"At the front, fierce blows have been struck lately. Our men are fighting as they never fought before....
"How the storm rages on! In my sheltered home, safe from the fury of the elements, I think I suffer more than the women under canvas, for their sakes....
"The letter I have before me must be answered now. He asks me to bind myself to him definitely....
"I have decided to do so. It is a weighty step, and God knows....
"But I have long prayed for guidance, and it seems to me clear enough that we are destined for one another.
"So to-night, in this raging storm, with a heart filled with the desolation of land and people, the blackness of the present, the hopeless misery of the future, I am going to write the words which will bind me for ever to L.E.B.
"Strange betrothal! Strange sequel to a stormy life!
"But perhaps—perhaps, the future holds something for me of calm and peace...."
With throbbing brow she went out into the night to watch the storm, from a sheltered corner under the verandah.
Nothing fascinated her so much.