He had no servant now, no grandly developed luggage, no gun, no elaborate dress for the mountains.

On that former occasion his heart had been very full when he reached Loughlinter, and his heart was full now.
Then he had resolved to say a few words to Lady Laura, and he had hardly known how best to say them.

Now he would be called upon to say a few to Lady Laura's husband, and the task would be almost as difficult.
The door was opened for him by an old servant in black, who proposed at once to show him to his room.

He looked round the vast hall, which, when he had before known it, was ever filled with signs of life, and felt at once that it was empty and deserted.

It struck him as intolerably cold, and he saw that the huge fireplace was without a spark of fire.