82 "SUSPENSE."
who should be the first to show resignation to the Divine
will, and that Mrs. Bloomfield was guilty of lamentable
weakness and superstitious folly in paying heed to Harry's
dog and its ways. It was the grossest absurdity to suppose
that a dumb animal could be aware whether its master had
perished, or was sailing in strange waters, or had been cast
away on a virgin island. It was well known that the Ad-
miralty had given up the cutter. The speakers would not
have expected such inconsistency in poor old Mrs. Bloomfield,
who had been a clever, sensible woman in her day, though she
was breaking up fast.
 Harry's mother got all the blame with reason, since the
curate had grown so feeble in mind, as well as in body, that he
was only able to take in what his wife told him; and if she
had assured him that Harry had never been away at all, but
had been all this while in the cricket-ground, or off with his
gun and Flora, he would have called for his hat and stick, and
claimed her arm, to go out and chide the boy for his thought-
less delay.
 The elder sons and daughters of the family, middle-aged
people, with growing-up children of their own, put themselves
about to come from various distances to condole and remon-
strate gently with their mother, until poor Mrs. Bloomfield's
forlorn hope was at its last tremulous gasp. Even Flora
threatened to fail her, for the old dog began, not so much to
sit listening, as to crouch down, it seemed in despair.
 But one April day, when the country air was full of the
scent of blossoming furze bushes and the songs of birds,
awakening to the knowledge that summer was at hand, Flora
pricked her ears, started up, and pawed eagerly at the door.