Year: 1877

: comfortable" continued Uncle JOce-
| Iyn kindly. "Hhis room must have
cost you pretty penny, Kate, and /
dare ssy you have q nest egg some
where as we'll"


= "Oh, it isn't very much, !" answer
: ed, really referring to the room, but
as he thought TO the nest egg; and
imagining meant that the latter,
though Of small proportions, did exist,
he responded most cordially:
: doesn't matter how small, Kate ;
there's plenty Of time to make il
larger"


Il Wss no use undeceiving him,
: though st th8t very moment an
. OminOus envelope was delivered to me
J with the announcements U1hat the per-
. son VINO brought it was waiting for
an answer to which / returned the
, usual formula, that Mr.. Arden was
, out, but would cSll in q day or two. 1
tried to look as Indifferent as possible,
, but l FELT Uncle JOcelyn's eyes were
upon me, and my face colored pain
fully, nor did my face escape the kind
scrutiny. felt thoroughly convinced
1 ne had drawn his own conclusions.
Soon afterward lunch was announced,
and we descended to the dining room,
where Sophy, my parlor maid, had, to
my horror, arranged some OF our bsst
china on the table, with the best in
tentions l knew, meaning to impress
my visitor with our grandeur, but lit
tie imagining the real effect such
superfuities would have upon my
uncle. He noticed it directly, and ad-
mired it very much.


"Where did you get that figure p
he asked, indicating a lovely china
centerpiece.


HI am not quite certain" 1 replied :;
Iesrelessly Eve have had it for some
time"


"Was it very expensive ?'' pursued
Uncle Joeelyn.


10 no, not very at least / didn't
think So" / answered, recollecting
with painful throb that it certainly
had not cost US much as yet, consider
ing We had not paid for it.


need not give all the details OF
Uncle Jocelyn's visit. Suffice it to
say that it was one long msrtyIdom
that afternoon to me; and it was p
positive relief when his kind old face
vanished and found myself alone
once more. He had gone away no
doubt thinking our lines were in very
pleasant places, feeling assured not
only of our prosperity but of our hap.
piness. Poor deceived, Uncle Joce-
lyn He little knew that was just
longing to throw myself into his
arms and make clean breast of all
our extravaganza and consequent
troubles. How 1 envied him going
back to peaceful Conington How 1
wished Henry and were just one
half as happy as he was


However, our struggle then was
/ Just beginning, for we sank deeper
and deeper. 1t was like p quicksand
the more we struggled the deeper
we got. We dared not openly re-
trench-we lacked the moral courage,
and our private attempts were the
merest drops In the ocean of that
mighty sea into which We had drift
ed, simply and sorely because we had
at the outset ignored the golden rule,
so impressed upon me by Uncle
JocelyU, to live within our means,
and to pay ready money. And what
had all our extravaganza done for US a.?
We had large visiting list, and l
periodically paid host OF visits, al
ways hoping to find my friends from
home. We had a pretty house, and
were able to entertain as elegantly as
our neIghbOrs. 1 had heaps Of fashion
able dresses and useless finery and
Henry was as perfect as ever in my
eyes but we were both miserable
debt stared US in the face whichever
way we turned and how long we
could keep our creditors at bay was
beginning to be source OF consider
able anxiety to US.


Henry's position in his business de-
pended solely upon the pleasure of
| the senior partners. There were con-
fditions in their agreement with him /;
and il they heard of his embarrass-
ments, no doubt it would injure him
greatly, and might make them con-
slider themselves justified in perhaps
something far more serious than a
| remonstrance. o that we had acted
differently that the past could be
lived over again with our pleasant ex-
perienee


Once or twice l thought OF confiding
our woes to our mother but dared
not. Intuitively 1 knew that al
though IA his prosperitY Henry was
great favOrite with her, she would re-
gard him very differently IL mis-
fortunes came; and 1 felt I could bear
anything rather than hear him
blamed, especially as in my most in
most heart knew 1 was equally if
not actually more to blame than he
was 4; for now could see clearly how
true it was what Uncle JOcelyn said,
that wife can make or mar her hus-
band. II 1 bad quietly set to work at
the outset, and advised him Alright,
all would have been well but now
every day brought some hateful dun
or trestening letter. a ring at the
bell would cause me to start and the
sound of a mans voice in the hall
psrleying with SOphy was enough to
make me tremble all over.


"The crash could not be STAYED off
long; a crisis must shortly come"
So said Henry one lovely June even
ing, when we were sitting discon-
solaLely discussing all manner of wild
impossible schemes. 1t was an eX-
quisite night the heat OF the day
was over not q breath of wind
stirred the delicate blossoms of the
plants which adorned our balcony,
and the moon was rising IN all her
liquid lOveliness, casting clear cool
light over the scene. Everything
looked calm and quiet and peaceful I;
the pulses OF the great city were
hushed there was nothing to break
the silence except poor Henry's hope
less tones repeating, "A crisis can't
be far off, Kate. What we are to do,
I know not !"


We fancied the aInazement OF our
friends-the nine days wonder our
misfOrtunes would cause, little dream
ing that our ending had long been
confidently predicted by them, and
that our hospitality had been rOundly
censured and condemned by the very
partakers of it. Still less did we
imagine that Mr.. Trevor, so far from
being favOrably impressed with our
surroundings, had gone Rway-fully
aware as he was with the exact
amount of Henry's income-shocked
and sorry to see that Henry Arden
had married wife with so little sense
and judgment and no second glance
| from his keen eyes was wanting to
prove to him how terribly beyond it
we were living. His observations
had satisfied him that serious embar-
easements must ensue consequently
he and his partners had bestowed the
desired post and increased emolu-
| ments upon one who, if he needed it
less than we did, certainly understood
its value better.


So no one except my mother and
| Uncle Incelyn would be surprised,
| though we imagiued so dinerenIIy, as
we sat on and in our pretty drawing
room, talking over the weary subject,
and pondering what we could possi-
bly, do. We should have to sell of
everything, or leave Amberly Villas,
and to begin life over again. Henry's
prospects, of course, would be serious
| ly damaged, and we could never hope
to thoroughly regain the position our
own folly had deprived us of. 1t was
not pleasant to think of; but there
could be 90 shuffling out OF the ques-
tion now (; it must be met and an
swered Immediately What were we
to do ? Nothing very definite coald
be arrived at but one thing was
quite elear-the change could not be
far of.


I can never describe the anxiety Of
the days that followed, nor tell the
agony 1t cost me to write and tell my