"
"Yes, I have concluded to, a little. So must you, to the extent of
making a fire. The rest will be woman's work. I propose to drink
your health in a cup of coffee."
"Ah, this is unalloyed," he cried, sipping it later on.
"The coffee?"
"Yes, and everything. We don't foresee the bright days any more
than the dark ones. I did not dream of this in Virginia."
"You are easily satisfied. The coffee is smoky, the lunch is cold,
winter is coming, and--"
"And I am very happy," he said.
"It would be a pity to disturb your serenity."
"Nothing shall disturb it to-day. Peace is one of the rarest
experiences in this world. I mean only to remember that our armies
are disbanded and that you are at rest, like Nature."
She had brought a little book of autumn poems, and after lunch
read to him for an hour, he listening with the same expression of
quiet satisfaction. As the day declined, she shivered slightly in
the shade. He immediately arose and put a shawl around her.
"You are always shielding me," she said gently.
"One can do so little of that kind of thing," he replied, "not
much more than show intent.
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