y days after, there came to him a letter from Mrs. Frothingham.
With this lady he had held no communication since the catastrophe of
last November; knowing not how to address her without giving more pain
than his sympathy could counterbalance, he remained silent. She wrote
from the neighbourhood of Swiss Cottage, where she had taken a flat; it
was her wish, if possible, to see him 'on a matter of business', and
she requested that he would make an appointment. Much wondering in what
business of Mrs. Frothingham's he could be concerned, Harvey named his
time, and went to pay the call. He ascended many stairs, and was
conducted by a neat servant-maid into a pleasant little drawing-room,
where Mrs. Frothingham rose to receive him. She searched his face, as
if to discern the feeling with which he regarded her, and her timid
smile of reassurance did not lack its pathos.

'Mr. Rolfe, it seems years since I saw you.'

She was aged a little, and her voice fell in broken notes, an unhappy
contrast to the gay, confident chirping of less than twelve months ago.

'I have only been settled here for a week. I thought of leaving London
altogether, but, after all, I had to come backwards and forwards so
often,--it was better to have a home here, and this little flat will
just suit me, I think.'

She seemed desirous of drawing attention to its modest proportions.

'I really don't need a house, and lodgings are so wretched. These flats
are a great blessing--don't you think? I shall manage here with one
servant, only one.'

Rolfe struggled with the difficulty of not knowing what to say. There
was nothing for it but to discourse as innocently as might be on the
advantages of flats, their increasing popularity, and the special
charms of this particular situation. Mrs. Frothingham eagerly agreed
with everything, and did her best to allow no moment of silence.

'You have heard from Miss Frothingham, I think?' she presently let
fall, with a return of anxiety.

'Not very long ago. From Leipzig.'

'Yes. Yes.--I don't know whether she will stay there. You know she is
thinking of taking up music professionally?--Yes. Yes.--I do so hope
she will find it possible, but of course that kind of career is so very
uncertain. I'm not sure that I shouldn't be glad if she turned to
something else.'

The widow was growing nervous and self-contradictory. With a quick
movement of her hands, she suddenly resumed in another tone.

'Mr. Rolfe, I do so