At the end of the period named, like the sudden bursting of a fearful tempest from a summer sky, came the illness and death of her aunt, who had been a mother to her from childhood.
Scarcely had her heart begun to recover from this shock, when it was startled by another and more terrible affliction.

All at once it became apparent that her husband was losing his self-control.

And the conversation that she had held with her aunt about him, years before, came up fresh in her memory, like the echo of a warning voice, now heard, alas! too late.

She noticed, with alarm, that he drank largely of brandy at dinner, and was much stupified when he would rise from the table--always retiring and sleeping for an hour before going back to his business.

Strange, it seemed to her, that she had never remarked this before.