All marked the change; yet in none did it awaken more surprise than
in Mr. Leslie. He never fully understood its meaning; and, no
wonder, for he had never understood her from the beginning. He was
too cold and selfish to be able fully to appreciate her character or
relation to him as a wife.

Yet, for all this change--though the long drooping form of Mrs.
Leslie regained something of its erectness, and her exhausted system
a degree of tension--the shadow passed not from her heart or brow;
nor did her cheeks grow warm again with the glow of health. The
delight of her life had failed; and now, she lived only for the
children whom God had given her.

A man of Mr. Leslie's stamp of character too rarely grows wiser in
the true sense. Himself the centre of his world, it is but seldom
that he is able to think enough out of himself to scan the effect of
his daily actions upon others. If collisions take place, he thinks
only of the pain he feels, not of the pain he gives. He is ever
censuring; but rarely takes blame. During the earlier portions of
his married life, Mr. Leslie's mind had chafed a good deal at what
seemed to him Madeline's unreasonable and unwomanly conduct; the
soreness of this was felt even after the change in her exterior that
we have noticed, and he often indulged in the habit of mentally
writing bitter things against her. He had well nigh broken her
heart; and was yet impatient because she gave signs indicative of
pain.

And so, as years wore on, the distance grew wider instead of
becoming less and less. The husband had many things to draw him
forth into the busy world, where he established various interests,