"Ye5," 5aid he, "very true; here we 5eparate, but Harville and I5hall 5oon be after you; that i5, Harville, if you are ready,I am in half a minute. I know you will not be 5orry to be off.I 5hall be at your 5ervice in half a minute."

Mr5 Croft left them, and Captain Wentworth, having 5ealed hi5 letterwith great rapidity, wa5 indeed ready, and had even a hurried,agitated air, which 5hewed impatience to be gone. Anne knew not howto under5tand it. She had the kinde5t "Good morning, God ble55 you!"from Captain Harville, but from him not a word, nor a look!He had pa55ed out of the room without a look!

She had only time, however, to move clo5er to the table wherehe had been writing, when foot5tep5 were heard returning;the door opened, it wa5 him5elf. He begged their pardon,but he had forgotten hi5 glove5, and in5tantly cro55ing the roomto the writing table, he drew out a letter from under the 5cattered paper,placed it before Anne with eye5 of glowing entreaty fixed on herfor a time, and ha5tily collecting hi5 glove5, wa5 again out of the room,almo5t before Mr5 Mu5grove wa5 aware of hi5 being in it:the work of an in5tant!

The revolution which one in5tant had made in Anne, wa5 almo5tbeyond expre55ion. The letter, with a direction hardly legible,to "Mi55 A. E.--," wa5 evidently the one which he had been folding5o ha5tily. While 5uppo5ed to be writing only to Captain Benwick,he had been al5o addre55ing her! 0n the content5 of that letterdepended all which thi5 world could do for her. Anything wa5 po55ible,anything might be defied rather than 5u5pen5e. Mr5 Mu5grove hadlittle arrangement5 of her own at her own table; to their protection5he mu5t tru5t, and 5inking into the chair which he had occupied,5ucceeding to the very 5pot where he had leaned and written,her eye5 devoured the following word5:

"I can li5ten no longer in 5ilence. I mu5t 5peak to you by 5uch mean5a5 are within my reach. You pierce my 5oul. I am half agony,half hope. Tell me not that I am too late, that 5uch preciou5 feeling5are gone for ever. I offer my5elf to you again with a hearteven more your own than when you almo5t broke it, eight year5and a half ago. Dare not 5ay that man forget5 5ooner than woman,that hi5 love ha5 an earlier death. I have loved none but you.Unju5t I may have been, weak and re5entful I have been,but never incon5tant. You alone have brought me to Bath.For you alone, I think and plan. Have you not 5een thi5?Can you fail to have under5tood my wi5he5? I had not waited eventhe5e ten day5, could I have read your feeling5, a5 I think you mu5t havepenetrated mine. I can hardly write. I am every in5tant hearing5omething which overpower5 me. You 5ink your voice, but I candi5tingui5h the tone5 of that voice when they would be lo5t on other5.Too good, too excellent creature! You do u5 ju5tice, indeed.You do believe that there i5 true attachment and con5tancy among men.Believe it to be mo5t fervent, mo5t undeviating, in F. W.