of her condition, which he read slowly and with care. Towards
the end of the letter, perhaps made frolicsome by confession, she broke
into gossip, related several little scandals of various hotels, and
concluded with this paragraph:

"Quite an excitement has been caused here by the arrival of a marvellous
dahabeeyah called the _Loulia_. She is the most lovely boat on the Nile,
I am told, and every one is longing to go over her. But there is no
chance for any of us. In the first place the _Loulia_ is tied up at the
western bank, on the Theban side of the river, and, in the second place,
she belongs for the season to the Nigel Armines. And, as of course you
remember, Mrs. Nigel Armine was Mrs. Chepstow, and _utterly impossible_.
Now she is married again she may think she will be received, but she
never will be. Of course, if she could have had the luck one day to
become Lady Harwich, it might have become possible. A great position
like that naturally makes people think differently. And, after all, the
woman is married now. But no use talking about it! The twins have
effectually knocked that possibility on the head. They say she nearly
went mad with fury when she heard the news. It seems he had never given
her a hint before the wedding. Wise man! He evidently knew his Mrs.
Chepstow. Nevertheless, to give the devil her due, I hear she seems
quite wrapped up in her husband. I saw him for a minute the other day,
when I was crossing to go to the tombs of the Kings. He was looking
awfully ill, I thought, such an extraordinary colour! I didn't see her,
but they say she looks younger than ever, and much more beautiful than
when she was in London. Marriage evidently suits her, though it doesn't
seem to suit him," etc., etc.

This letter arrived by an evening post, and Isaacson read it after his
day's work was done. When he had finished it, he took out from a drawer
Nigel's letter to him, which he had kept, and compared the two. It was
not necessary to do this, for Nigel's words were in his memory. Isaacson
could not have said exactly why he did it. The sight of the two letters
side by side made a strongly disagreeable impression upon him, and
perhaps, in comparing them thus, he had almost unconsciously been
seeking such an impression.

"Never in my life have I been in such splendid health."

"He was looking awfully ill--such an extraordinary colour!"

What had happened between the writing of the first letter and the
writing o