The rest of the visit was, of course, delightful, only the streets were
pretty crowded and noisy, and they couldn't sleep very well at night;
moreover, Reuben lost his pocketbook with a small sum of money in it;
so, on the whole, they concluded to go home a little before the two
weeks ended.
When spring came Nancy returned to her former mistress, and her vacant
throne remained unoccupied. Little by little the dust gathered on the
big velvet chairs in the parlor, and the room was opened less and less.
When the first green things commenced to send tender shoots up through
the wet, brown earth, Reuben's restlessness was very noticeable. By and
by he began to go off very early in the morning, returning at noon for a
hasty dinner, then away again till night. To his wife's repeated
questioning he would reply, sheepishly, "Oh, just loafin', that's all."
And Emily was nervous, too. Of late she had taken a great fancy to a
daily walk, and it always led in one direction--down past the little
brown house. Of course, she glanced over the fence at the roses and
lilacs, and she couldn't help seeing that they all looked sadly
neglected. By and by the weeds came, grew, and multiplied; and every
time she passed the gate her throat fairly choked in sympathy with her
old pets.
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