Lyingthere，wide—eyedandmotionless，shestoodoutsideinthoughtandlookedatthehouse——assheusedtolookatitwithhim，beforetheyweremarried。Then，ithadrousedeveryblessedhopeanddreamofweddedjoy——itseemedacasketofuncountedtreasures。Now，inthisdrearymood，itseemednotonlyamereworkshop，butoneofalientasks，continuous，impossible，likethosesetfortheImprisonedPrincessbybadfairiesintheoldtales。Inthoughtsheenteredthewell—proportioneddoor——theGateofHappiness——andamustysmellgreetedher——shehadforgottentothrowoutthoseflowers！Sheturnedtotheparlor——no，thepianokeysweregritty，onehadtocleanthemtwiceadaytokeepthatroomasshelikedit。
Fromroomtoroomsheflitted，inhermind，tryingtorecalltheexquisitethingstheymeanttoherwhenshehadplannedthem;andeachonenowopenedglaringandblank，asaplacetoworkin——andtheworkundone。
\"IfIwereanablerwoman！\"shebreathed。Andthenhercommonsenseandcommonhonestymadeherreplytoherself：\"Iamableenough——inmyownwork！Nobodycandoeverything。Idon’tbelieveEdgar’ddoitanybetterthanIdo。——Hedon’thaveto！——andthensuchawaveofbitternessrushedoverherthatshewasafraid，andreachedoutonehandtotouchthecrib——theothertoherhusband。
Heawakenedinstantly。\"Whatisit，Dear？\"heasked。\"Tootiredtosleep，youpoordarling？Butyoudolovemealittle，don’tyou？\"
\"O_yes_！\"sheanswered。\"Ido。Of_course_Ido！I’mjusttired，I