohadtakenpityonhim，andhewasnottooproudforalittlepitynowShestooduptogo。
　　’Nothingo’thatkindtillyoulookmorelikeagentlemanIt’squiteeasywhenyougetshaved，andsomeclothes。’
　　Hecouldhearherdrawingonherglovesandrosetosaygood-bye。
　　Shepassedbehindhim，kissedhimaudaciouslyonthebackoftheneck，andranawayasswiftlyasonthedaywhenshehaddestroyedtheMelancolia。
　　’TothinkofmekissingMrHeldar，’shesaidtoherself，’afterallhe’sdonetomeandall！Well，I’msorryforhim，andifhewasshavedhewouldn’tbesobadtolookat，butOhthemBeetons，howshamefulthey’vetreatedhim！IknowBeeton’swearinghisshirtonhisbackto-dayjustaswellasifI’daireditTo-morrow，I’llseeIwonderifhehasmuchofhisownItmightbeworthmorethanthebar——Iwouldn’thavetodoanywork——andjustasrespectableasifnooneknew。’
　　DickwasnotgratefultoBessieforherpartinggiftHewasacutelyconsciousofitinthenapeofhisneckthroughoutthenight，butitseemed，amongverymanyotherthings，toenforcethewisdomofgettingshaved。
　　Hewasshavedaccordinglyinthemorning，andfeltthebetterforitA
　　freshsuitofclothes，whitelinen，andtheknowledgethatsomeoneintheworldsaidthatshetookaninterestinhispersonalappearancemadehimcarryhimselfalmostupright；forthebrainwasrelievedforawhilefromthinkingofMaisie，who，underothercircumstances，mighthavegiventhatkissandamillionothers。
　　’Letusconsider，’saidhe，afterlunch’Thegirlcan’tcare，andit’satoss-upwhethershecomesagainornot，butifmoneycanbuyhertolookaftermesheshallbeboughtNobodyelseintheworldwouldtakethetrouble，andIcanmakeitworthherwhileShe’sachildofthegutterholdingbrevetrankasabarmaid；sosheshallhaveeverythingshewantsifshe’llonlycomeandtalkandlookafterme。’Herubbedhisnewlyshornchinandbegantoperplexhimselfwiththethoughtofhernotcoming’IsupposeIdidlookratherasweep，’hewenton’IhadnoreasontolookotherwiseIknewthingsdroppedonmyclothes，butitdidn’tmatterItwouldbecruelifshedidn’tcomeShemust。
　　Maisiecameonce，andthatwasenoughforherShewasquiterightShehadsomethingtoworkforThiscreaturehasonlybeer-handlestopull，unlessshehasdeludedsomeyoungmanintokeepingcompanywithher。
　　Fancybeingcheatedforthesakeofacounter-jumper！We’refallingprettylow。’
　　Somethingcriedaloudwithinhim：——ThiswillhurtmorethananythingthathasgonebeforeItwillrecallandremindandsuggestandtantalise，andintheenddriveyoumad。
　　’Iknowit，Iknowit！’Dickcried，clenchinghishandsdespairingly；
　　’but，goodheavens！isapoorblindbeggarnevertogetanythingoutofhislifeexceptthreemealsadayandagreasywaistcoat？Iwishshe’dcome。’
　　Earlyintheafternoontimeshecame，becausetherewasnoyoungmaninherlifejustthen，andshethoughtofmaterialadvantageswhichwouldallowhertobeidlefortherestofherdays。
　　’Ishouldn’thaveknownyou，’shesaidapprovingly’Youlookasyouusedtolook——agentlemanthatwasproudofhimself。’
　　’Don’tyouthinkIdeserveanotherkiss，then？’saidDick，flushingalittle。
