The Shuttle

ewels purchased at Tiffany's. She carried a thousand trunks-more or less-across the Atlantic. When the ship steamed away from the dock, the wharf was like a flower garden in

bride's side looking back. If Rosy's half happy, half tearful excitement had left h

re out of hearing of the voices. "It will be a positive rest to be

personal, and which Rosalie had usually tried to believe was the outcome of a

k was significant and that Sir Nigel had already begun as he meant to go on. It was far from being his intention to play the part of an American husband, who was plainly a creature in whom no authority vested itself. Americans let their women say and do anything, and were capable of fetching and carrying for them. He had seen a man run upstairs for his wife's wrap, cheerfully, without the least apparent sense that

and bridegroom days enough to begin to glance into their future with a premonition of the waning of the honeymoon, at least, and especially if they were not sea-proof, to wish wearily that the first half of it were over. Rosalie was not weary, but she began to be bewildered. As she had never been a clever girl or quick to perceive, and had spent her life among women-indulging Am

ly aware of no other existence than his own, his features expressing a certain clouded resentment of whose very unexplainableness she secretly stood in awe. She was not astute enough, poor girl, to leave him alone, and when with inn

ing if she were guilty of silliness in trying to slip her h

said ch

ppy," she returned. "Someho

stiff finality which struck a note of warning to her, signifying tha

hemmed in by difficulties on every side. He had seen women trained to give in to anything rather than be bullied in public, to accede in the end to any demand rather than endure the shame of a certain kind of scene made before servants, and a certain kind of insolence used to relatives and guests. The quality he found most maddeningly irritating in Rosalie was her obviously absolute unconsciousness of the fact that it was entirely natural and proper that her resources should be in her husband's hands. He had, indeed, even in these early days, made a tentative effort or so in the form of a suggestive speech; he had given her openings to give him an opening to put things on a practical basis, but she had never h

criticisms. "You spend more than well-bred women should spend on mere dresses and bonnets. In New York it

. She could not think of anythin

in a new way-somehow as if the mere cold statement of the fact put a fine edge of sarcasm to any remark. She was of too innocent a loyalty to wish

tied with knots of embroidered ribbon, and her maid, Hannah, who admired her greatly, was

, and though she was not beyond criticism-if one demanded high distinction-she was pretty and nice to look at. But Nigel Anstruthers would not allow this to her. His own tailors' bills being far in arrears and his pocket disgustingly empty, the sight of her ingenuous sumptuousness

ir and made a ge

ng," he said. "It is the sort of thing a w

d to open the windows. Is it really strong?" she implored as Hannah went out. "

hand taking in both herself and her

what?" g

rangement, the gold-backed brushes and scent bot

ts. They came from Tiffany's.

ench woman of the demi-monde. I feel as if I had actually wa

onic speech implied, but she gathered enough of its significance to cause her to turn first red and then pale and then to burst into tears. She

ain about herself and about his moods and points of view. She had never been made to feel so at home. Everyone had been kind to her and lenient to her lack of brilliancy. No one had expected her to be brilliant, and she had been quite sweet-temperedly resigned to the fact that she was

s she was beginning to bore him, perhaps he was finding her out and beginning to get tired. At this point the always too ready tears would rise to her eyes and she would be overwhelmed by a sense of homesickness. Often she c

r her doing it. But when she reached London the novelty of everything so excited her that she thought she was going to be better, and then she said to herself it would be proved to her that all her fears had been nonsense. This return of hope made her quite light-spirited, and she was almost gay in her little outb

k. The conclusion to be deduced from this circumstance was that the particular moment was a good one at which to send in bills for "acct. rendered." The tradesmen quite shared Anstruthers' point of view. Their reasoning was delightfully simple and they were wholly unaware that it might have been call

nded interviews which irritated Sir Nigel extremely. Given time to arrange matters with Rosalie, to train her to some sense of her duty, he believed that the "acct.

When they went into "stores" they were received with unfeigned rapture. Everything was dragged forth to be displayed to them, attendants waited to leap forth

y had been insufficient, would have immediately written to her father for further donations, knowing that her appeal would be responded to at once. But Sir Nigel Anstruthers cherished no sentiment for any other individual than himself, and he had no intention of explaining that his mere vanity had caused him to mislead her, that his rank and estate counted for nothing and that he

ans. She bought new toilettes and gewgaws and presents for her friends and relations i

ney and that he should not be able to forbid her! This he said to himself at

anner. Rosalie looked up from the lace flounce which had just been delivered and ga

"They say all Americ

managed," he went on with cold precision. "If you w

such a pride about always giving things to women, and taking care of them. I believe a nice American man would break stones in the street rather than take money from a woman-even his wife. I mean while he could work. Of course if he was ill or had ill luck or anything l

ng hands, and his voice expressed a not too subtle sneer. "A woman is not 'helping' her husband when she gives him control of her fo

mehow in the wrong. So many things about her seemed to displease him, and when he was displeased

dismiss offences. He preferred to hold them in possession as if they were treasures and to turn them over and over, in the mental seclusion which no

salie had not yet learned was due to the fact that he had hastily tossed off two or three whiskies and sodas. Though he was never either thick of utterance or unsteady on his feet, whisky and soda formed an important factor in his existence. When he was annoyed or dull he at once took the necessary precautions against being overcome by these feelings, and the effect upon a constitutionally evil temper was to transform it into an infernal one. The night had been a bad one for

