West-Jersey pioneer., 1872-12-20
wife, it is the thought Of her that drives


s'And why not,'' said l, 'sshe must know
it sooner or later; you cannot keep it long
from her, and the intelligence may break up
on her in a more startling manner than if
impaired by yourself, for the accents Of
those we love, soften the hardest tidings. -
Besides, you are depriying yourself of the
pleasure of her sympathy; and not merely
that, but also endangering the only bond
that can keep hearts togetler-an unreserv-
ed community of thought and feeling. She
will soon perceive that something is secretly
preying upon your mind; and true love will
not brook reserve; it feels under-valued and
outraged, when even the sorrows of those
it loves are concealed from it. y
{. '.Oh, but my friend. to think what blow
I am to give to all her future prospects
how am to strike her very soul to the earth,
by telling her that her husband is beggar!
that she is to forego all the elegancies of
life-to shrink with me into indigence and
obscurity! To tell her that have dragged
her down from the sphere in which she
might have continued to move in constant
light of every eye-the adj
miration of every heart! How can she bear
poverty? she has been brought up in all the
reHnem ents of, opulence. How can she bear
neglect9 she has been the idol of society,"
Oh! it will break Ter heart-it will break
her heart.''
saw his grief was eloquent, and let it
have its flow; for sorrow relieves itself by
words. When his paroxism had subsidized
and he had lapsed into gloomy silence, re-
sumed the subject gently, and urged him to
break the situation at once to his wife. He
shook his head mournfnlly, but positively.
s'But how are you to keep it from her? 1t
is necessary she should know, that you may
take the steps proper to the alteration of
your circumstances. You must change
your style ofliving-nay, observing pang
to pass across his countenance,r s'don't let
that aff1ict you. / am sure you have never
placed your happinessssa outward show
you have yet friends, warm friends, who
will not think the worse Of you for being
less splendidly lodged; and surely it does
notrequire palace to be happy with Mary"
81 could be happy with her." cried he,
convulsively, SIN a hovel! could go down
with her into poverty and the dust! |
could-I could-God bless herl-God bless
her?" cried he, bursting into a transport OF
grief and tenderness. gss
Sand believe me, my friend, said L step
ping up, and grasping him warmly by the
hand, believe me she can be the same with
YOU. Ay more; it will be a source of pride
and triumph to her-it will call forth all the
latent energies end fervent sympathies OF
her nature; for she will rejoice to prove that
she loves you for yourself. There is in ev
cry true woman's heart a spark of heavenly
fire, which lies dormant in the broad day
light Of prosperity; but which kindles up,
and beams and blazes in the dark hour Of
adversity. No one knows what the wife Of
his bosom is-no man knows what minis
tering angel she is-until he has gone with
her through the fiery. trials of this world. ,,
There was something in the, earnestness
of my manner. and the fguratiye style OF
my language that caught the excited imag-
ination of Leslie. | knew the auditorI had
to deal with; and followed up the impress
ion had made. I finished by persuading
him to go home and unburden his sad heart
to his wife. ae 5lfs 35s 4sa,o sa
80 I must confess, notwithstanding all I had
said, felt some little solicitude for the re-
suit. Who can calculate on the 7fortitude
of one whose life has been round of pleas
ure? Her gay spirit. might revolt at the
dark, downward path of low humility sud.
denly pointed out before her, and might
cling to the sunny regions in which they had
hitherto reveled. Besides, ruin in fashion
able life, is accompanied by SO many CALLING
notifications, to which in other ranks it is
stranger. In short, could not meet Les
lie the next morning without trepidation.
He had made the disclosure. a,sfsisa.8
.sAnd how did she bear t?'' cas- z
s'Like an angel! 1t seemed rather to be q
relief to her mind, for she threw her. arm.
around my neck, and asked if this was al
that had lately made me unhappy. But
poor girl,'' added lie, s'she cannot realize
the change we must undergo. She had nc
idea of poverty but in the abstract; she ha'
only read Of it in poetry, where it is allied
to love, She feels as yet no priyation; she
suffers noloss Of accustomed, convenience
nor elegancies. When we come practically
to experience its sordid cares, its paltry
wants, its petty humiliations- will bt
the real trial.
"But," said I, .tnow that you have go
over the severest task, that of breaking it t.
her, the sooner you let the world into thu
secret the better. The disclosure may b.
mortifying; but then it is a single miser,
and soeniover, whereas you otherwise suff
cred it in anticipation every hour in the day
1t is not poverty so much as pretence, thai
harasses ruined mamie struggles be
tween proud mind and empty purse
the keeping up a hollow show that mus
soon come to an end. Have the courage t.
appear poor, and you disarm poverty Of it
oAdl pCot vi tiIlo pOlHt @tVuhA
Leslie perfectly prepared. He had no falst
pride himself. and as to his wife, she ,wa'
only anxious to conform to their altered for
| tunes. assel
Some days after, he called upon me in tht
evening. He had disposed of his dwelling
house, and taken a small cottage in the
country a few miles from town. aHs had
been busy all day sending out furniture. :
The new establishment required a few arti
cles, and those Of the simplest kind. AL
the splendid furniture of his late residence
have been sold excepting his wife's harp =
That, he said, was too closely associated
with the idea of herself it belonged to the
little story of their loves; for some Of the
sweetest moments of their courtship were
those when he had leaned over that instru
ment and listened to the melting tones o.
her voice. ! could not but smile at this in
of s.