Rosamond closed the door and commenced again. "Where was I? Oh, I
know. She said if you were not a confirmed bachelor she would try her
powers on you. _'She was irresistible in her diamonds,'_ she bade me
tell you. But have you an ague chill, really? or what makes your teeth
chatter so? Shall I ring for more coal?"

"No, Rosamond, no. Fire does not warm me; I shall be better soon."

Rosamond pitied him, he looked so white and seemed to be suffering so
much, and she remained silent for a time. Then remembering the note,
she handed it to him, and turning toward the fire, stooped down to fix
a bit of coal which was in danger of dropping from the grate. While in
this attitude a cry between a howl of rage and a moan of anguish fell
upon her ear--her shoulders were grasped by powerful hands, and
looking up she saw Mr. Browning, his face distorted with passion and
his flashing eyes riveted upon the _ring_ glittering in the firelight.
Seizing her hand, he wrenched it from her finger, and glanced at the
name--then, swift as thought, placed it upon the marble hearth, and
crushed it with his heel.

"It's mine--you've broken it," cried Rosamond, but he did not heed
her, and gathering up the pieces, he hurled them into the grate--then,
pale as ashes, sank panting into the nearest chair.

Rosamond was thunder-struck. She did not suppose he had had time to
read the note, and never dreaming there was any connection between
that and his strange conduct, she believed him to be raving mad, and
her first impulse was to fly. Her second thought, however, was, "I
will not leave him. He has these fits often, now, I know, and that is