But the silence upon what they were most bent on, had the sinister effect upon Victor, of obscuring his mental hold of the beloved woman, drifting her away from him.

In communicating Fenellan's news through the lawyer Carling of Mrs.Burman's intentions, he was aware that there was an obstacle to his being huggingly genial, even candidly genial with her, until he could deal out further news, corroborative and consecutive, to show the action of things as progressive.

Fenellan had sunk into his usual apathy:--and might plead the impossibility of his moving faster than the woman professing to transform herself into, beneficence out of malignity;--one could hear him saying the words! Victor had not seen him since last Concert evening, and he deemed it as well to hear the words Fenellan's mouth had to say.

He called at an early hour of the Westward tidal flow at the Insurance Office looking over the stormy square of the first of Seamen..