He found a
note referring in general terms only to the matter in hand, but
alluding at the end to a report in the _Times_ of the proceedings
of a deputation from the society which had waited on a member of
the government of that day, and to certain letters to the editor
which had followed the publication of the report. The note
described these letters as "very important," and Mr. Carling
felt, as he put his Diary away again, that the successful
conclusion of his pamphlet now depended on his being able to get
access to the back numbers of the _Times_ of eight years since.
It was winter time when he was thus stopped in his work, and the
prospect of a journey to London (the only place he knew of at
which files of the paper were to be found) did not present many
attractions; and yet he could see no other and easier means of
effecting his object. After considering for a little while and
arriving at no positive conclusion, he left the study, and went
into the drawing-room to consult his wife.
He found her working industriously by the blazing fire. She
looked so happy and comfortable--so gentle and charming in her
pretty little lace cap, and her warm brown morning-dress, with
its bright cherry-colored ribbons, and its delicate swan's down
trimming circling round her neck and nestling over her bosom,
that he stooped and kissed her with the tenderness of his
bridegroom days before he spoke.
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