Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1875-05-12

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might never go again, among people
who had no sympathy for failing mer-
chants, and who would not give his
wife a thought if she were not rich in
this worlds goods"
81 wish you would CO." she said,
beseechingly, lingering at the door to
adjust her cloak, "Mr Austin will be
expecting you"
Mr.. Shelton smiled, thinking, per-
haps, of the torbidding face ofa man
of whom he had begged loan of that
afternoon, whose curt "cannot spare a
dollar, SIR rang IN his ears yet. He
arose from his seat by the fire, and
going over to his wife's side fastened
the warm wraps closer about her
throat.
''Be careful of yourself, little wo-
man" he said, with Il forced attempt
at gayety; ''and enjoy yourself, for
it is utterly impossible for me to 60"
He accompanied her to the carriage
and as he closed the door on the placid
little face he inwardly mathematical
the weakness that prompted him to
withhold the story of his difficulties
from her, when she daily ran the risk
Of hearing it from lips less liable to
soften it's details. Yet he still hoped
that the morrow would bring some
chance OF redeeming his lost credit
although his efforts to raise the $4,-
900 due on the 21st were still unsuc-
cessiul. He was almost worn out
with physical and mental labor, yet he
put on his hat and overcoat, and drag
ged YEARLY down town through the
last-falliug snow and murky darkness,
to spend the dreary hours Of his wife's
absence, poring over ledgers in his
counting-room.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Mark Shelton, not
quite satisfied with Marks "strange
freak" as she called her husbands re-
fusal to attend the party, was jealous
ly trying to feel at case among Mrs.
Austin's stylish guests. For some
how, she felt depressed and i'll at ease
among the fashionables who had hith-
erto welcomed her as the wife of a
prominent young merchant who was
steadily rising to eminence in the
commercial world. There was an
undercurrent of coldness in their
greetings that her sensitive nature de-
tected instantly, and an angry flush
rose to her cheek when she overheard
a remark relating to "Mrs Sheltons
old silk"
81 suppose my dress it not up to
their standard in point of elegance,
she muttered, bitterly "but Ill never
ruin Mark with my extravaganza In
dress--neyer
She slipped out of the gay, over
crowded parlor5 into the library,
where she found refuge behind the
heavy hangings OF bay window
She dropped into low seat, and sat
watching the streams Of gas-lght
Pickering across the street. now ankle
deep with snow, wishing that Mark
would remember her orders and send
the carriage early. The heavy, sensu-
Gus odors of tropical plants filled the
room with fragrance that almost took
her breath away, and in the distance
the music of a popular waltz rose and
fell, the soft, voluptuous cadences
soothing her disturbed mind into q
calmness that was soon broken by the
entrance of two ladies, whose first
words chained Mrs. Shelton to her
seat, and held her in the questionable
light of an eavesdropper.
II was astonished to sec Mrs. Mark
Shelton out tonight" exclaimed the
elder of the two ladies, whose dia-
monds flashed in the gas-light.
"Why ?"
"Have you not heard ? Why, Mrs
Lamar! Shelton is on the verge of
bankruptcy"
"Mark Shelton ? Impossible Why,
he is considered one of the staunchest
merchants in the city"
"And was. But he has lost credit
somehow. He has been on the streets
tor days, trying to raise money to
cancel most of his urgent debts and
l wouldn't be surprised if his wife did
have to give up her stylish home be-
fore the winter is over"
"She is nobody anyway. Her
father was only soap chandler, and
I have often wondered at Mark Shell
tons taste in choosing her for wife,
remarked Mrs. Lamer, who had once
decided fancy for Mark herself.
"Soap chambers are as good as
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