We landed at Gravesend just before Christmas, Russie being in much worse condition than when we left England.

Up to that time I had clung to hope, for to lose the boy was like tearing my soul in two.

Mr.
Marshall no longer held out a hope, but said if he had known the strength of the boy's constitution he would have operated when he first saw him, which was what Russie then begged for and had always looked forward to.

Through five years he had resisted the pain of that most painful disease, hoping always, always reading, almost always cheerful.
Our lease expiring, I decided to leave London, and Mr.Spartali offered us a cottage on one of his estates in the Isle of Wight, where the children, Russie especially, might have sweet English air.

Marie being engaged in finishing her pictures for the spring exhibition, I went down alone with the children, stopping at an inn at Sandown till the furniture was in the cottage.