Year: 1877




$50 you are going to be married
Katea Well, hope you have made 9
wise choice"


80 yes, uncle, / replied lightly; 81
know have. Henry is to make me per-
fectly happy"


"What has he got ?" was the next
pleasant observation that fell from Uncle
Jocelyn's lips.


SCOT? uncle ! I don't know what you
mean" L answered, growing rosy red al
the unexpected inquiry.


"What are his means? What does
no intend to settle upon you ?"


He has his business" promptly in
terrupted my mother.


"And he is so clever, he is sure to get
on" added, in my eagerness to assure
Uncle Jocelyn it was all right as regard
ed my future.


"That will depend great deal upon
you, Kate" he replied gravely. "The
wife has more to do in making or mar
ring her husband than is generally
suspected A careless, extravagant,
bad wife is the greatest curse a man can
have good one is the greatest bless
ing"


eyes, uncle o yes," I assented,
glancing toward my mother, who was
smiling somewhat scornfully, fancied,
at his opinion.


"Take care of his pence, and his
pounds will take care of themselves, u
continued uncle "and beware of ever
getting into debt, Kate; it's the easiest
hing to get into, and the hardest
hing to get out of. Take my advice
i've well within your means and always
pay ready money"


Eyes, uncle O yes," I responded.
&C L am sure You are right; and Henry is
so prudent, he is certain to have the best
ideas"


"Well, keep them before your OWL
mind. Don't despise an old mans coun-
sci; buy nothing that you can't afford,
and always pay ready money"


1 remember that conversation so well
with Uncle Jocelyn, some few weeks be-
fore my marriage; at the time it did not
strike me so forcibly as afterward, for my
mind was too much filled with other and
o me more interesting matters.


Uncle Jocelyn was an old man, and the
amount of his fortune had always been
wrapped in some obscurity; but he lived
comfortably, and possessed a small prop
erty in Berkshire, upon which he had
built a pretty and substantial house,
where had often spent many happy
days. He had always shown special
affection for me, no doubt owing to the
fact of my being the daughter of his only
brother, who had died when / was quite
an infant, leaving me to the sole guar
dianship of my mother. Unfortunately
for me. there had never been any love
lost between the latter and Uncle Joce-
lyn; the GOODNESS had rather increased
than diminished as years went by; and
when invitations were sent for us to visit
Conington, which was the name of my
uncle's place, my mother invariably re-
fused for herself, and only with great
persuasion permitted me to go.


How L enjoyed these visits How
sweet were the hay-felds and clover,
scented meadows How cool and fresh
the marble-slabbed dairy, with it's rows
of brimming basins of frothy golden
cream How fragrant was the old
fashioned garden, with its long, grassy
walks and great big dewy roses, and the
old cedar tree so shady, under which
Uncle Jocelyn would sit of an afternoon
smoking, listening apparently quite sat-
isfed with my childish conversation
The sun always seemed to be shining in
those days. / can recall no gloom then,
and things all wore charm, which L did
not know lay chiefly in the fact of my
own youth and utter ignorance of life
and its cares.


However, not to digress, had not
seen so much of Uncle Jocelyn since j
had grown up, partly on account of my
mothers unabated dislike to him, partly
because of the existence of new inter
est in life. 1 had met Henry Arden.
He was six-and-twenty, five years my
senior. His position in life was fairly
good one, he having small interest in
first-rate city business which gave him
over E300 year; his character was ir-
reproachable and when l say that he
was a general favorite wherever he went
il may be surmised that in my opinion
he was, If not quite perfect, very akin to
it. For myself, / was passable-per-
haps little more than that-but L was
penniless until my mother died; so il
was a very astonishing thing to me how
so desirable a parti had fallen to my lot.
He was certain to get on-the senior
partners had been known to say so them.
selves. Consequently our start in life
promised to be a fair one. And to be
brief, we were married. Our honey.
moon was of comparatively short dura-
tion, but it was long enough to cos'
Henry, az i afterwards learned, some
thing like f40, which was considerable