plain.  He  developed  a  quite  new  fliculty  of  silence,  as  he
sat  at  his  table  in  the  window,  now  and  then  stealing  a
glance  at  her  to  see  if  she  were  free.  That  little  figure,
seated  against  the  light,  was  all  that  Lady  Markland  had  to
cheer  her,  as  she  set  out  upon  this  new  and  stony  path  of
life.  He  represented  everything  that  made  her  task  possible
and  her  burden  grateful  to  her.  Without  him  always  there  in
the  background,  what,  she  asked  herself,  would  existence  be
to  her  ?  She  asked  herself  this  question  when  it  first  began
to  be  suggested  by  her  friends  that  Geoff  should  be  sent  to
school.  It  is  one  special  feature  in  the  change  and  downfall
that  happens  to  a  woman  when  she  becomes  a  widow  that  all
her  friends  find  themselves  at  liberty  to  advise  her.  How-
ever bad  or  useless  her  husband  may  be,  so  long  as  he  lives
she  is  safe  from  this  exercise  of  friendship ;  but  when  he  is
dead  all  mouths  are  opened.  Mr.  Scarsdale  paid  her  a
visit  solemnly,  in  order  to  deliver  his  soul  in  this  respect.
