He reached out his hand, questioning still, and now her longing was satisfied to put hers within it, in its rightful home.

Across the silence rang the Hermit's song; for even the Hermit had a mate.

After a while Sylvia lifted her head from her lover's shoulder.

"I suppose there may be some troubles in the world still, John," she said.

"Possibly," he replied, the hint of a smile on his lips as he looked into the face so close to his.

"We can do without joy many times, John. We can meet everything now without a fear. Do you remember:

'Kiss my lips and softly say,

"Joy, sea-swept, may fade to-day;

Love alone will stay!'"

The Riverside Press
Electrotyped and printed by H. O. Houghton & Co.
Cambridge, Mass., U. S. A.