“John Thomas Bradley.”
“Then don’t thee say a word about the man. Thy words hev been so good, so wonderfully good, that I will not hev meaner ones mixed up with them. They may come to-morrow after law and money talk, but not after thy loving, heartening promises. No! No!”
“Well, then, go home and tell Annie, and let that weary Reform Bill business drop out of thy mind.”
“Reform was a great need. It was a good thing to see it come, and Grey and Brougham hev proved themsens to be great men.”
“I don’t deny it, and it is allays so ordered, that in all times, great men can do great things.”
With a light heart and a quick step the squire hurried back to the Clarendon. He had been given to drink of the elixir of life, the joy of work, the pleasure of doing great good to many others, the feeling that he was going to redeem his lost years. He had not walked with such a light purposeful step for twenty years, and Annie was amazed when she heard it. She was still more amazed when she heard him greet some acquaintance whom he met in the corridor. Now Annie had resolved to be rather cool and silent with her husband. He had overstayed his own time nearly two hours, and she thought he ought to be made to feel the enormity of such a delinquency; especially, when he was hurrying their departure, though she had yet a great many little things to attend to.
She quickly changed her intentions. She only needed one glance at her husband to make her rise to her feet, and go to meet him with a face full of wonder. “Why! Antony! Antony, whativer hes come to thee? Thou looks—thou looks——”
“How, Annie? How do I look?”
“Why! Like thou looked—on thy wedding day! Whativer is it, dear?”
“Annie! Annie! I feel varry like I did that day. Oh, Annie, I hev got my life given back to me! I am going to begin it again from this varry hour! I am going to work, to be a big man of business, Annie. I’m going to build a factory for a thousand power looms. Oh, my wife! My wife! I’m so proud, so happy, I seem to hev been dead and just come back to life again.”