Year: 1877

" SO you are going to be married, Kate


Well, l hope you have made wise
choice"


40 yes, uncle" 1 replied lightly; "
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.


Got uncle don't know what you
mean," l answered, growing rosy red at
the unexpected inquiry.


Wha5 are his means? WHAT does he
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" l added, in my esgerness to assure
Uncle Jocelyn it was all right as reg irded
my future.


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


Yes, uncle o yes" l assented, glanc-
ing towards my mother, who was smiling
somewhat scOrnfully, l fancied, az his
opinions.


Take care of his pence and his pounds
will take care of themselves" continued
uncle "and beware of ever getting into
debt, Kate; it's the easiest thing IL get
in.O and the hardest thing TO get out Of
Take my advice; live well within your
means and always pay ready money"


g Yes, uncle; o yes" responded. "I
am sure you are right and Henry is so
prudent, he is certain to have the same
ideas"


Well, keep them before your mind
Don't despise an old mans counsel buy
nothing that you can't afford, and always
pay ready money"


] 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 afterwards, for
my mind was too filed with other and to
me more interesting matters.


Uncle Jocelyn was an old man, and
the amount of his fortune had a'wavs
been wrapped in some obscurity but he
lived comfortably, and possessed a small
property in Berkshire, upon which he
had built pretty and substantial house,
where l had spent many happy days.
He had always shown a special affection
for me. no doubt owing to the fact of my
being the daughter of his only BROTHER
who had died when l was quite an infant,
leaving me to the sole guardianship of
my mother. Unfortunately for me, there
had never been any love lost between
the latter and Uncle JOcelyn; the cool
ness had rather increased than diminished
as years went by and when invitations
were sent for us to visit Conipgton, which
was the name of my uncle's place, my
mother invariably refused for herself.
and only with great persuasion permitted
me 70 go.


How 1 enjoyed these visits! How
sweet were the hay-felds and clover
scented meadows How cool and fresh
the marble-slabbed dairy, with its 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 salts
fed with my childish cOnversati n. The
sun always seemed to be shining in those
days. / can recall no gloom then, and
things all wore a charm, which did not
know lay chiefly in the fact of my own



cares.


However, not to 'digress, 1 had not
seen so much of Uncle Jocelyn since
had grown up, partly en- account of my
mothers unabated dislike to him, partly
because of the existence of new interest
i'll life. had met Henry Arden. He was
flve years my senior. His
rosition in life was fairly good one, he
having a small interest in first-fate city
business which gave him over three hun
dred a year; his character was ire
proachable and when | say that be was
a general favorite wherever he went, it
may be surmiseG that in my opinion he
was, if not quite perfect, very closely
akin to it. For myself was pG7sable-
perhaps a little more than that--but l
was penniless until my mother died; so
it was very astonishing thing to me
how so desirable parti had fallen 10 my
lot He was certain to get On-the senior
partners had been known to say 50 them
selves. Consequently our start in life
promised to be a fair one. And to be
brief, we were married. Our honeymoon
was of comparatively short duration, but
it was long enough to cost Henry, as
afterwards learned, something like forty
pounds, which was a considerable cut
out of three hundred year; for it had
not occurred TO him to lay by any spare
cash for those un avoidabIe expenses.
had ielt rather uneasy at the expenditure,
but it was too early days to venture on
any remOnstrance had l been so inclined;
we were sure to live very quietly when
we once settled down, and could easily
then make up for any little extravaganza
of which at the outset we had been
guilty. We were to live in London, and
we were fully agreed on one point lodg-
ings were not TO | e thought of; we must
have a house of our own. The prospect
of possessing ore jointly with Henry was
very pleasant to me. / pictured an
endless fund of amusement and oecupa-
tion too, in furnishing and adjoining it /;
but the mansion had still to be selected
so eur first business was to find one TO
suit us, the next to get into it rs soon as
possible.


We must have spent small fortune in
esb-hire before we finally found just