The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1881-08-03

.ty of postmarital compensensation
Elizabeth insisted on keeping hel
own house to offer her, he must needy
go to Braithwaite Hall as the hus
band of its proprietress, She insited
upon his removing his office t
Braitbwaite, small village, offering
none of the advantages for killing
time which large city like Iced:
did; and she had all her money
scrnpulously settled on herself fol
her owp use and Under her control
Sieve felt very much as though his
wife had bought him, but for a little
*hileithe eclat ofhaviag married a
great heiress, lhe.bridal festivities
and foreign 4raerscohpensated 70,
the loss Of his freedom. But @herI
THEY returned 70 ailbnai III.
showed q far more prosaic side. Mrs
Gaskilfs economical disposition be.
came particularly offensive to Steve.
She inQuird closely into his business,
and did not scruple tomake unpleas
ant. witty remarks about his income.
She rapidly developed, too, an au,
thoritative disposition, against which
Steve daily more and more rebelled.
The young couple were soon very un.
happy.
The truth was that a great transi-
ton was taking place in Steve's mind,
and times of transition are always
times Of unrest and misery. The
better part Of his nature was begin
ming 10 claim a hearing. lie had
now seen all that good society could
show him; be had tasted all the
pleasures money could buy, and he
was not happy.
She had no ennui and dissatiSfac-
tion with herself. There was her
large house to oversee, her garden
and conservatories, her servants and
charity-scliools, her toilet and a
whole colony of pet animals. Her
days were so short for all the small
interests that filled them; and these
interests she would have willingly
shared with Steve, but to him they
soon became intolerable bores.
Under such circumstances he
might have found his work in the
ordering and investing of lis wife's
large estate, but Elizabeth was far
too cautious to trust her business To
untried hands. Her fathers agent
iwas-he;agetYt; Fgre barrtef sfandsed
all her investments; her park and
farm aud gardens were all under the
care Of old and experienced servants,
who looked upon Steve merely as
"Missie's husband"
In The second year of his marriage
he began to have some thoughts
Which would have astonished his
wife could she have thought it worth
while to inquire what occupied his
mind in the long hours when he
paced the shrubbery, or sat silently
looking out of the window. But
Steve was now ready for any employ
ment that would take him out of tie
purposely dependent life which he
had so foolishly chosen for himself.
One day, greatly to his surprise,
Elizabeth said to him:
"Steve, have letter from cous.
in of mothers who lives in Glasgow.
She is going to Australia, and wants
me to buy her house. She says it is
a great bargain, and wrote to Bar
rctt to go and see about it. have a
letter this morning saying he is too
i'll to leave his bed. | wonder if you
could attend to it?'
"Yes, would be very glad to CO."
Every well; l should think you
knew enough of titles and deeds and
coveyancing and all that sort OF
thing. will trust the affair to you,
Steve"
So the next morning Steve found
himself on the Caledonian line, with
Gl0O in his pocket and a valuable
piece of business on hand. The first
twenty miles out of Leeds he enjoyed
with all the abandon of bird set
free. Then he begain to think again,
AT Crewe he missed Il train, and
wandering about the station, fell in
talking with the engineer of the
next train, who was cleaning and