S。Whydon’tyouspeak,John?ShallIsayTuesdayfortnight?
Whydon’tyouanswer?GoodGod,John,whathashappened?”
JohnSedleysprangupoutofhischairtomeethiswife,whorantohim。Heseizedherinhisarms,andsaidwithahastyvoice,“We’reruined,Mary。We’vegottheworldtobeginoveragain,dear。It’sbestthatyoushouldknowall,andatonce。”Ashespoke,hetrembledineverylimb,andalmostfell。Hethoughtthenewswouldhaveoverpoweredhiswife——hiswife,towhomhehadneversaidahardword。Butitwashethatwasthemostmoved,suddenastheshockwastoher。Whenhesankbackintohisseat,itwasthewifethattooktheofficeofconsoler。Shetookhistremblinghand,andkissedit,andputitroundherneck:shecalledhimherJohn——herdearJohn——heroldman——herkindoldman;shepouredoutahundredwordsofincoherentloveandtenderness;herfaithfulvoiceandsimplecaresseswroughtthissadheartuptoaninexpressibledelightandanguish,andcheeredandsolacedhisover-burdenedsoul。
Onlyonceinthecourseofthelongnightastheysatetogether,andpoorSedleyopenedhispent-upsoul,andtoldthestoryofhislossesandembarrassments——thetreasonofsomeofhisoldestfriends,themanlykindnessofsome,fromwhomhenevercouldhaveexpectedit——inageneralconfession——onlyoncedidthefaithfulwifegivewaytoemotion。
“MyGod,myGod,itwillbreakEmmy’sheart。”shesaid。
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