“Do you know, Alick, why I said to Drusilla just now, ‘I suppose I may kiss you now?’”
“No, mother.”
“Then I’ll tell you. You remember how you kissed her when you went away?”
“I do.”
“Ah, Alick! your departure nearly killed your poor little pet. If you had been her own father, she could not have grieved after you more than she did. She had a low fever, and after she got well she would not let any one kiss her. She said that you had kissed her last, and that no one else should touch her lips until you should return and kiss her again.”
“Did she now, really,” exclaimed Alexander, with emotion.
“She did indeed, and she kept her word.”
Alexander reflected a moment, and then spoke:
“Mother!”
“Eh!”