The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1875-08-04

my dear Ellinor," said Horace Mar
grave, ''if any one should come into the
conservatory. they might hear us talking
of your husband"
Every one is dressing" she answered
carelessly. Besides, if any one were
there, they would scarcely be surprised
to hear me declare my contempt for
Henry Dalton. The world does not,
hope, give us credit for being a happy
couple"
"As you will; but 1 am sure I heard
some one stirring in that conservatory.
But no matter. You ask me what
think of your husbands conduct in refus-
ing to allow a superannuated nurse of
yours more than forty pounds a year
Don't think me heariless ruffian il tell
you that l think he is perfectly right
But to withhold from me my own
money! To fetter my almsgivingI To
control my very charities i might for
give him, if he refused me diamond
necklace, or a pair Of ponies; but in this
matter. in which my affection is con-
cerned, to let his economy step in to frns-
trate my earnestly expressed wishes-it
Is too cruel -
MY dear Mrs. Dalton, like all very
impetuous and warm>hearted people, you
are rather given to jump at conclusions.
Mr.. Dalton, you say. withholds your
own money from you. Now, your own
money. with the exception of the Arden
estate, which he sold on your marriage,
happens to have been entirely invested in
the Three per Cents. Now, suppose
mind, ] haven't the least reason to sup
pose that such a thing has ever hap
pened, but for the sake Of putting a case
suppose Henry Dalton, as a clever and
snierprising man OF business. should have
been tempted to speculate with some of
your money!
without consulting meT'
without consulting you. Decidedly.
What do women know of speculation
"Mr. Margrave, if Henry Dalton has
done this, he is no longer a miser, but be
is-a cheat. The money left to me by
my uncle's will was mine. To be shared
with him, it is true, but still mine. No
sophistry, no lawyers bubble. could ever
have made it his. If, then, he has, with
out my consent or knowledge, speculated
with that money. no longer despise him
as a miser, but detest him as dishonest
man. All II Horace Margrave. you with
noble blood IN your veins; you a gentle-
man, an honorable man; what would you
think OF Henry Dalton, if this were pos>
sibleT'
Ellinor Dalton, have you ever heard Of
the madness men have cbristened gam
bling? Do you know what a gambler is'
Do you know what he feels, this man who
hazards his wife's fortune, his Widowed
mothers slender pittanee. his helpless
children's inheritance, the money that
should pay for his eldest sons education,
his daughters dowry. the hundreds due
to his trusting creditors, or the gold en-
trusted to him by a confiding employer,
on the green cloth of west end gam
bling table? Do you think that at that
mad moment, when the gas-lamps dazzle
his eyes. and the piles Of gold heave up
and down upon the restless green baize,
and the cronpier's voice, crying, Make
your gamer is multiplied by a million,
and deafens his bewildered ear like the
clamor of all the fiends; do you think at
that moment that he ever supposes he is
going to lose this money which is not
honestly his? No; he is going to double,
to treble, to quadruple 1t; to multiply
every glistenins guinea by a hundred,
and to take it back to the starving wife
or the anxious children, and cry, Was l
so much TO blame after all? Have you
ever stood upon the Grand Stand at Ep'
som, and seen the white faces of the bet.
ting-men, and heard the noise Of the ca.
ger voices upon the final rush for the
winning post2 Every man upon that
crowded stand, every creature upon that
crowded course, from the great magnats
Of the turf, who stands to win a quarter
of a million, to TIE wretched apprentices
lad, who has stolen half crown from
the till to put it upon the fayorite, be
lieves he has backed a winning horse.
That is the great madness Of gaming
that is the terrible witchcraft Of the gam
bling house and the ring and that is the
miserable hallucination Of the man who
speculates with the fortune of another
Pity him, Ellinor. If the dishonest are
ever worthy of the pity Of the good, thai
man deserves your pity"
He had spoken with an energy unusual
to him, and be sank into chair, half ex
hsusted with his unwontsd vehemence.
81 would rather think the man, whom
am forced to call my husband, miser
than cheat, Mr.. Margrave, Ellinor said
coldly; land am sorry to learn, that i
he were indeed capable of such dishonor
his crime would find an advocate IN you.
"You are pitiless. Mrs. Dalton, said
Horace Margrave, after pause. "Heav
en- help the man that dares to wrong
vn1 -