Of three children of his first marriage, two had died; his profound grief at their loss, and the inclination for domestic life which always appeared in the man, made it matter for surprise that he had waited so long before taking another wife.

It would not have occurred to most of those who knew him that his extreme devotion to women made him shy, diffident, all but timorous in their presence.

But Piers Otway, for all his mental disturbance at this moment, remarked the singular deference, the tone and look of admiring gentleness, with which Mr.Jacks turned to his wife as he presented their guest.
Mrs.Jacks was well fitted to inspire homage.

Her age appeared to be less than five-and-twenty; she was of that tall and gracefully commanding height which became the English ideal in the last quarter of the century--her portrait appears on every page illustrated by Du Manner.

She had a brilliant complexion, a perfect profile; her smile, though perhaps a little mechanical, was the last expression of immutable sweetness, of impeccable self-control; her voice never slipped from the just note of unexaggerated suavity.