“Dear Tom! And Alice?”
“It was hard to leave Alice. But she is young. Life is before her. God is good.”
“And you, my dearest, was it hard for you at the last? Was it a long sickness? Who took care of you? Mother! did you suffer much?”
“Dear, I never suffered any. I had a sudden stroke I think. I was sitting by the fire with the children. It was vacation and Tom was at home. They were all at home. I started to cross the room, and it grew dark. I did not know that I was dead till I found I was standing there upon the balcony, in your father’s arms.”
“I had to tell her what had happened. She wouldn’t believe me at the first.”
“Were you with her all the time below?”
“All the time; for days before the end.”
“And you brought her here yourself, easily?”
“All the way, myself. She slept like a baby, and wakened—as she says.”