Chapter 45

"She took the child, first and last, as a gift from God to her. If she lived or died, and she longed inexpressibly to live--Death, like Life, would be the fulfilment of the Divine Will. Fortified by the Sacraments of her Church she lay down upon her bed of pain as though it were an altar. She suffered intensely----" His voice broke. "She suffered inexpressibly. Not until the actual crisis did I have recourse to chloroform. When I was about to use it she said to me: '_Not yet! ... I will wear it a little longer…