Perhaps the parting with the two dogs was as bitter as any, for, as if
they knew quite well that she was going, they clung closely to her, and
when she hugged them and kissed them on the forehead, they had to be
dragged off by Jason, and locked up in the stables lest they should
follow the carriage which was to bear their beloved mistress away.
That carriage came all too soon, though Mr. John Heron had awaited its
arrival impatiently and with watch in hand. He seemed grimmer and
gaunter than ever that morning, and as he looked around the great Hall,
he shook his head at its faded grandeur reprehensively, as if he could,
if time permitted, deliver a sermon on the prodigality, the wicked
wastefulness, which had brought ruin on the house, and rendered it
necessary for him to extend his charity to the penniless orphan.
Mr. Wordley was there to say good-bye to Ida and put her into the
carriage; but it proved a difficult good-bye to say, and for once the
usually fluent old lawyer was bereft of the power of speech as he held
Ida's small hand, and looked through tear-dimmed eyes at the white and
sorrowful face.
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