Oxford Democrat., 1893-08-22

ment Of unecrupulOus spoSuAhtioni Ano
strict prohibitions against any such at-
tempts. which were part Of the rules
of Mr.. Newton's business. helped to con-
firm him In these wise resolutions Once
secure Of the partnership, he most snx-
iously strove TO conceal from Mr.. New
ton some of the budness transactions q
his earlier life, well assured II once
known his continuance IN his present
position would be OF very abort durs-
tion.
For years he had stood wsll With tho
community. Afst whispers Of bis fcr.
mer 'hasts to be rich" reached Mr..
Newton. but after strict yet quiet In
yestigation he found no cause TO believe
the rumors or Withdraw his confidence,
and the reports gradually died sway.
Meantime bis homo was not the bright
and refreshing spot his youthful fancy
had pictured. Le Barron wis not natu-
rally o bad hearted man. His love for
his wife had been almost idolatrous. BE
fancied her perfection, but few short
months dispslled the illusion, and for
many years he had been the slave Of her
whims and csprices.
Mrs. Le Barron was early educated to
feel that wealth and high social position
should be her LIES ambition. Her par.
ents were poor. but very proud, and
when the rising young merchant. 70 Bar
ron. wooed and won their daughter their
10y was unbounded.
Whose house 20 grandi Whose car
rage, with its superb horses and liveried
outriders, made such daily sensationi
Whose parties, that We'd with the tone OF
the old world, were % much the style ~
their daughters, Mrs. lie Bsrour
Was not this sufficient to satisfy . par
ents widest ambitoni Why should
they be troubled or dissatisfied II their
chiid's private life was one Of strife and
peevish complaining-if misrule and un.
governed passion made perpetual discord
between the inmates Of that elegant
mansion7
Such were the parents Of Mrs. Le Bar.
ron, and such the sentiments they had
exhibited and taught her to act upon
FROM her childhood. Truly they had
"sown the wind" and the terrible har-
vest was ripening fast.
Before Mrs. Le Barron's insane az
travagance her husbands wealth melted
like frost before the sun. he saw the
riches for which he had forsaken his
ilther's God "taking TO themselves
wings" and the position among his broth
,r nserchants, whose foundations he had
laid In sand. was already crlimbling
away and tottering 10 Its fall. Sleepless
nights and days Of dread were dlvering
his hair and bowling the tall form that
once lowered so erect above his fellows.
He was u premature old man.
When Mr.. Newton went abroad, Le
Barron's snxieties were almost too
weighty for him to preserve the SEM
blance Of self control. 1t was said Le Bar
ron was confning himself too closely to
his business. and Mr.. Newton with his
usual unseliishness proposed that he
,hould remain at home and that the In
valid should have the advantage OF the
,hange. All, little could Mr.. Newton i'm
,gino tho shock this kind proposition
tave him. The miserable man knew that
to leave then would be swift destruc-
ton, revealing at once the fearful posi-
ton of his own affairs.
But still able to preserve an outward
calm he courteously declined the prof
fered relaxation on the plea OF great dis
taste for travelling, and with an earnest
assurance that hts health was firmer than
his appearance indicated he smilingly
bade his friend farewell.
Le Barron struggled through the first
year Of his friends absence, knowing
surely that this absence and the unsus-
picious nature Of the Junior partner
alone saved him from speedy exposure.
In this state the grand temptation found
him. Goaded to madness he Joined hands
with the tempter and fell, gaining for
himself one more short respite from
clamorous creditors by clever forgery
of Mr.. Newton's name. And now he
goes to tell this fatal story to those whose
sins have united to drag him down to ir.
rctrievable destruction. Bankrupt! Dis
honored! A forger! Fugitive from Jus
tice or only shielded by him whom he
has pecuniarily ruined. yet bearing In his
own heart the punishment OF his crimes,
how can he endure the terrible meeting
with those harsh spirits at homer
Who would willingly follow him ashe
enters his dwelling and listen to tho
cruel recriminations, the bitter taunts.
with which that heartless woman, wild
with rage, assails him, when, with trem.
bling frame and quivering lips, no re-
ycals the misery and shame before themf