　　’Maybe——butyouwon’tgetityetSitdownandlet’sseewhatIcandoforyouI’mcertainsureMrBeetoncheatsyou，nowthatyoucan’tgothroughthehousekeepingbookseverymonthIsn’tthattrue？’
　　’You’dbettercomeandhousekeepformethen，Bessie。’
　　’Couldn’tdoitinthesechambers——youknowthataswellasIdo。’
　　’Iknow，butwemightgosomewhereelse，ifyouthoughtitworthyourwhile。’
　　’I’dtrytolookafteryou，anyhow；butIshouldn’tcaretohavetoworkforbothofus。’Thiswastentative。
　　Dicklaughed。
　　’DoyourememberwhereIusedtokeepmybank-book？’saidhe。
　　’TorptookittobebalancedjustbeforehewentawayLookandsee。’
　　’Itwasgenerallyunderthetobacco-jarAh！’
　　’Well？’
　　’Oh！Fourthousandtwohundredandtenpoundsnineshillingsandapenny！Ohmy！’
　　’YoucanhavethepennyThat’snotbadforoneyear’sworkIsthatandahundredandtwentypoundsayeargoodenough？’
　　Theidlenessandtheprettyclotheswerealmostwithinherreachnow，butshemust，bybeinghousewifely，showthatshedeservedthem。
　　’Yes；butyou’dhavetomove，andifwetookaninventory，Ithinkwe’dfindthatMrBeetonhasbeenprigginglittlethingsoutoftheroomshereandthereTheydon’tlookasfullastheyused。’
　　’Nevermind，we’lllethimhavethemTheonlythingI’mparticularlyanxioustotakeawayisthatpictureIusedyoufor——whenyouusedtoswearatmeWe’llpulloutofthisplace，Bess，andgetawayasfaraseverwecan。’
　　’Ohyes，’shesaiduneasily。
　　’Idon’tknowwhereIcangotogetawayfrommyself，butI’lltry，andyoushallhavealltheprettyfrocksthatyoucareforYou’lllikethat。
　　Givemethatkissnow，BessYegods！it’sgoodtoputone’sarmroundawoman’swaistagain。’
　　ThencamethefulfilmentoftheprophecywithinthebrainIfhisarmwerethusroundMaisie’swaistandakisshadjustbeengivenandtakenbetweenthem，——whythenHepressedthegirlmorecloselytohimselfbecausethepainwhippedhimShewaswonderinghowtoexplainalittleaccidenttotheMelancoliaAtanyrate，ifthismanreallydesiredthesolaceofhercompany——andcertainlyhewouldrelapseintohisoriginalsloughifshewithdrewit——hewouldnotbemorethanjustalittlevexed。
　　Itwouldbedelightfulatleasttoseewhatwouldhappen，andbyherteachingsitwasgoodforamantostandincertainaweofhiscompanion。
　　Shelaughednervously，andslippedoutofhisreach。
　　’Ishouldn’tworritaboutthatpictureifIwasyou，’shebegan，inthehopeofturninghisattention。
　　’It’satthebackofallmycanvasessomewhereFindit，Bess；youknowitaswellasIdo。’
　　’Iknow——but——’
　　’Butwhat？You’vewitenoughtomanagethesaleofittoadealer。
　　WomenhagglemuchbetterthanmenItmightbeamatterofeightorninehundredpoundsto——tousIsimplydidn’tliketothinkaboutitforalongtimeItwasmixedupwithmylifeso——Butwe’llcoverupourtracksandgetridofeverything，eh？Makeafreshstartfromthebeginning，Bess。’
　　Thenshebegantorepentverymuchindeed，becausesheknewthevalueofmoneyStill，itwasprobablethattheblindmanwasoverestimatingthevalueofhisworkGentlemen，sheknew，wereabsurdlyparticularabouttheirthingsShegiggledasanervoushousemaidgiggleswhenshetriestoexplainthebreakageofapipe。
　　’I’mverysorry，butyourememberIwas——IwasangrywithyoubeforeMrTorpenhowwentaway？’
