g per hour.

By these means, and by working like a galley slave, he dragged his
expenditure down almost to a level with his income.

Rosa was quite content at first, and thought herself lucky to escape
reproaches on such easy terms.

But by and by so rigorous a system began to gall her. One day she
fancied a Bath bun; sent the new maid to the pastry-cook's. Pastry-cook
asked to see the doctor's order. Maid could not show it, and came back
bunless.

Rosa came into the study to complain to her husband.

"A Bath bun," said Staines. "Why, they are colored with annotto, to
save an egg, and annotto is adulterated with chromates that are poison.
Adulteration upon adulteration. I'll make you a real Bath bun." Off
coat, and into the kitchen, and made her three, pure, but rather heavy.
He brought them her in due course. She declined them languidly. She was
off the notion, as they say in Scotland.

"If I can't have a thing when I want it, I don't care for it at all."
Such was the principle she laid down for his future guidance.

He sighed, and went back to his work; she cleared the plate.

One day, when she asked for the carriage, he told her the time was now
come for her to leave off carriage exercise. She must walk with him
every day, instead.

"But I don't like walking."

"I am sorry for that. But it is necessary to you, and by and by your
life may depend on it."

Quietly, but inexorably, he dragged her out walking every day.

In one of these walks she stopped at a shop window, and fell in love
with some baby's things. "Oh! I must have that," said she. "I must. I
shall die if I don't; you'll see now."

"You shall," said he, "when I can pay for it," and drew her away.

The tears of disappointment stood in her eyes, and his heart yearned
over her. But he kept his head.

He changed the dinner hour to six, and used to go out directly
afterwards.

She began to complain of his leaving her alone like that.

"Well, but wait a bit," said he; "suppose I am making a little money by
it, to buy you something you have set your heart on, poor darling!"

In a very few days after this, he brought her a little box with a slit
in it. He shook it, and money rattled; then he unlocked it, and poured
out a little pile of silver. "There," said he, "put on your bonnet, and
come and buy those things."

She put on her bonnet, and on the way she asked how it came to be all in
silver.

"That is a puzzler," said he, "isn't it?"