Living too fast : or, The confession of a bank officer

Oliver Optic

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A Lonely House. Page 4o.

LIVING TOO FAST;

OR,

The Confessions of a Bank Officer,

BY

WILLIAM T. ADAMS,

{Oliver Optic.)

Author op "IN' Doors and Out," "The Way of the World,"
"Young America Abroad," &c. &c.

IL LUSTRA TED,

BOSTON:
LEE AND SHEPARD, PUBLISHERS

NEW YORK:
CHARLES T. DILLINGHAM,

18T6.

-^UM

COPYRIGHT,

By WILLIAM T. ADAMS,

1876.

Electrotyped by C. C. Morse & Son, Haverhill, Mass,

S3

PEEFACB.

\

*

The story contained in this volume records the experience of a
bank officer, " living too fast," in the downward career of crime.
The writer is entirely willing now to believe that this career ought
to have ended in the state prison ; but his work is a story, and he
has chosen — perhaps unhappily — to punish the defaulter in another
way. Yet running through the narrative for the sake of the con-
trast, is the experience of a less showy, but more honest young
man than the principal character, who represents the true life the
young business man ought to lead. The author is not afraid that
any of his young friends who may read this book will be tempted
into an " irregularity " by the example of the delinquent bank
officer, for it will be found that his career of crime is full of re-
morse and positive suffering.

Dorchester, July 1, 1876.

CONTENTS.

PAGE.

CHAPTER I.

Getting a Situation, . . . . . . 11

CHAPTER II.

Miss Lilian Oliphant, 27

CHAPTER III.
Going to Housekeeping, 42

CHAPTER IV.
The English Basement House, . • . . 57

CHAPTER Y.

Lilian Astonished — So Am I, . . . . *12
CHAPTER YI.

A Family Jar, 87

7

8 CONTENTS.

CHAPTEK VII.
A Shadow of Suspicion, ..... 102

CHAPTER VIII.
Coming to the Point, . . . . . . 116

CHAPTER IX.
A Lonely House, 131

CHAPTER X.
My Wife and I, 145

CHAPTER XI.
Over the Precipice, 160

CHAPTER XII.

A Keeper in the House, . . . . . 1H

CHAPTER XIII.
The Second Step, ...... 18T

CHAPTER XIV.

The House-Warming, . . . . . 156

CHAPTER XV.

My Uncle is Savage, . . . . . 214

CHAPTER XVI,

CORMORIN AND I, ...... 220

CONTENTS. 9

CHAPTER XVII.
Providing for the Worst, .... 242

CHAPTER XVIII.
Bustumups at Fifty, ..... 256

CHAPTER XIX.
A Crash in Coppers, . . . , . 270

CHAPTER XX.

The Last Step, . . . . . . 283

CHAPTER XXI.
An Exile from Home, .... 297

CHAPTER XXII.
Charles Gaspiller, 311

CHAPTER XXIII.
My Confession, 324

CHAPTER XXIV.
Aunt Rachel's Will, 337

LIVING TOO FAST;

OK,

THE CONFESSIONS OF A BANK OFFICER.

-O-

GHAPTER I.

GETTING A SITUATION.

UT DON'T wish
I to stand in
your way, Tom
Flynn."

"And I don't
wish to stand in
your way, P a 1 e y
Glasswood," replied
Tom, with a refresh-
ing promptness, which was intended to assure me,
and did assure me? that he was my friend, and
that he was unwilling to take any unfair advan-
tage of me.

12 LIVING TOO FAST.

Tom and myself were applicants for the situa-
tion of discount clerk in the Forty-ninth National
Bank of Boston. We had submitted our applica-
tions separately, and each without the knowledge
of the other. If we had taken counsel together
before doing so, possibly some sentimental out-
break would have prevented one or the other from
placing himself even in a seeming attitude of com-
petition with the other. We had been school-
mates in Springhaven, had been cronies, and
agreed as well as boj^s usually do. It is true he
had given me a tremendous thrashing on one occa-
sion, when I ventured to regard myself as physi-
cally his equal. Though I could not quite forgive
him for the drubbing he gave me, I did, not
respect him any the less. While we were good
friends, as the world goes, I was sometimes rather
annoyed by the consciousness of being slightly his
inferior.

