Dr. Hull said that he had gathered from Mrs. Legrand's communications
that she had seen many things which would teach mortals not to grieve for
their departed friends, as for shades exiled to a world of strangers. To
such mourners she sent word that their own past selves, who have likewise
vanished from the earth, are keeping their dear dead company in heaven.
And far more congenial company to them are these past selves than their
present selves would be, who, through years and changes since their
separation, have often grown out of sympathy with the departed, as they
will find when they shall meet them. The aged husband, who has mourned
all his life the bride taken from him in girlhood, will find himself
well-nigh a stranger to her, and his mourning to have been superfluous;
for all these years his own former self, the husband of her youth, has
borne her company.
Dr. Hull said, in closing, that, as probably Miss Ludington would
presume, his particular motive in making bold to break in upon her
privacy was a desire, which he was sure she would not confound with
vulgar curiosity, to see again the young lady who had succeeded to his
friend's earthly life in so wonderful a manner, and to learn, what, if
any, were the later developments in her case.
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