aythorne sat in his great ebony chair

"It is beautiful--it is perfectly charming!"

"They both looked so comfortable and contented"

Doctor Luttrell's First Patient

CHAPTER I.

AT THE CORNER HOUSE.

"Seek not that the things which happen should happen as you
wish."--_Epictetus_.

There is an old adage, worn almost threadbare with continual use, "When
poverty looks in at the door, love flies out at the window," and,
doubtless, there is an element of truth in the saying; nevertheless,
though there were lines of care on Marcus Luttrell's face, and in the
strong sunlight the seams of his wife's black gown looked a little
shiny, there was still peace, and the patience of a great and enduring
affection in the corner house at Galvaston Terrace.

When the brass plate, glittering with newness, had been first affixed
to the door, Marcus Luttrell's heart had been sanguine with hope, and
he had brought his young _fiancee_ to see it. The small, narrow house,
with its dark, square entry, its double parlours communicating with
folding-doors, and the corner room, that would do for a surgery, had
seemed to them both a most desirable abode.

Olivia, who prided herself on being unusually practical, pointed out
its numerous advantages with great satisfaction. The side entrance in
Harbut Street, for instance, and the front room where patients would be
interviewed, and which had a window in Galvaston Terrace.

"It is so conspicuous, Marcus," she said, with legitimate pride in her
voice. "No one can overlook it, it is worth paying a few pounds more
rent, instead of being jammed in between two terrace houses. Harbut
Street is ever so much nicer than Galvaston Terrace, and the houses are
larger, and it is so convenient having those shops opposite."

Olivia was disposed to see everything in _couleur de rose_, but to most
people Galvaston Terrace would have appeared woefully dingy. Two or
three of the houses had cards in the sitting-room windows, with
"Desirable apartments for a single gentleman" affixed thereon, and at
the farther end a French dressmaker eked out a slender income.

The Terrace had by no means a prosperous look, a little fresh paint and
cleaner blinds would have been improvements. Nevertheless, people
lived out harmless lives there, and on the whole were tolerably
contented with their lot.

When Marcus Luttrell made that fatal mistake of marrying in haste and
repenting at leisure, things had not