Tom was always a little ahead of me in schol-
arship, and always contrived to come out just in
advance of me in every thing in which we were
brought into real or fancied rivalry with each
other. Still he was never so far before me as to
shut me out of the sphere in which he moved.
But in spite of my repeated partial defeats, I

GETTING A SITUATION. 13

regarded myself as fulty his equal. Perhaps my
vanity assured me that I was slightly his superior,
for, like the rest of the world, I was human then,
as I have unfortunately proved myself to be since.
I was tolerably sure that in the great battle of
life which all of us are compelled to fight, I
should come out all right. When it came to the
matter of business, I was confident that I should
outstrip him.

Both of us had been graduated at the Spring-
haven High School, with the highest honors,
though as usual Tom was a little higher than
myself, for while he received the first diploma,
the second was awarded to me. Tom was my
friend, and always treated me with the utmost
kindness and consideration, but I could not help
feeling just a little stung by his superiority; by
his continually coming out about half a length ahead
of me. Springhaven is not so far from the
metropolis of New England as to be regarded as
a provincial town ; and though engaging in business
anywhere except in the great city was not the
height of his or my ambition, Tom had gone into
a store in his native place, and obtained his earli-
est knowledge of the ways of the world. But
when he was twenty-one he obtained a situation

14 LIVING TOO FAST.

in an office in the city in which he received a
salary of six hundred dollars a year.

Again, at this interesting period of life which
seems to be the beginning of all things to a
young man, Tom was ahead of me, for I had
gone to the city as a boy of sixteen, and when I
was of age, my employers refused to give me over
five hundred a year. Tom had been lucky — this
was my view of the case. Tom had blundered
into a good situation, and it was no merit of his
own. I deserved something better than I had,
and it was only the stupid and stingy policy of
the firm which had "brought me up" that ren-
dered my position inferior to that of my friend.

I had one advantage over my friendly rival,
however, in my own estimation. My character
was above suspicion, which could not be said of
Tom, though in the city not a word affecting his
reputation had ever been breathed, so far as I was
aware. At the store in Springhaven where Tom
had served two years as a clerk, several sums of
money had been missed. There was no proof that
Tom took them, but a few people in town knew
that he was suspected of the theft, especially as
he appeared to be living beyond his income. I
do not believe my friend even knew that he was

GETTING A SITUATION. 15

suspected of the theft, but inasmuch as he was
the only person besides the two partners who had
access to the safe where the money was kept, it
seemed probable to Mr. Gorham, the senior mem-
ber, that he was guilty.

It was a serious matter, and the two partners
used every effort to discover the thief. They put
decoys in the safe, such as marked bank bills, and
resorted to various expedients, but it always hap-
pened that none of these traps were ever disturbed.
Though various sums mysteriously disappeared, the
decoys were never touched. Mr. Gorham declared
that Tom was too smart for him, and Mr. Welch,
the junior, never said much about the matter. At
a convenient time, without stating any reason for
the step, Tom was informed that his services were
no longer required ; that a change in the business
rendered them unnecessary. The junior partner
retired from the firm, and the senior carried on
the store alone.

Mr. Gorham was a relative of my mother, and
knowing of my intimacy with Tom, he regarded
it as his duty to inform her of the suspicions
which he entertained.' My mother was shocked
and appalled. Tom was the son of one of the
best men in the town, and as there was no direct

16 LIVING TOO FAST.

proof of the crime, it was not deemed expedient to
say anything about it. Mr. Gorham did not say
anything, except to my mother, and she, appreci-
ating the kindness of her kinsman, faithfully prom-
ised to keep the momentous secret. Probably
there were not a half dozen persons in Spring-
haven who knew that Tom left his place under
suspicion, and those were the family and intimate
friends of the storekeeper.

I will not say that the knowledge of this cir-
cumstance afforded me any satisfaction, but it
helped me to feel that I was the superior of Tom ;
that in being honest I had a decided advantage
over him. I could not disbelieve the story as it
came from the lips of my mother, though it was
possible there was some mistake. Within three
years after the change in the firm of Gorham &
Welch, the junior partner "went to destruction,"
and in the light of this after revelation, it was
possible that he had appropriated the money. Mr.
Gorham hinted as much to my mother, and she,
knowing that Tom and myself were still intimate,
gave me the suggestion as a confirmation of what
I had always said in his defence. I had found it
quite impossible to dissolve my relations with Tom,
strongly as my mother desired it. Without exactly

GETTING A SITUATION. 17

believing that he was guilty of the whispered
iniquity, I felt that he would be a sufferer on ac-
count of it.

