Lives of Alcyone

improve herself. Sirius, on the other hand, was quiet and steady-
going.
The girl Alcyone was well-educated; she had a keen brain and
was affectionate, sensitive and observant, but very shy and in
certain ways timid. As she grew up the father had her much with
him; she asked to be used as a secretary, and he found her really
valuable in that capacity. When she was fifteen he had a tiresome
illness, but she carried on most of the work very efficiently, deciding
wisely, even when he was too ill to be consulted, and acting boldly in
his name. She declined, however, to use the death-penalty under
any circumstances, although she exercised all the other powers of
jurisdiction which belonged to her father, using his official seal.
Sirius, when he recovered, confirmed all her decisions where that
was necessary, and applauded her actions. Two years later, her
mother died after a lingering illness and much terrible suffering.
Alcyone waited upon her and looked after her devotedly, while the
son Egeria for whose sake Ursa had neglected her daughter, spent
most of the time elsewhere and came to see his mother but rarely.
During this final illness, Ursa recognised that she had not done full
justice to Alcyone, and had been somewhat blinded by the intensity
of her affection for her son.
A young man of her own rank presently sought Alcyone’ s
hand in marriage; she was not averse to him, but she felt that she
could not bear to leave her father, and Sirius on his side also felt
that life would be empty without her. Still he urged her to accept the
young man, as he seemed eligible and honestly in love. She
obediently did so, and on the whole her married life was happy,
though she always looked back upon her childhood as an ideal time.