bringing his chair closer mrs laughed again him a and wiped eyes you know my dear said mrs that when i was single i might have given myself away in several at one time four after me at once two of them were sons of we re all sons of ma s my dear said mr with pa s i don t mean that replied his wife i mean soldiers � oh i said mr well i m sure i never think of such things now to them and i m sure i ve got as good a husband and would do as much to prove that i was fond of him as � any little woman in the world said mr very good very good j� mr had been ten feet high he could not have expressed a consideration for mrs s fairy like stature and if mrs had been two feet high she could not have felt it more her due but you see said mrs thi being christmas time when all people who can make holiday and when all people who have got money like to spend some i did somehow get a little out of sorts when i was in the streets just now there was so many things to be old such delicious things to eat such fine things to look at such delightful things to have � and there was so much calculating and calculating necessary before i lay out a sixpence for the commonest thing and the basket was so large and wanted so much in it and my stock of money was so small and would go such a little way � you hate me don t you th� man said mr u w ill t you tke his and perhaps will i all bo when i was in the and when i saw a lot ef other ci aiid too that i to think whether i t d � e and happier if i� hadn t� the wedding round again and mrs shook her downcast head aa die turned it i see said her husband quietly if yon hadn t at all or if you had married somebody else yes sobbed mn � that s what i thought bo you hate me now why no said mr i dim t find that i do as yet mrs gave him a thankful kiss and went on i begin to hope you won t now h i am afraid i haven t told you the worst i can t think what over me i don t know whether i was or mad or what i was but i couldn t call up any j that seemed to bind us to other or to reconcile m to my all the and wc had they seemed so poor and insignificant i hated them i could have trodden on them and i think of nothing else except our being p and the number of mouths there were at home well well my dear said mr shaking her hand that s truth after all we are poor and are a number of mouths at home here ah but cried laying her hands upon his neck my good kind patient fellow when i had been at home a very while � how di r t oh h it was i felt as if there was a rush on me all at once that softened my heart and filled it up till it was bursting all our struggles for a all our cares and wants since we have been married all the times of sickness thb a bargain all the of we fl v t hai � or ch d i t ei wm sa y a us and that i u ve tm t w a have been or would have been any other than wife i am then the l lt i h on got to be f iti o and ar hat t t i w and i said ay aj how ver b ave so t bi ir the to do it the good woman quite carried away by hear honest s and remorse was h i j e started tip a am and b h terrified that the children started from their sleep and from their beds about h r i id h fa her i as pointed to a n in a who had into the room � � � � � � v � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � at that than there what does he want my i h� ril ask if you ll me go what s the matter how f � � i saw him in the street wh i ut he at me stood near me i am of him � af w � � � i i � � i don t know i i� a� d stranger � h � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � he had one hand pressed her and ne upon li breast and there was a fluttering all over her and k hurried unsteady of eyes as tf i e had sc are you ill my � � � � � what is it at ii going again she low voice what i tha k away then she abruptly answered lu no i am weu and stood looking at the her husband who had not been altogether free from the the haunted man � tion of her fear at first and whom the present strangeness of her manner did not tend to addressed himself to the visitor in the black cloak who stood still and whose eyes were bent upon the ground what may be your pleasure sir he asked with us i fear that my coming in returned the has alarmed you but you were talking and did not 