He had outgrown his wife, but he had always loved and protected her gentle goodness.

He had never failed her in her smallest difficulty, he could not bear to see her hurt.

Betty had been his compeer and his companion almost since her childhood, but his wife was the tenderest care of his days.

There was a strong sense of relief in his thought of Betty now.

It was good to remember the fineness of her perceptions, her clearness of judgment, and recall that they were qualities he might rely upon.
When he left his wife to take his train to town, he left her smiling again.