On Sunday morning the rain had ceased, and Janet, looking out of the
bedroom window, saw, above the house-tops, a shining mass of white cloud
rolling under the far-away blue sky. It was going to be a lovely April
day. The fresh sky, left clear and calm after the long vexation of wind
and rain, mingled its mild influence with Janet's new thoughts and
prospects. She felt a buoyant courage that surprised herself, after the
cold crushing weight of despondency which had oppressed her the day
before: she could think even of her husband's rage without the old
overpowering dread. For a delicious hope--the hope of purification and
inward peace--had entered into Janet's soul, and made it spring-time
there as well as in the outer world.
While her mother was brushing and coiling up her thic