The position in the bank for which we were
both applicants, was considered a remarkably good
one for a young man like Tom or me. I had
considerable influence which I could bring to bear
upon the directors, and so had my friend, but it
seemed to be an even thing between him and me.
In the light of past experience, I felt that Tom
would get ahead of me again, and I was intense-
ly anxious to succeed, in order that I might re-
gain the ground I had continually lost.

I have called my book " Confessions." I mean
that they shall be such ; and of course I do not
set myself up as a model man. I did wrong, and
that was the source of all my misery. I shall not,
therefore, deem it necessary to apologize for each
individual fault of which I was guilty. My read-
ers can blame me as they will — and I deserve the
severest censure. I have sent grief and dismay
into the bosoms of my friends, and my story is a
warning voice to all who are disposed to yield to
the temptations which beset every man in his busi-
ness relations.

I met Tom Flynn on the street, and I think he
2

18 LIVING TOO FAST,

was sincerely desirous not to step into my path.
I am confident he had a genuine regard for me,
and that, if he could have been sure of securing
the situation in the bank to me by withdrawing
from the competition himself, he would have done
so on the moment. But there were other appli-
cants, and if he retired from the field at all, he
was as likely to do it in favor of some stranger as
of me.

" I should like the place, Tom, though I don't
wish to stand in your way," I added ; but in say-
ing so, I am afraid I only indulged in a conven-
tional form of speech, desiring only to appear to
be as generous and self-sacrificing as he was.

" Of course it is my duty to do as well as I can
for myself, but if I can get out of your way with-
out losing the chance for one of us, I will do
so."

" Thank you, Tom. That's handsome, and I
would do as much for you; but as neither of us
can foresee the issue, we will each do the best he
can to get the place. That's fair."

" Certainly it is ; and whichever is successful,
there shall be no hard feelings on the part of the
other."

At that moment Tom raised his hat to a lady,

GETTING A SITUATION. 19

and turning from me spoke to her. She was a
beautiful creature, and though it would have been
quite proper for me to terminate the interview,
I was not inclined to do so, for the lady filled my
eye, and I could not help looking at her.

"Be sure and come, Mr. Flynn, said she."

" I shall certainly go if nothing unforeseen oc-
curs, M replied he. "Miss Oliphant, allow me to
make you acquainted with my particular friend,
Mr. Paley Glass wood, " he added, turning to me.

I was very glad indeed to know her, for I
could not remember that any lady had ever be-
fore made so captivating an impression upon me,
even after a much longer acquaintance. She was
not only very pretty, but she was elegantly dressed,
and I concluded that she belonged to some "nob-
by" " family. I was pleased with her, and said
some of the prettiest things I could invent for the
occasion. I hoped we should meet again.

" Mr. Flynn, you must bring your friend with
you to-morrow evening," she continued.

" Thank you, Miss Oliphant ; I should be de-
lighted to take him with me, and as he is here,
he can speak for himself," replied Tom.

" Just a quiet little party of half-a-dozen at our
house, to-morrow evening. I hope you will come,
Mr. Glass wood," she added.

20 LIVING TOO FAST.

" I should be very happy to join you, and I will
do so," I answered.

She was very pretty, and she seemed to grow
prettier every moment that I looked at her. Her
eyes sparkled and she smiled so sweetly, that I
am forced to acknowledge I experienced a new
sensation in her presence. I repeated my promise
to join the little party, and no entreaty was neces-
sary to render me a willing follower. She bowed
and passed on, mingling with the bright throng
that gaily flitted up and down Washington Street.
My eyes followed her till she was lost in the
crowd, and I almost forgot that I was an appli-
cant for the situation of discount clerk in the
Forty-ninth National Bank.

" Well, Paley, they say the place will be filled at
the meeting of the directors to-morrow forenoon,"
said Tom, calling me away from the sea of moon-
shine in which I was at that moment floating, as
my eyes followed the graceful form of Miss Oli-
phant.