　　’Youwereveryangry，child；andonmywordIthinkyouhadsomerighttobe。’
　　’ThenI——butaren’tyousureMrTorpenhowdidn’ttellyou？’
　　’Tellmewhat？Goodgracious，whatareyoumakingsuchafussaboutwhenyoumightjustaswellbegivingmeanotherkiss？’
　　Hewasbeginningtolearn，notforthefirsttimeinhisexperience，thatkissingisacumulativepoisonThemoreyougetofit，themoreyouwant。
　　Bessiegavethekisspromptly，whispering，asshedidso，’IwassoangryI
　　rubbedoutthatpicturewiththeturpentineYouaren’tangry，areyou？’
　　’What？Saythatagain。’Theman’shandhadclosedonherwrist。
　　’Irubbeditoutwithturpsandtheknife，’falteredBessie’Ithoughtyou’donlyhavetodoitoveragainYoudiddoitoveragain，didn’tyou？
　　Oh，letgoofmywrist；you’rehurtingme。’
　　’Isn’tthereanythingleftofthething？’
　　’N’nothingthatlookslikeanythingI’msorry——Ididn’tknowyou’dtakeonaboutit；IonlymeanttodoitinfunYouaren’tgoingtohitme？’
　　’Hityou！No！Let’sthink。’
　　Hedidnotrelaxhisholduponherwristbutstoodstaringatthecarpet。
　　Thenheshookhisheadasayoungsteershakesitwhenthelashofthestock-whipcrosshisnosewarnshimbacktothepathontotheshamblesthathewouldescapeForweekshehadforcedhimselfnottothinkoftheMelancolia，becauseshewasapartofhisdeadlifeWithBessie’sreturnandcertainnewprospectsthathaddevelopedthemselves，theMelancolia——lovelierinhisimaginationthanshehadeverbeenoncanvas——reappearedByheraidhemighthaveprocuredmormoneywherewithtoamuseBessandtoforgetMaisie，aswellasanothertasteofanalmostforgottensuccessNow，thankstoaviciouslittlehousemaid’sfolly，therewasnothingtolookfor——noteventhehopethathemightsomedaytakeanabidinginterestinthehousemaidWorstofall，hehadbeenmadetoappearridiculousinMaisie’seyesAwomanwillforgivethemanwhohasruinedherlife’sworksolongashegivesherlove；amanmayforgivethosewhoruintheloveofhislife，buthewillneverforgivethedestructionofhiswork。
　　’Tck——tck——tck，’saidDickbetweenhisteeth，andthenlaughedsoftly’It’sanomen，Bessie，and——agoodmanythingsconsidered，itservesmerightfordoingwhatIhavedoneByJove！thataccountsforMaisie’srunningawayShemusthavethoughtmeperfectlymad——smallblametoher！Thewholepictureruined，isn’titso？Whatmadeyoudoit？’
　　’BecauseIwasthatangryI’mnotangrynow——I’mawfulsorry。’
　　’Iwonder——Itdoesn’tmatter，anyhowI’mtoblameformakingthemistake。’
　　’Whatmistake？’
　　’Somethingyouwouldn’tunderstand，dearGreatheavens！tothinkthatalittlepieceofdirtlikeyoucouldthrowmeoutofstride！’DickwastalkingtohimselfasBessietriedtoshakeoffhisgriponherwrist。
　　’Iain’tapieceofdirt，andyoushouldn’tcallmeso！Ididit’causeI
　　hatedyou，andI’monlysorrynow’causeyou’re——’causeyou’re——’
　　’Exactly——becauseI’mblindThere’snotingliketactinlittlethings。’
　　BessiebegantosobShedidnotlikebeingshackledagainstherwill；shewasafraidoftheblindfaceandthelookuponit，andwassorrytoothathergreatrevengehadonlymadeDicklaugh。
　　’Don’tcry，’hesaid，andtookherintohisarms’Youonlydidwhatyouthoughtright。’