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 outfit, a very happy time could be spent here." At the words suggesting happiness, Bennet's face clouded.

"It would be a happy place for you were it not for me," he said sorrowfully.

"What do you mean?" Lida asked.

"I mean that by my loving you I've brought trouble to you. I can't bear to see you suffer," Bennet returned.

"Why, I'm not suffering. Can anyone suffer who loves really and truly? And does not love counterbalance any suffering? It is a joy to suffer for the man I love. It makes love all the dearer. It is what makes life worth living now. Why I've only lived since I've known you."

"If all these experiences have been yours what must mine be, to whom you are life itself—to whom you are dearer than life?" Bennet's voice was low and vibrant with feeling. "It is I who have learned to live since loving you. Your love has opened the world to me—made me realize that I'm a real part of the universe. I understand better now, the light of the stars at night; the light of the moon, and the very darkness itself since your love has come into my existence. I can better sense the motion of the universe about us because of your love, and My Heart, My Heart, O, how I love you!"

He had taken the girl into his arms and her head lay confidingly and contentedly on his shoulder. The world itself seemed forgotten. They stood silently after the speech for some minutes, each dreaming and looking into space. Bennet was the first to be recalled back to the present.