[Pg 46] BARBARA ***** is anxious to hear from J. The last Bank-note was received. Darling S. is quite well; but prattles continually about J. “And seated before me you can read this! Why, of course, that’s where your money goes,” and Mrs. Jericho, to be prepared, twitched forth her pocket-handkerchief. Jericho groaned and shook his head; silent, helpless, hopeless. The wife interpreted everything with astonishing readiness. “Of course;” she said, as though pleased with the discovery, “Barbara writes to J. And who can J. be, but Jericho! And their darling S. who prattles so, is Solomon;—of course, there can be no doubt of it. Mrs. Barbara Stars and your own ‘Solomon.’ It’s now all clear; and now I’m sure of it; now I know where your money goes.” It was very strange. At this moment, a smile suddenly broke over Jericho’s face, and he looked straight at his wife. Mrs. Jericho quickly drew up at the pleasant aspect of her lord. There was something so queer, so odd in the man. Quite a new look of satisfaction gleamed from his eyes, and his mouth had such a smile of compliance! What could ail him! “Jericho,” cried the wife, suddenly familiar. “My dear—my love,” answered Jericho, the words dropping melted from his heart. “What—why—that is—I mean, what do you smile at? What makes you look so very, very odd?” “Really, my love,” said Jericho, with deepening tenderness, “I can’t tell; but upon my word I don’t know how it is. I should think there was a great lump of luck going to fall upon us. I—somehow, I—never felt in such a pleasant humour in all my days. Upon my life, it is strange! But everything about me seems to have a new glow—a strange look of freshness in it. As true as I’m alive, Sabilla, you don’t look above five-and-twenty. Never saw you look so young in all my life.” “There’s nothing so very—so particularly strange in that, Mr. Jericho. But what is the matter with you? Anything in the paper that”— [Pg 47] [Pg 47] “Not at all; nothing—not a word. Ha! ha! well it is very odd; but I somehow feel as if I could take everybody in the world—that is every respectable person of course—take ’em all in my arms and embrace ’em.”
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