General Abercrombie was fifty years old, a large, handsome and
agreeable man, and a favorite with his brother officers, who deeply
regretted his weakness. As an officer his drinking habits rarely
interfered with his duty. Somehow the discipline of the army had gained
such a power over him as to hold him repressed and subordinate to its
influence. It was only when official restraints were off that the devil
had power to enter in and fully possess him.

A year before the time of which we are writing General Abercrombie had
been ordered to duty in the north-eastern department. His headquarters
were in the city where the characters we have introduced resided.
Official standing gave him access to some of the wealthiest and best
circles in the city, and his accomplished wife soon became a favorite
with all who were fortunate enough to come into close relations with
her. Among these was Mrs. Birtwell, the two ladies drawing toward each
other with the magnetism of kindred spirits.

A short time before coming to the city General Abercrombie, after
having in a fit of drunken insanity come near killing his wife, wholly
abandoned the use of intoxicants of every kind. He saw in this his only
hope. His efforts to drink guardedly and temperately had been
fruitless. The guard was off the moment a single glass of liquor passed
his lips, and, he came under the influence of an aroused appetite
against which resolution set itself feebly and in vain.

Up to the evening of this party at Mr. Birtwell's General Abercrombie
had kept himself free from wine, and people who knew nothing of his
history wondered at his abstemiousness. When invited to drink, he
declined in a way that left no room for the invitation to be repeated.
He never went to private entertainments except in company with his
wife, and then he rarely took any other lady to the supper-room.

The new hope born in the sad heart of Mrs. Abercrombie had grown
stronger as the weeks and months went by. Never for so long a time had
the general stood firm. It looked as, if he had indeed gained the
mastery over an appetite which at one time seemed wholly to have
enslaved him.

With a lighter heart than usual on such occasions, Mrs. Abercrombie
made ready for the grand entertainment, paying more than ordinary
attention to her toilette. Something of her old social and personal
pride came back into life, giving her face and bearing the dignity and
prestige worn in happier days. As she en