44 So I have been told, and we shall have but
little time left to work. By the way, who is Miss
Oliphant ?"

" She is a very pretty girl," laughed Tom.

44 Tell me what I don't know. What is she ?"

GETTING A SITUATION. 21

" She is the daughter of a small merchant, who
is in rather shaky circumstances, they say. He
lives on Tremont Street, and has three marriage-
able daughters."

" If they are all as passable as the one I have
just seen, their chances are good."

" I don't know about that," added Tom, laugh-
ing. "Miss Lilian dresses magnificently, you per-
ceive ; and whoever marries one of those girls
will find money a cash article. You shall see
them all to-morrow."

" I should say that a wife like this Miss Oli-
phant was cheap at any price."

" I think so myself, if a fellow can afford such
an expensive luxury. But, Paley, we must not
waste our time," added Tom, glancing at the Old
South clock. " I must find a man who can do a
good thing for me at the bank.

" So must I."

We parted, and as I walked down the street, I
could not help recalling the vision of loveliness I
had beheld in the person of Miss Lilian Oliphant.
I was on my way to one of the insurance offices
frequented by my uncle, Captain Halliard, a re-
tired shipmaster, who dabbled in stocks, and was
a director in the Japan Marine Insurance Com-

22 LIVING TOO FAST.

pany. He had influence, and I relied principally
upon him to engineer my application at the bank.
He was a man of the world in the broadest sense
of the term. He believed in making money, and
in getting ahead in business, and though he
paid a reasonable respect to conventional forms,
I am not quite certain that he believed in any-
thing higher. In character and purposes, he was
the very antipode of my mother, whose brother
he was.

I found him reading a newspaper in the office.
He dropped it when he saw me, and I thought he
looked very anxious. He had undertaken to pro-
cure me the situation I was ambitious to obtain,
and though I don't think he cared much for me
individually, he was persistent in carrying out
any scheme upon which he had fixed his mind.

" Paley, your chance is small," said he, candidly,
after we had passed the time of day.

My heart sank within me.

44 I am sorry to hear it," I replied, gloomily.

44 Tom Flynn has the inside track."

As usual! It seemed to be laid down as the
immutable law of circumstances that Tom should
always come out just a little ahead of me. I was
vexed. Tom had six hundred dollars a year, while

GETTING A SITUATION. 23

I had but five hundred. It was cruel and unjust
to me. His income was to be doubled, and mine
to remain as it was.

-mi

44 I was afraid Tom would get ahead of me," I
added. " But I would rather he should have the
place than any other person, if I can't get it."

" Nonsense, Paley. Don't talk bosh ! I haven't
given up all hope yet, by any means. Tom is
well enough, I dare say, but you must have this
place, if possible."

44 I should like to have it," I added, hopelessly.

" Paley, what was that story about Tom which
was kept so still in Springhaven ?" continued
Captain Halliard in a low tone. "I heard your
mother say something about it, when she was
speaking about your being intimate with him. I
have forgotten about it."

44 His employers in Springhaven thought that he
took money from the safe."

44 Exactly so ; that was the idea," added my
uncle, rubbing his hands involuntarily.

44 But I don't think there was any foundation
for the suspicion," I protested, rather faintly, too
faintly to produce any decided effect.

44 We are not called upon to try the case," he re-
plied, chuckling at his own cunning.

24 LIVING TOO FAST.

" But I don't wish to have anything to say
about that old affair."

" Then you needn't have anything to say about
it, except to me. I have begun to manage this
business, and I shall finish it."

" I don't want to injure Tom in the estimation
of any one," I added.

" Don't be a spooney, Paley. You must look
out for your own chances. You can have this
place, if we can get Tom off the track."

Although I was not the author of the brilliant
idea foreshadowed in my uncle's remarks, I per-
mitted him to develop it. I told him all I knew
about Tom's affair with Gorham & Welch. If I
stated that those who knew anything about the
matter now generally believed that the junior
partner was- the thief, I stated it so mildly that
my uncle took no notice of it. I confess that I
virtually assented to his scheme ; at least, I offered
no decided opposition to it. I knew that Captain
Halliard had only to whisper the, fact that Tom
had been suspected, and had lost his situation in
consequence of this suspicion, to throw my chief
competitor out of the field.

