o
make mistakes in discussing the matter with him, such mistakes might
be fatal. She thought that with Cecilia she could not do other than
good. She knew her brother's mind better than did his wife, and she
imagined that between them such a story might be told,--a story so
true and so convincing that the husband might be brought back.

The following very short letter therefore was written. "My dear
Cecilia, as you will not come to me at Perth, I must go to you at
Exeter. I shall start this day week and will be with you on the
following Wednesday. Do not mind as to a room for me, as I can stop
at the hotel; but it is I think imperative that we should see each
other. Yours affectionately, Bertha Grant."

"Mamma, Lady Grant is coming here next week," said Cecilia to her
mother.

"To this house next week?"

"She says that she will come to the hotel; but of course we must
receive her here."

"But why is she coming?"

"I suppose it is because she thinks that something should be done on
behalf of her brother. I can understand her feeling, and am sure that
she sympathises with me. But I do not think that any good will come
of it. Unless he can be made to see how wrong he is nothing will be
able to change him. And until his very nature is changed he will
not be made to understand his own fault." It was thus for the first
time for a fortnight that Mrs. Western spoke to her mother about her
husband.

At the day appointed Lady Grant came and Mrs. Western met her at the
station. "Of course you will not go to the hotel," she said; "there
is plenty of room at the house. I am greatly obliged to you for
coming. It seems a dreadful thing to have to come on such a business
all the way from Perth. I know that I ought to apologise to you for
the trouble."

"Apologise! There can be no apologising between you and me. If I can
make each of you understand the truth there is not I think any doubt
but that you will be brought together."

"If he can be made to see the truth, it may be so. I do not know that
there is any seeing of the truth necessary on the other side. I have
complained of nothing. He has taken upon himself to leave me for some
cause as to which I am perfectly in the dark. However we will not
talk about it now." Then she put Lady Grant into the fly and took her
home.

There was nothing more said about it on that day. Mrs. Western, in
whose bosom something of her feeling of anger against her husband was
most unjustly