Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1875-04-23

cember, together with other unfore
seen debts, had SO upset him that he
could not cover his mental distresse'
with the mask of carelessness he had
worn for weeks past.
His greatest troubles was for Alice
Never very strong-and he had otter
underrated her strength-he had Ell
deavored to surround her with every
comfort and carefully kept all harass
ing business details or cares from
her ears. He had given her money
without stint, and he supposed she
spent it like other women, for she
was always we'll dressed, and his
home was model of order and good
taste. BE that as it may, he never
thought of tracing the cause of his
failure to home extravaganza. Fol
no woman was more thoroughly
economical, without being miserly
than Mrs. Shelton. Her party toilets
were always in exceptional taste, and
her dress for Mrs. Austin's party was
not designed for any unusual display
of elegance. although the gathering
was to be one of unusual brilliancy
The night of the Goth came-a
dark. stormy December night, the all
filled with snowflakes, and the sky
gray and overcast will. heavy clouds
at is going to be terrible night
Mark" Mrs Shelton said to her hus
band, who sat before the library fire
evidently absorbed in the contents
of the evening paper. 81 have
thought once or twice since l com
menced dressing, that l would not GO
out tonight"
"Go, by all means, Alice; the car
riage is close" her husband replied
as he glanced up at the trim little
figure arayed in a dark silk, re-
trimmed, with pale blush roses in her
purpllsh-black hair, and the white
throat half veiled with filmy lace
He smiled bitterly as he saw her go
ing ont in her happy, child-like inno'
cence, as she might never 60 again,
among people who had no sympathy
for failing merchants, and who would
not give his wife a thought if she
were not rich in the worlds goods.
Il wish you would co." she said
bcscechingl;, lingering at the door
to adjust her cloak, "Mr. Austin will
be expecting YOU"
Mr.. Shelton smiled, thinking, per-
haps, of the forbidding face of a 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 wite's side,
fastened the warm wraps closer about
her throat.
"Be careful of yourself, little wo-
man." he said, with 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 inwarlly 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 its details. Yet he still hoped
that the morrow would bring some
chance of redeeming his lost credit;
although his efforts to raise the $4,000
due on the 2lst were still unsuccess-
full. lie was almost worn out with
physical and mental labor, yet he put
on his hat and overcoat, and dragged
wearily down town through the fast
falling 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
Freaks as she called her husbands
refusal to attend the party, was zeal
ously trying to feel at ease among
Mrs. Austin's stylish guests. For,
somehow; she felt depressed and i'll
at ease among the fashionables who
had hitherto welcomed her as the
wife of a prominent young merchant
who was steadily rising to eminence
in the commercial world. There was
an under current of coldness in their
greetings that her sensitive nature
detected instantly, and an angry
flush rose to her cheek when she
overheard remark relating to "Mrs.
Sheiton's old silk"
II suppose my dress is not ;p to
their standard in point of elegance .
she muttered, bitterly; 'but I'll never
ruin Mark with my extravaganza in
dress-never"
She slipped out of the gay, over
crowded parlors into the library,
where she found refuge behind the
heavy hangings Of Il bay window
She dropped into low seat and SAT
watching the streams of gas ligh,
Pickering across the street, now ankle
deep with snow, wishing that Mark
would remember her orders and send
the carriage early. The heavy, sen.
suous odors of tropical plants filled
the room with a fragrance that almost
took her breath away, and in the dis
tancc the music of II popular waltz
rose and fell, the soft voluptuous
cadences soothing her disturbed mind
into II calmness that was soon broken
by the entrance of two ladies, whose
first words chained Mrs. Shelton tc
her seat, and held her in the qucs
tionable light of an eavesdropper.
81 was astonished to see Mrs. Mark
Shelton out tonight" exclaimed the
elder of the two ladies, whose dia
monds flashed in the gaslight.
"Why?"
slave you not heard? Why, Mrs
Lamcr! Shelton is on the verge OF
bankruptcy"
sMark Shelton? Impossible! Why
Lo ., <..>o,: Iowcl o~o of Tho otounnb