Year: 1871

OF understanding between tnem. Marrleu
five years ago in Paris, where they had
met for the first time in the same year of
their marriage, they had lived for two
wears charmed life of continental travel
At the end Of the two years John Eecles-
ton, as honorable and open as the day,
found himself, by the villainy Of others,
at the end of what he imagined per-
haps an endless fortune. Instead Of turn
ing his great talent let us frankly
saw, genius to the use for which it was
destined instead of going to work as an
artist, and painting pictures for his daily
bread, by some curious want of self
knowledge he looked upon himsef as
wholly unfit and unworthy for the work,
and with this undertaking, he set his face
against all the great company Of painters
to which he rightfully belonged, and COM
| ing back to his native land, cast about
him for other work


His father had lived abroad so many
years that the son found he was stranger
in his native land, with no near or far ties
of blood to take up the dropped links.
His wife's family was in the same isolated
condition. What associations, then, were
there to bring him-this fastidious, cult


vated gentleman-ftting employment ?


Not one So it happened that out Of his


pride OF a his humility he came down to


the place of book-keeper in the small


house of Warde and Sido, importers of


china. 1t was hard coming down for


both of them but harder for John, who


was full of all kinds of chivalric ideas


about woman, and who had all his life


been able to carry them out until now.


Perhaps, if they had loved each other
little less romantically, they might have
accepted their new condition with much
more ease and contentment but they
were moulded in delicate sensitive fash
lion, with good many of the rose-tints in
their soul as well as their clay-coloring,
so it was impossible for them to do other
wise than they did. Thus it happened
that they made each other miserable in
many ways by little concealments and
subterfuges of affection. John, who hated
poverty honestly and heartily, and all
its long train of petty annoyances, made
pretense of gay content for Aice's sake /;
and Alice, with the same tastes, followed
his example. Fond of social life, yet iso-
lated completely from it for three years,
he made pretense of distaste for it be-
cause he fancied that it was distasteful to
his wife in their altered way Of living /;
and so it came about that the two or
three men whom he had met at artists
studios-men like Clarke Steyner, who
would have been glad to have visited him,
were never invited to do SO. And Alice,


wishing all the time that John was not 80
morbidly sensitive on their poverty, re-
Trained from saying word indicative of
any desire for him to bring home a friend.
Thus they played at cross purposes, each


making pretense Of state of feeling that


was unreal ont of this mistaken view of


the other.


Clarke Steyner sat for long time, for
getting his bachelors tea, after Eccleston
had gone, looking at the sketch upon the
table. And sitting there, vali himself
came in. Steyner, telling him of his call,
handed him the paper. fa-
"You don't mean that young Eccles-
ton did thisY' '' ''o
II do"


"Then what in Heavens name does he
burrow down therein that countng-room
! for?"


"Just what I'd ike to know" returned
Steyner, animatedly. F.
Valsi mused q while longer over the
little sketch, sitting with his chin dropped
into his hand. By-and-by, in q musing
: tone: llJ
"Why don't Warde and Sido send him
to Europe for the firm? Then some of
you might give him commission. I'd
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