"'Tis too fair a day to poison with ugly sights and sounds," he said, whimsically apologetic for his own weakness.

"'Twill do no great harm to be lenient, for once, Saunderson, and I am in the mood to-day to be friends with all men, including myself." The overseer went away grumbling, and Haward entered the house.

The room where dwelt his books looked cool and inviting.

He walked the length of the shelves, took out a volume here and there for his evening reading, and upon the binding of others laid an affectionate, lingering touch.

"I have had a fever, my friends," he announced to the books, "but I am about to find myself happily restored to reason and serenity; in short, to health." Some hours later he raised his eyes from the floor which he had been studying for a great while, covered them for a moment with his hand, then rose, and, with the air of a sleepwalker, went out of the lit room into a calm and fragrant night.