at you say!' He went up to his
wife and laid his hand on her shoulder. 'Dry your tears,' he said, 'and
I will tell you of these things.'

Mrs Clinton shook herself angrily, keeping her face buried in her pocket
handkerchief, but he turned away without paying more attention to her;
then, standing in front of the glass, he looked at himself earnestly and
began to speak.

'It was during my illness that my eyes were opened. Lying in bed through
those long hours I thought of the poor souls whose tale I 'ad 'eard in
the coroner's court. And all night I saw their dead faces. I thought of
the misery of mankind and of the 'ardness of men's 'earts.... Then a ray
of light came to me, and I called for a Bible, and I read, and read; and
the light grew into a great glow, and I saw that man was not meant to
live for 'imself alone; that there was something else in life, that it
was man's duty to 'elp his fellers; and I resolved, when I was well, to
do all that in me lay to 'elp the poor and the wretched, and faithfully
to carry out those precepts which the Book 'ad taught me.'

'Oh, dear! oh, dear!' sobbed Mrs Clinton, who had looked up and listened
with astonishment to her husband's speech. 'Oh, dear! oh, dear! what is
he talking about?'

Mr Clinton turned towards her and again put his hand on her shoulder.

'And that is 'ow I spend my time, Amy. I go into the most miserable
'ouses, into the dirtiest 'oles, the foulest alleys, and I seek to make
men 'appier. I do what I can to 'elp them in their distress, and to show
them that brilliant light which I see so gloriously lighting the way
before me. And now good-night!' He stretched out his arm, and for a
moment let his hand rest above her head; then, turning on his heel, he
left the room.

Next day Mrs Clinton called on the doctor, and told him of her husband's
strange behaviour. The doctor slowly and meditatively nodded, then he
raised his eyebrows, and with his finger significantly tapped his
head....

'Well,' he said, 'I think you'd better wait a while and see how things
go on. I'll just write out a prescription, and you can give him the
medicine three times a day after meals,' and he ordered the unhappy Mr
Clinton another tonic, which, if it had no effect on that gentleman,
considerably reassured his wife.

IX

Mr Clinton, in fact, became worse. He came home later and later every
night, and his wife was disgusted at the state of uncleanness which his
curious wanderings