rrible phrases that stared him in the
face.

It is generally agreed that an anonymous letter should be treated with
silent contempt, and cast aside as the malicious lies of a coward who
dares not say to a man's face what he secretly commits to paper, and
forces upon him.

This is all very well in theory, but is difficult to practise when
the anonymous letter comes. You throw it in the fire, it burns; but,
although the paper is destroyed by the flames, doubt remains. Suspicion
arises from its ashes, like a subtle poison penetrates the inmost
recesses of the mind, weakens its holiest beliefs, and destroys its
faith.

The trail of the serpent is left.

The wife suspected, no matter how unjustly, is no longer the wife in
whom her husband trusted as he would trust himself: the pure being who
was above suspicion no longer exists. Suspicion, no matter whence the
source, has irrevocably tarnished the brightness of his idol.

Unable to struggle any longer against these conflicting doubts, M.
Fauvel determined to resolve them by showing the letter to his wife; but
a torturing thought, more terrible than any he had yet suffered, made
him sink back in his chair in despair.

"Suppose it be true!" he muttered to himself; "suppose I have been
miserably duped! By confiding in my wife, I shall put her on her guard,
and lose all chance of discovering the truth."

Thus were realized all Verduret's presumptions.

He had said, "If M. Fauvel does not yield to his first impulse, if he
stops to reflect, we have time to repair the harm done."

After long and painful meditation, the banker finally decided to wait,
and watch his wife.

It was a hard struggle for a man of his frank, upright nature, to play
the part of a domestic spy, and jealous husband.

Accustomed to give way to sudden bursts of anger, but quickly mastering
them, he would find it difficult to be compelled to preserve his
self-restraint, no matter how dreadful the discoveries might be. When
he collected the proofs of guilt one by one, he must impose silence upon
his resentment, until fully assured of possessing certain evidence.

There was one simple means of ascertaining whether the diamonds had been
pawned.

If the letter lied in this instance, he would treat it with the scorn it
deserved. If, on the other hand, it should prove to be true!

At this moment, the servant announced breakfast; and M. Fauvel looked
in the glass before leaving his study, to see if hi