The guard was off the moment a single glass of liquor passed his lips, and, he came under the influence of an aroused appetite against which resolution set itself feebly and in vain.
Up to the evening of this party at Mr.Birtwell's General Abercrombie had kept himself free from wine, and people who knew nothing of his history wondered at his abstemiousness.

When invited to drink, he declined in a way that left no room for the invitation to be repeated.
He never went to private entertainments except in company with his wife, and then he rarely took any other lady to the supper-room.
The new hope born in the sad heart of Mrs.Abercrombie had grown stronger as the weeks and months went by.

Never for so long a time had the general stood firm.

It looked as, if he had indeed gained the mastery over an appetite which at one time seemed wholly to have enslaved him.
With a lighter heart than usual on such occasions, Mrs.Abercrombie made ready for the grand entertainment, paying more than ordinary attention to her toilette.

Something of her old social and personal pride came back into life, giving her face and bearing the dignity and prestige worn in happier days.