Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1881-02-11

know at all, when. in the midst of the little
feast, the colored lad brought up the mail
81 declare, it's st. Valentines Day !" said
she 81 wonder IL I've any letters Z"
Mr.. Eccleston glanced up a moment with
the mail in his hand as the door closed. Then
he handed his wife some letters with local
stamps on them.
valentines !" she said gayly, breaking the
seals.
Mr.. Eccleston was not jealous man /; but
oil at once he remembered to have heard that
gay life was demoralizing, and a vivid sort
Of hating remembrance darted over him Of
that gay young attache who spilled the punch.
In the next instant his unspoken fear started
out into doubt, and doubt became black Ger.
tainty, as, with a Wild halfsmothered cry,
the letters whirled from his wife's hand, and
she tainted. He had sprung round and
caught his wife on one arm before she fell
but with the other hand he had caught those
letters, and before he had laid her upon the
bed he had glanced at their contents. 1t
was Madame Des Chenes's BILL the hair-dress-
er's, the livery's. Horses at all hours; puffs.
switches, pomades, combs and care silk
gauze, tulle, Valencennes, damasse, en-
broidery in gold thread, black Queens Point,
flowers, buttons, fringes, ribbons slippers,
gloves making, and attendance-item for
item, there they were. No wonder his wife
had tainted. He wished he could .oo-for a
moment wished il might be never TO revive
Sum by sum, the whole amount was twelve
hundred dollars Exactly the amount Of the
mortgage on the dear little house ut Lotion.
Mrs. Eccleston came TO herself without any
exertion on the part of her husband. He
was sitting, when she opened her eyes, with
his arms stretched along the table, and his
head fallen between them. What was the
nor of cfrt1u0Iiu0 ha tbt,Ifn, u-1a
dress-maker's bill and its accessories for three
weeks could sweep away the home built from
the savings and sacrifices Of q lifetime And
this was only the beginning of it. The appe-
tite, once whetted, would 60 on to their de-
struction. II he sent home and mortgaged
the house for enough more TO pay these bills,
that ended il life would be to begin over
again, and probably to the same result at
last. They were now, practically, after q
dozen hard years, just where they stood at
frst-without a roof to their heads 1t
seemed TO him, in that sudden plunge from
gayety to gloom, that it might be as well to
stop the whole thing-lfe and love and work
and worry-now. He was aroused by a
strange sound at the other end of the room
a sort Of sobbing groan. He looked up to
see his wife bundling one thing after another
into her trunk as fast as she could hurry
them. "What are you doing p he said.
'Tm-Tm going home to mother's," she
sobbed. "0h, you'll never want to look at
me again And 1 must go somewhere, you
know"
"And you'd make it go much easier by
leaving me all alone to bear it," he cried.
And with the words she tumbled over on the
floor again.
''Oh, Will" she cried, with her arms about
his neck, after she had come round the next
time, "do you mean that you really forgive
me hadn't an idea the lace was real"
Forgive you? You dear little fool, you
are the one to forgive me. 1 ought to have
known better. ought to have known that
clerks are not millionaires, and when the frog
tries to swell to the size of the bull, he
bursts. 1t was l, said Mr.. Eccleston-'I
that did it with my own cursed folly.
spurred the business on, and gratified my
pride more than your vanity. I've nobody
to blame but myself. don't blame you,
my darling, one particle"
"Ob, but 1 do, Will, do. 1 shall never
forgive myself. will dismiss Bridget. I'll
go without I'll do my very best to make
it up, you dear, kind, patient boy"
Nonsense! ! nonsense I'll find some 9TH
er way than that. But Helen, do you know,
in spite of the dismay, there was a little re-
lief about this?"
Relief"
Atb. OOu Do NSAeu. TOT one moment,
just one moment, thought your valentines
were from the young attache."
at isn't possible. Oh, WILL l wish I'd
never come-I wish I'd never come. How
could you ?-oh, how could you? Why didn't
l think your letter was all wrong-was an
other valentine 2"
"Mine2 By George had forgotten
had letter" and he tore open the long Off
cial envelope with trembling fingers to learn
that the claim had been allowed, and the
money awaited his disposition. "And my
percentage is just twelve hundred dollars"
he said.
1T would have paid of our mortgage"
came the answer, through flood of tears
"And now"
"Well, WELL that's better than it might
have been, by good deal. We've got each
other at any rate. And we haven't lost the
house, as we might have done. We're as
well of now as we were before, and have
twelve hundred dollars worth of experience
to boot, said the tender husband.
One hour from that time, trunk packed
and bills paid, they shook the dust of WASH
ington of their feet and sought the SHOWS of
Lotion. And that is how the beautiful Mrs.
Eccleston year or two since disappeared SO
suddenly and mysteriously from society,"
Hdrper's Bdzdr.