Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1883-06-21

which the confident tone - Nspart-
ed. 1t will scarcely cpt nsa and
me for clothing One-hAlf 4 80 ex-
pended
Say one.half, and yo1r u ne will
not reach the demand Wat was
your taiIor's bill sast year
Two hundred dollars.
Say three hundred, including boots
ct eetTas.
Yes. S. 0s*&k
sYou could scarcely gss llis hsI0w
hundred.
Perhaps not f
The young mans voice was grow
ing husky.
THAT viii leave sixty dollars for
your wife's clothing, and nothing for
pleasure. recreation, OF unanticipated
but unavoidable expenses. And If it
be SO with you two in good health,
what will be the condition of things
in sickness, and with children to sup
port and edueate2 Adrian, my young
friend, there is debt, embarrassment,
disappointment and a miserable life
beforesyou. Pause and retrace your
steps before it is too late. Ifyou love
Rosa, spare her from this impending
fate. Leave her in her pleasant home,
or to grace that of man better able
than you to provide her with the ex-
ternal blessings of life. You cannot
marry on twelve hundred dollars a
year, and it is folly to think of it.
We gould get boarding for twelve
dollars a week, said Adrian.
That would scarcely help the mat
ter at all. At best, it would only
make a difference in the amount Of
your Indebtedness at the close of each
year. 1t is folly to think of it, my
young friend. You can't afford to
marry.
1t has dark look, but, there is no
holding up now, replied Adrian, in a
gloomy way. We have mutually
pledged ourselves to each other, and
the day of our marriage has been ap-
pointed -
I'm sorry for you, said the friend,
bachelor of forty, who, on an income
of two thousand a year, could see no
possible chance for happy marriage
in the City of New York, and prefer
red celibacy to the embarrassments
which he saw hundreds of his friends
encounter in their attempts to live in
style out of all proportion to theft
resources. I'm sorry for you, he re-
peated; but if you will bend your
neck to the yoke, you must not COM
plain of the burden you find yourself
compelled to bear
Strange as itmay appear, the young
clerk, Henry Adrian, had never be-
fore looked this matter of income, ex-
penditure and style of living fairly in
the front. The actual aspect of the
case, when clearly seen, threw his
mind into state of troubled bewil-
derment.
He went over and and over again
the calculations suggested by Mr..
Blair, a book-keeper in the establish
ment where he was employed, cutting
off little from one proposed expen-
diture and another, but not being
able to get the cost Of living down to
the range of his salary, except when
the style was SO far below that in
which his wife must move, that he
turned half sick from its contempla-
tion. The more steadily he looked to
the truth, the more heavily came the
pressure of its stony weight upon his
heart. To go forward was little less
than madness, yet how could he hold
back now?
Rosa sat alone. reading in one of
her uncle's handsome parlors, waiting
for her lover. He was. later than us
ual; so late that her book began to
lose its interest, and at last lay closed
on her lap, while q shade fell over her
expectant face. A single glance at
Rosa's countenance revealed the fact
that she was. girl of some character.
There was no soft, voluptuous languor
about her, but an erectness of posi-
tion as she sat, and a frmness Of tone
in all her features, that indicated an
active mind and self-reliance.
An hour later than usual, Adrian
came.
Are you sick, Henry ? asked Rosa,
as she took his hand and fixed her
eyes on his sober face.
Not sick, but troubled in mind, he
replied, without evasion.
Why are troubled, HenrYY And
Rosa drew an arm tenderly around
her lover.
Sit down and I will tell you. The
trouble concerns us both, Rosa
The young girls face grew pale.
They sat down close together, holding
each others hand. But in Adrian 5
countenance there was a resolute ex-
preston, such as we see in the coun-
tenance of a man who has settled a
question of difficult solution.
The day fixed for our marriage is
only two months distant, he said.
The tone in which he spoke chilled
the heart of Rosa. She did not an
swer, but kept her gaze on his face.
Rosa we must reconsider this mat
ter. We have acted without fore
thought
Her face became paleE. her lips fell
apart, her eyes had frightened ex-
preston.
i love you. Rosa, tenderly, truly.
Ny heart Is not turning from you. /
would hasten, rather than retard. the
day OF our marriage. But there are
considerations beyond that day, which
have presented themselves, and de-