Had not the influence of Carrie's regard for him, the elation which her promise aroused in him, lasted over, he would not have seen the house in so pleasant a mood.

It was not extraordinarily bright and merry this evening.

He was merely very much mistaken, and would have been much more fitted to cope with it had he come home in his normal state.
After he had studied his paper a few moments longer, he felt that he ought to modify matters in some way or other.

Evidently his wife was not going to patch up peace at a word.

So he said: "Where did George get the dog he has there in the yard ?" "I don't know," she snapped.
He put his paper down on his knees and gazed idly out of the window.