It was a consequence of this family arrangement that Rose was often invited to spend a few weeks with the Cohens in London, and she was in their house on the day of the presentations. Her lover was absent, and had been out of England for some months. He held a position of responsibility with a large contractor, and had been sent to Austria upon business of an important nature. He was expected home at the end of the week, but was only to remain in England two days, his passage to Australia being already taken, to look after a railway contract which had been secured by his employer, Mr. Monmouth. He was expected to be away eight or nine months, and upon his return home the marriage was to take place. Neither was their other child, Ruth, a witness of the presentations. She had invited herself to Portsmouth, to spend a week or two with Mrs. Moss. Rachel missed her, Aaron did not. Although he could not fix the exact day of her birth, he knew that she would soon be twenty-one years of age, when the duty would devolve upon him of delivering to her the iron box of which he had been made the custodian, and he was in an agony as to how he should act. Every day that passed deepened his trouble, and it was perhaps to this that his growing impression may be ascribed that shadows were gathering over his house which might wreck the happiness of his beloved wife. Again and again had he debated the matter with himself without being able to arrive at any comforting conclusion. Rachel doted on her children. She could not see what Aaron could see--that there was something weighing also upon Ruth's mind which she was concealing from them, and that the confidence was wanting which should exist between a child and her parents. However, on this day he could not give himself up to these disturbing reflections; he had consented to accept an honor of which he deemed himself unworthy, and it was incumbent upon him that he should not betray himself. There was still a little time left to him to decide upon his course of action. He was beginning to tamper with himself. The man of upright mind was at this period laying himself open to dangerous casuistical temptations. Even from such pure, unselfish love as he entertained for the wife who was deserving of love in its sweetest and purest aspects may spring an upas tree to poison the atmosphere we breathe.