ions should be made in that lady's
absence; but Mrs. Trevelyan was too hot in the matter for restraint,
and she at once opened out her budget of grievance.

"I have a letter from my husband," she said,--and then paused. But
Priscilla, seeing from the fire in her eyes that she was much moved,
made no reply, but turned to listen to what might further be said. "I
do not know why I should trouble you with his suspicions," continued
Mrs. Trevelyan, "or read to you what he says about--Colonel Osborne."
As she spoke she was holding her husband's letter open in her
hands. "There is nothing in it that you do not know. He says
I have corresponded with him. So I have;--and he shall see the
correspondence. He says that Colonel Osborne visited me. He did come
to see me and Nora."

"As any other old man might have done," said Nora.

"It was not likely that I should openly confess myself to be afraid
to see my father's old friend. But the truth is, my husband does not
know what a woman is."

She had begun by declaring that she would not trouble her friend with
any statement of her husband's complaints against her; but now she
had made her way to the subject, and could hardly refrain herself.
Priscilla understood this, and thought that it would be wise to
interrupt her by a word that might bring her back to her original
purpose. "Is there anything," said she, "which we can do to help
you?"

"To help me? No;--God only can help me. But Louis informs me that I
am to be turned out of this house, because you demand that we should
go."

"Who says that?" exclaimed Mrs. Stanbury.

"My husband. Listen; this is what he says:--'I am greatly grieved to
hear from my friend Mr. Stanbury that your conduct in reference to
Colonel Osborne has been such as to make it necessary that you should
leave Mrs. Stanbury's house.' Is that true? Is that true?" In her
general mode of carrying herself, and of enduring the troubles of
her life, Mrs. Trevelyan was a strong woman; but now her grief was
too much for her, and she burst out into tears. "I am the most
unfortunate woman that ever was born!" she sobbed out through her
tears.

"I never said that you were to go," said Mrs. Stanbury.

"But your son has told Mr. Trevelyan that we must go," said Nora,
who felt that her sense of injury against Hugh Stanbury was greatly
increased by what had taken place. To her mind he was the person most
important in the matter. Why had he desired that they should be