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friend Brian. He delighted in hearing his name from her lips,
although knowing that it was no good augury. He lived on from day
to day, thinking very little of the doubtful future as long as he
could serve her in the present. A reserved and silent man, devoted
to his profession, and to practical science of every kind, few
people guessed that he could have any particular story of his own.
He was not at all the sort of man who would be expected to fall
hopelessly in love at first sight, nor would any one have selected
him as a good modern specimen of the chivalrous knight of olden
times; he was so completely a nineteenthcentury man, so
progressive, so scientific. But, though his devotion was of the
silent order, it was, perhaps for that reason, all the truer.
There was about him a sort of divine patience. As long as he could
serve Erica, he was content to wait any number of years in the hope
of winning her love. He accepted his position readily. He knew
that she had not the slightest love for him. He was quite
secondary to his father, even, who was one of Erica's heroes. He
liked to make her talk of him; her enthusiastic liking was
delightful perhaps all the more so because she was far from
agreeing with her prophet. Brian, with the wonderful
selfforgetfulness of true love, liked to hear the praises of all
those whom she admired; he liked to realize what were her ideals,
even when conscious how far he fell short of them.
For it was unfortunately true that his was not the type of
character she was most likely to admire. As a friend she might
like him much, but he could hardly be her hero. His wonderful
patience was quite lost upon her; she hardly counted patience as a
virtue at all. His grand humility merely perplexed her; it was at
present far beyond her comprehension. While his willingness to
serve every one, even in the most trifling and petty concerns of
daily life, she often attributed to mere good nature. Grand acts
of selfsacrifice she admired enthusiastically, but the more really
difficult round of small denials and trifling services she did not
in the least appreciate. Absorbed in the contemplation, as it
were, of the Hamlets in life, she had no leisure to spare for the
Horatios.
She proved a capital patient; her whole mind was set on getting
well, and her steady common sense and obedience to rules made her
a great favorite with her elder doctor. Really healthy, and only
invalided by the hard work and trouble she had undergone, seven or
eight months' rest did wonders for her. In the enforced quiet,

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