Year: 1868

u Continual.


Il Emily Rowleo, when she was brough
home from the Mandarin islands to b,
the wife of Louis Trevelyan, was a yer!
handsome young woman, tall, with ;
bust rather full for her age, with darl
eyes-eyes that looked to be dark be
cause her eyebrows and eyelashes were
nearly black, but which were in truth
so varying in color that you could moi
4 tell their hue. Her brown hair wa:
very dark and very soft; and the tint OF
| her complexion was brown also, though
the color of her cheeks was often SC
bright as to induce her enemies to say
falsely of her that she painted them
And she was very strong, as are some
girls who come from the tropics, and
whom a tropical climate has suited.
She could sit on her horse the whole
day long, and would never be
weary with dancing at the Gov
eminent House balls. When Colonel
Osborne was introduced to her as
the baby whom he had known, he
thought it would be very pleasant to be
intimate with so pleasant friend
meaning no harm, indeed, as but few
men do mean harm on such occasions
but still, not regarding the beautiful
young woman whom he had seen as one
of generation succeeding to that of
his own, to whom it would be his duty
to make himself useful on account of
the old friendship which he bore to her
father.


1t was, moreover, we'll known in Lon
don-though not known at all to Mrs.
Trevelyan-that this ancient Lothario
had before this made himself trouble
some in more than one family.
He was fond of intimacies
with married ladies, and perhaps was
not averse to the excitement of marital
hostility. 1t must be remembered, how
ever, that the hostility to which allu-
sion is here made was not the hostility
of the pistol or horsewhip-nor indeed
was it generally the hostility of word
of spoken anger.


A young husband may dislike the too
friendly bearing of friend, and may
yet abstain from that outrage on his
own dignity and on his wife which is
conveyed by word of suspicion. Louis
Trevelyan having taken strong dislike
to Colonel Osborne, and having failed
to make his wife understand that this
dislike should have induced her to
throw cold water upon the ColonePs
friendship, had allowed himself to speak
a word which probably he would have
willingly recalled as soon as spoken.
But words spoken cannot be recalled,
and many man and many a woman
who has spoken a word at once regret
ted are far too proud TO express that re-
gret. So it was with Louis
Trevelyan when he told his
wife that he did not wish Colonel Os-
borne to come so often to his house.
He had said it with flashing eye and
au angry tone; and though she had
seen the eye flash before, and was ia
miliar with the angry tone, she had
never before felt herself to be insulted
by her husband. AS soon as the word
had been spoken Travalyan bod l"F. Oh
room and had gone down among his
books. But when he was alone he knew
that he had insulted his wife. He was
quite aware that he should have spoken
to her gently, and have explained to
her, with his arm round her waist, that
it would be better for both of them that
this friends friendship should be linn
tied. There is so much in turn of the
eye and in the tone given to word
when such things have to be said,-sO
much more of Importance than in the
words themselves. AsTrevelyan thought
of this, and remembered what his man
ner had been, how much anger he
had expressed, how tar he had been
from having his arm round his wife's
waist as he spoke to her, he al
most made up his mind to go up
stairs and to apologize. But he was
one to whose nature the giving of any
apology was repulsive. He could not
bear to have to own himself to have
been wrong. And then his wife had
been most provoking in her manner to
him. When he had endeavored to make
her understand his wishes by certain
disparaging hints which he had thrown
out as to Colonel Osborne, saying that
he was q dangerous man, one who did
not show his true character, a snake in
the grass, man without settled prn-
ciples, and such like,-his wife had
taken up the cudgels for her friend, and
had openly declared that she did not
believe word of the things that were
alleged against him. "But still, for all
that, it is true" the husband had said.
81 have no doubt that you think So"
the wife had replied. "Men do be-
lieve evil of one another very often.
But you must excuse me if | say
that | think you are mistaken. l
have known Colonel Osborne. much
longer than you have done, Louis, and
papa has always had the highest opln-
ION of him" Then Mr.. Trevelyan had
become very angry, and spoken those
hard words which he could not recall.
AS he walked to and fro among his
books down stairs, lie almost felt that
he ought TO beg his wife's pardon. He
knew his wife well enough to be sure
that she would not forgive him unless
he did so. He would do so, he thought,
but not exactly How. The moment
would come in which it must be easier
than at present. He would be able to
assure her, when he went up to dress for
dinner, that he had meant no
harm. They were going out to
dine at the house of a lady OF
rank, the Countess Dowager of Mil
borough. lady standing high in the
worlds esteem, of whom his wife stood
little in awe; and he calculated that
this feeling, if it did not make his task
easy, would yet take from it some of Us
difficulty. Emily would be, not exact
ly cowed, by the prospect of Lady Mil
berough's dinner, but perhaps a little
reduced from her self-assertion. He
would say word to her when he was
dressing, assuring her that he had not
intended to animsdvert in the slightest
degree upon her own conduct.


Luncheon was served, and the two


ladies went down into the dining room


Mr.. Trevelysn did not appear. There


was nothing in itself singular in that


as he was accustomed to declare thai
luncheon was a meal too much in the
day, and that a man should eat nothing


beyond a biscuit between breakfast anC
dinner. But he would sometimes com,


in ana eat bis biscuit stand
ing on the hearth-rug, and
drink what he would call half a quar-


ter of a glass of sherry. 1t would


probably have been well that he should


have done so now; but he remained II


his library behind the dining-room, ant


when his wife and his sister-in-law hat


gone up stairs, he became anxious t
learn whether Colonel Osborne wonlC