American citizen., 1875-03-20
REDEEMEDsA


barely out of my majority; but she wa
poor, desolate. little orphan sent out in
to the odd world ito do the best sh
could for herself as a governess; / wa
msdly in love with her, and l was m
own masters; we had no wiser heads +
advise US and no more experienced hand
to guide us-so we took our own way, a
was but natural, and married on m,
clerkship Of three huhdred, year
the first two years indeed it seemed t.
me as ii I. had never really lived unit
now. Our pretty little home at Kilburl
was bright and cheerful Edith was al
ways affectionate, always good-tempered
and like Annabei Lee seemed to liv
with no other thought than to love an,
be loved by me-" My work sat on M
easily; and being young people of mod
crate tastes we had money enough TO
all we wanted. There was not flaw
anywhere, and the days were scarel,
long enough for the 10y that filled then
with sunshine from beginning to end.
All this continued for two years, anC
then my wife became a mother.
This was the first break in our manner
of life, the first shadow cast over thu
brightness of our happy love. 1t changed
the whole order of things, and the change
told heavily against me. Edith was nc
longer my companion as she had been
The baby was delicate, and her health
also gave way. She was obliged togo tC
her own room quite early in the evening
sometimes at seven o'clock or so, and
even when she was well she was up in
the morning with the child, and the even
ings hung on me heavy and long. was
NO student in those days. was Social
and if not inordInately yet undoubtedly
fond of amusement; hence, sitting alone
for all these hours after my solitary dinner
for Edith dined early by the doctors or
ders-was dreary work for me, and grew
daily more fretted by the dullness of my
once sunshiny home
L tell the story just as it was; not to
excuse myself, but to explain.
Also, too, the desire for more expert.
ence natural to my age began to make
itself felt, and more than once found
myself confessing: "We married too
young" Yet did not wish for dissipa-
ton; l was not conscious of a reserve of
wild oats that was longing to SOW, but
did want a little change from the dead
mOnotony of my spoiled home. 1 was
yearning for the society of men of my
own age and standing, and naturally
the boy, though 1 loved him well
enough-for all that thought him the
ugliest and oldest little imp had ever
seen-was not. to ME what he was to his
mother. To her indeed he was every
thing. The mother had superseded the
wife. and the husband was nowhere in
comparison with the child. Edith was
angry too that did not, as she phrased
1t, take to him MORE" and l was angry
that she took to him SO much. May be
that / was jealous. On looking back l
should say that was
Just when Bertie was three months old
q fellow in our office introduced me to
Jack Langhorne. Handsome, well-man-
nered, rich, gay, good-tempered, gener-
Gus, Jack was just the man to fascinate a
comparatively raw lad Seas 1 still was.
He knew everything, being one of the
kind who start at seventeen as men and
F." see life" Systematically from that time.
There was not an accomplishment in
which he was not proficient; not q
game he could not play, giving long odds
and winning. He was lavish of his
money, and a gambler by inbred instinct
He was always stalking his fate on
chance, and hitherto chance had been
his friend. He used often TO say that be
had been too lucky, and that he should
have to pay for it before he had done.
the day of payment gave
no sign Of dawning, and Jack went on
stalking and landing, backing the right
color and the winning horse as if he had
a private Nostradamus at his elbow, and
could read the future as other men could
read the past
dare say many of my readers will
laugh at me for the confession, but had
never seen race until Jack .Langhorne
took me down to the Derby on his drag
IL was day both of great enjoyment
and great excitement. to .pe, for under
his auspices ! netted fifty pounds and 1
felt millionaire. was, wild with
pleasure; perhaps, too, the champagne
counted for something in my hilarity as
l took home to Edith a sixth of my year
ly income, made in fewer hours than it
took me to earn my paltry diurnial
guinea Visions Of fortune, golden and
bright, passed before my eyes. and al
ready saw Edith queening it in the
park with her housekeeping bays and
turnout. She should have ev-
money could command What
ever else my visions showed me she was
always in my thoughts and highest in
my hopes.
But when 1 gave her the money she
turned away from me coldly and min
ute after had buried her face in the pn-
low OF the sofa where she was lying and
was sobblng. / was good deal sur
prlsed, little shocked and greatly hurt
i had better use the harsher word and
say vexed-a at this outburst | did not
see the good of it and did not under
stand 1t. Besides it chils man so
painfully to be received with coldness
and tears after such day as / had SPENT
1t makes the contrast between life inside
and outside the home too sharp, and only
sends him further off instead of drawing
him nearer. However, tears were too
scarce yet for me to disregard or with
stand them SO kissed nv wife and did
my best to soothe her, and by°rees
brought her round so far that she left off
crying, and began to kiss the baby as if
il was something quite new and she had
never kissed ii before.
Though was sorry to see her cry this
vexed me again. She had not seen me
all the day, and she had had the hoy. /
thought she might have paid little at
[entlon to the one who had been absent,
TO put 1T on no other ground
But when L demonstrated she only
answered: :" know, George, you do not
care for baby. You never have cared for
him, and If 1t Were1iot for me III, might
die of neglect"
i began to laugh at this 1t struck me
rs too comicai that "A wife should reproach
her husband Tor not taking care of the
babv: for surely if there is such a thing
IS wOman's work" in the world, and
hey are not meant by nature and the
eternal fitness of things to be soldiers
and sailors and lawyers and doctors and
The Lord knows what besides, that work
is to be found in the home and the
nursery But she was angry when /
laughed, and raising herself on her elbow
drew such picture of the infamy, ruin,
degradation that was to follow on my
taking to bad courses, founded on my