in his quiet, peculiar way, the fondest and kindest
of husbands. He went to town occasionally on business, but always seemed
glad to return to the baroness; he never varied in the politeness of
his bearing toward his wife's sister; he behaved with the most courteous
hospitality toward all the friends of the Welwyns; in short, he
thoroughly justified the good opinion which Rosamond and her father had
formed of him when they first met at Paris. And yet no experience of
his character thoroughly re-assured Ida. Months passed on quietly
and pleasantly; and still that secret sadness, that indefinable,
unreasonable apprehension on Rosamond's account, hung heavily on her
sister's heart.

At the beginning of the first summer months, a little domestic
inconvenience happened, which showed the baroness, for the first time,
that her husband's temper could be seriously ruffled--and that by the
veriest trifle. He was in the habit of taking in two French provincial
newspapers--one published at Bordeaux and the other at Havre. He always
opened these journals the moment they came, looked at one particular
column of each with the deepest attention, for a few minutes, then
carelessly threw them aside into his waste-paper basket. His wife and
her sister were at first rather surprised at the manner in which he read
his two papers; but they thought no more of it when he explained that he
only took them in to consult them about French commercial intelligence,
which might be, occasionally, of importance to him.

These papers were published weekly. On the occasion to which I have just
referred, the Bordeaux paper came on the proper day, as usual; but the
Havre paper never made its appearance. This trifling circumstance seemed
to make the baron seriously uneasy. He wrote off directly to the country
post-office and to the newspaper agent in London. His wife, astonished
to see his tranquillity so completely overthrown by so slight a cause,
tried to restore his good humor by jesting with him about the missing
newspaper. He replied by the first angry and unfeeling words that she
had heard issue from his lips. She was then within about six weeks
of her confinement, and very unfit to bear harsh answers from
anybody--least of all from her husband.

On the second day no answer came. On the afternoon of the third, the
baron rode off to the post town to make inquiries. About an hour after
he had gone, a strange gentleman came to the Grange and asked to