CORNELLI
have grown by then! We shall be able to drive together. I’ll be the coachman and you’ll be the lady in the carriage. That will be splendid!”
But Cornelli could no longer be really gay. She always saw the moment before her when Dino had to say good-bye, and when all their fun would be over. The morning really came fast enough when she had to take leave of him in Martha’s cottage. After Dino had driven away, Cornelli buried her head in her arms and cried piteously. Martha, too, was heavy of heart, and sat beside her, crying quietly.
That same evening when dinner was done and Cornelli got up from table to leave the room, the cousin said: “You have not said a single word to-day, Cornelli. You seem to get worse instead of better! Ought your father find you worse on coming home than when he left?”
“Good-night,” said Cornelli hoarsely, and left the room without once looking up.
“There is nothing to be done with her; you can see it for yourself, Betty. You have thought that we could still produce a change for the better,” said Miss Dorner, after Cor-
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