in a had sent on the latter to the coast in case that s poor wife should by that time have been from the waves and had brought back with him to the house s presence was not needed here and he felt it to be his next duty to set off at once and find that no other than himself might break the news to him he was quite sure that no chance had been lost for mrs by his leaving the shore by the time that mrs had been laid in the carriage a much larger group had assembled to lend assistance in finding her friend rendering his own help superfluous but the duty of breaking the news was made doubly painful by the circumstance that the catastrophe which had befallen mrs was solely the result of her own and her husband s loving kindness towards himself he found in his office when the comprehended the intelligence he turned pale stood up and remained for a moment perfectly still as if of his faculties then his shoulders heaved he pulled out his handkerchief and began to cry like a child his sobs might have been heard in the next room he seemed to have no idea of going to the shore or of doing anything but when took him gently by the hand and proposed to start at once he quietly neither uttering any further word nor making any effort to repress his tears accompanied him to the shore where finding that no trace had as yet been seen of mrs and that his stay would be of no avail he left with his friends and the young doctor and once more hastened back to his own house a fellow at the door he met well said � i have just come down said the doctor we have done everything but without result i with you in your did not much appreciate s sympathy which sounded to his ears as something of a mockery from the lips of a man who knew what knew about their domestic relations indeed there seemed an odd spark in s full black eye as he said the words but that might have been imaginary and mr resumed that little matter between us � i hope to settle it finally in three weeks at least never mind that now said abruptly lie directed the surgeon to go to the harbour in case his services might even now be necessary there and himself entered the house the servants were coming from his wife s chamber looking helplessly at each other and at him he passed them by and entered the room where he stood regarding the bed for a few minutes after which he walked into his own dressing room adjoining and there paced up and down in a minute or two he noticed what a strange and total silence had come over the upper part of the house his own movements muffled as they were by the carpet seemed noisy and his thoughts to disturb the air like articulate his eye glanced through the window far down the road to the harbour a roof detained his gaze out of it rose a red chimney and out of the red chimney a curl of smoke as from a fire newly kindled he had often seen such a sight before in that house lived and the smoke was from the fire which was regularly lighted at this time to make her tea after that he went back to the bedroom and stood there some time regarding his wife s silent form she was a woman some years older than himself but had tales not by any means the maturity of good looks and vigour her passionate features well defined firm and in life were doubly so now her mouth and brow beneath her black hair showed only too clearly that the of character which had made a garden of his house had been no temporary phase of her existence while he reflected he suddenly said to himself i wonder if all has been done the thought was led up to by his having fancied that his wife s features lacked in its complete form the expression which he had been accustomed to associate with the faces of those whose spirits have fled for ever the of life was not so marked but that entering he might have supposed her sleeping her complexion was that seen in the numerous faded portraits by sir it was pallid in comparison with life but there was visible on a close inspection the remnant of what had once been a flush the keeping between the cheeks and the hollows of the face being thus preserved although positive colour was gone long orange rays of evening sun stole in through in the blind striking on the large mirror and being thence reflected upon the crimson and of the heavy so that the general tone of light was remarkably warm and it was probable that something might be due to this circumstance still the fact impressed him as strange had been gone more than a quarter of an hour could it be possible that he had left too soon and that his attempts to restore her had so as only now to have made themselves felt laid his hand upon her chest and that ever and anon a faint flutter of gentle as that of a butterfly s wing disturbed the stillness there � ceasing for a time then struggling to go on then breaking down in weakness and ceasing again fellow s mother had been an active of the healing art among her poorer neighbours and her had all been derived from an volume of domestic medicine which at this moment was lying as it had lain for many years on a shelf in s dressing room he hastily fetched it and there read under the head drowning � exertions for 