hanged their manner towards girls after they had married them, but she did not know they had begun to change so soon. This was so early in the honeymoon to be sitting in a railway carriage, in a corner remote from that occupied by a bridegroom, who read his paper in what was obviously intentional, resentful solitude. Emily Soame's father, she remembered it against her will, had been obliged to get a divorce for Emily after her two years of wretched married life. But Alfred Soa

r colourless face against the glass of the window, looking out at the flying trees; it was the wife of Nigel Anstruthers, and suddenly, by some hideous magic, she had been snatched from the world to which she belonged and was being dragged by a gaoler to a prison f

is face was so heavy, his skin so thick and coarse and his expression so evilly ill-tempered. She was not sufficiently analytical to be conscious that she had with one bound leaped to the appalling point of feeling uncontrollable physical abhorrence of the creature to whom she was chained for life. She was terrified at finding herself forced to combat the r

ded misery, and when their railroad journey terminate

atured, red-faced man, came forward, baring his head, to open the railroad carriage door with his own hand. Rosy thought him delightful and bowed and smiled sweet-temperedly to him and to his wife and little girls, who were

en the station master, who had known him from his boy

ladyship, Sir Nigel," he said;

iability with a half-military lifting of

st him to speak to the footman who had c

ious deprecation. In the simplicity of her republican sympathy with a well-meaning fellow creature who might feel himself snubbed, she could have shake

something else," she heard. "Kind of

or wrong. Sir Nigel had given her no instructions and she had not yet learned that when he w

drawn up before the entrance of the station and Sir Nigel was in a rage b

wo or three times in his agitation. "Very sorry. The omnibus w

are not paid to think, you are paid to do your work properly. Here are a lot of damne

e woman, who was approach

she said t

the boxes her ladyship is obliged to have this evening. Be quick a

s irritated he found it a distinct luxury to kick a dog or throw a boot at a cat. The springs of the omnibus, he argued, had no right to be broken when it was known that he was coming home. His anger was only added to by the coachman's halting endeavours in his excuse

's an expensive job, Sir Nigel. Her ladyship thought i

hman got red in the face, saluted, biting his

salie could see that he could not help hearing, nor could the country people who had been pa

manner in which she had been invariably received in New York on her return from any journey, how she was me

d at last, with innocent indiscretion

on her a blaze of h

r," he said. "It matters confoundedly. Be goo

spoken to her as if she had been an impertinent servant who had taken a liberty. The poor girl was bewildered to the

be good enough not to interfere when I

nterfere," she apol

s response. "You American women are too fond of cutting in. An

ntroduction of the international

h which he observed the two hot salt drops which fell despite her.

ashamed and began to blame herself. He was right. She must not be silly because she was unused to things. She ought not to be disturbed by trifles

he was quite sure that her voice would not tremble. "I do so

nually making efforts to propitiate him. But one of the forms of unpleasantness most enjoyable to him was the snubbing of any gentle e

rica," was the pathetic little commonpla

her, as if she had taken a new lib

?" he d

her to sustain herself un

tages were," she faltered. "And that

like that in England. I shall ask you to do me the favour of leaving Americanisms out of

said it," Rosy

s his response. "You never k

d by her master, had not the refuge of being able to "give warning." She could never give warning. The Atlantic Ocean was between her and those who had loved and pro

guarded by its huge sentinel oaks and beeches; once the carriage passed through an adorable little village, where children played on the green and a square-towered grey church seemed to watch over the steep-roofed cottages and creeper-covered vicarage. If she had been a happy American tourist travelling in company with impressionable friends, she would have broken int

nto a chime and people appeared at the doors of the cottages. The men touched their foreheads as the carriage passed, and the children made bobbing curtsies. Sir Nigel condescended to straighten himself a trifle in his seat, and recognised the greetings with t

-must I?"

d Sir Nigel, as if he were instructing

he ringing of the chimes at the New York church on that day of her marriage, which had been so full of gay, luxurious bustle, so crowde

re. The Court itself was old, and many-gabled and mellow-red and fine. Rosalie had learned from no precedent as yet that houses of its kind may represent the apotheosis of discomf

is duty to take the smallest interest. As she mounted the stone steps she caught a glimpse of broad gloom within the threshold, a big, square, dingy hall where some other servants were drawn up in a row. She had r

e had a flaccid chin, and was curiously like Nigel. She had also his expression when he intended to be disagreeable. She was the Dowager Lady Anstruthers, and being an entirely revolting ol

id in a deep voice. "

out a leathern cheek, and as Sir Nigel also presented his,

a bony hand. And as he did not indignantly deny

sulks which had filled the carriage to repletion through all the long drive, and finally the jangling bells which had so recalled that last joyous day at home-at home-had brought her to a point where this meeting between mother and son-these two stony, unpleasant creatures exchanging a reluctant

Nigel's furious start, his mother's glare and all the servants' alarmed stare at her, she rushed stagger

ied. "Oh, do! Oh, do! Oh,

ownstairs," he called out to the servants. "Take her upstair

s mother by the elbow, marched her into the nearest room and shut the door. There they stood and stared at each other, b

manner expressed all she intended that they should, all the

"So THIS is what you have