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Mrs Germaine was the first to relieve us frouests, it appeared, were still wanting to coe?" she said to her husband "Or shall ait for Mr and Mrs C?"

"We ait five minutes," he answered, shortly--with his eye on Mr A and Mr B, guiltily secluded in their corner

The drawing-room door opened We all knew that a third married lady was expected; we all looked toward the door in unutterable anticipation Our unexpressed hopes rested silently on the possible appearance of Mrs C Would that admirable, but unknooman, at once charm and relieve us by her presence? I shudder as I write it Mr C walked into the room--and walked in, alone

Mr Ger the new guest

"Is your wife ill?" he asked

Mr C was an elderlyby appearances) in the days when the old-fashioned laws of politeness were still in force He discovered his two married brethren in their corner, unaccoy for his ith the air of a man who felt unaffectedly ashaot such a bad cold She does so regret not being able to acconation forced its way outward into expression in words

"Two bad colds and one bad headache," he said, with ironical politeness "I don't kno your wives agree, gentlemen, when they are well But when they are ill, their unanimity is wonderful!"

The dinner was announced as that sharp saying passed his lips

I had the honor of taking Mrs Ger-room Her sense of the implied insult offered to her by the wives of her husband's friends only showed itself in a tre, of the hand that rested on my arm My interest in her increased tenfold Only a woman who had been accustomed to suffer, who had been broken and disciplined to self-restraint, could have endured the moral martyrdoinning of the evening to the end

Aeration when I write of my hostess in these terers like my wife and myself

Here was the first dinner party which Mr and Mrs Gere Three of Mr Germaine's friends, all married men, had been invited with their wives to meet Mr Germaine's wife, and had (evidently) accepted the invitation without reserve What discoveries had taken place between the giving of the invitation and the giving of the dinner it was i plainly discernible was, that in the interval the three wives had agreed in the resolution to leave their husbands to represent the still, the husbands had so far approved of the grossly discourteous conduct of the wives as to consent to ly trivial excuses for their absence Could any crueler slur than this have been cast on a woman at the outs et of her married life, before the face of her husband, and in the presence of two strangers fro a word to use in describing what a sensitive person must have suffered, subjected to such treatment as this? Well, I think not