Practically, I assented to the scheme ; if I did
anything to prevent its being carried into execu-

GETTING A SITUATION. 25

tion, I only " fastened the door with a boiled car-
rot.1" I "wanted the place, not alone for its emol-
uments, but in order, in the race of life, to sur-
pass my friend. I regard this weak yielding as my
first crime — the crime against my friend, one of
the basest and most loathsome in the calendar of
offences. This was my real fall; and it was
this, it has since seemed to me, which made me
capable of all that followed.

I left my uncle in the office, and went back to
the store in which I was employed. Between the
bright vision of Miss Oliphant's loveliness and the
dark one of my own perfidy, I was nervous and
uneasy all the rest of the day. What was the
use of being over nice ? If I did not look out for
myself, no one would look out for me ! I think I
did not sleep an hour that night, and the next
day I performed my duties mechanically. About
one o'clock I was % rather startled to see Tom
Flynn enter the counting-room.

"Paley, my dear fellow, I congratulate you,"
said he, grasping my hand.

"What's the matter, Tom ?" I asked.

"Why, haven't you heard of it ?"

"Heard of what ?"

"You have been appointed discount clerk in the

26 LIVING TOO FAST.

Forty-ninth National Bank. Ton my soul, I am
glad to be the first to tell you of it," added Tom,
with enthusiasm, as he rung my hand.

Iniquity had prospered, but only for a time.

CHAPTER II

MISS LILIAN OLEPHANT.

H

OW could I
look Tom
Flynn in the face,
after what I had
done, or permitted
to be done ? He
had been my com-
petitor in the race
for the situation in
the bank, and probably would have obtained it if
my uncle had not whispered the old slander in
the ears of Mr. Bristlebach, the president. It is
true this plan had originated with Captain Halliard,
but I consented to it, to say the very least. I
could have prevented him from carrying it into
operation. I could have protested in the strongest
of terms that there was no truth in the story,
and that I would not take the place if it were
procured for me by such a base sacrifice of honor
and integrity. 27

28 LIVING TOO FAST.

I did not do so. If I protested at all, it was
so faintly that my worldly-minded uncle only re-
garded it as a piece of "buncombe." It is not
for me to blame him, for I regard myself as equally
guilty of the infamous deed — more guilty, for
Tom was my friend. It is a satisfaction for me
now to know that I blushed when my old school-
fellow entered the counting-room; and to remem-
ber that my conscience stung me like a hot iron
when he informed me that the situation had been
given to me. It was not the glorious triumph
which I had anticipated, and I could hardly felic-
itate myself that I was to step immediately into
the enjoyment of a salary of twelve hundred a
year. I could not even enjoy the triumph of be-
ing, for once, actually ahead of my fortunate
friend.

" I congratulate you, Paley, with all my soul,"
said Tom, with enthusiasm. " I should have liked
the place myself, but I am really better satisfied
with the result, than I should have been if I had
been successful."

" You don't mean that, Tom," I suggested ; and
I felt that I was almost incapable of giving birth
to a lofty emotion.

" ' Pon my word, I do, Paley. I was thinking

MISS LILIAN OLIPHANT. 29

this forenoon that, if theplace fell to me, I should
reproach myself for haying stood in your way. I
never should have felt just right about it. Now
I am satisfied — more than satisfied ; I am delighted
with the result."

"I thank you, Tom. I didn't expect any such
magnanimity from any person in this world ; " but
I comforted myself with the thought that, if the
place had been assigned to him, he would have
contrived to endure the disappointment which fell
to my lot.

" If I had known that you were an applicant,
with any chance of success, I would not have en-
tered the field. But it is all right as it is; and
I am as much pleased as you are," added Tom.

" I don't exactly see how I happened to get the
place," I replied, in order to tempt him to tell
what he knew about the canvass, rather than be-
cause I was astonished at the result.

" I do," answered Tom, laughing. Your uncle,
Captain Halliard, has a great deal of influence
with Mr. Bristlebach, the president. Rhodes — -you
know Rhodes ? "

" I know of him ; he's book-keeper in the Forty-
ninth National."

" Yes ; well, he says Captain Halliard had a

30 ' LIVING TOO TAST.

long talk with Mr. Bristlebach this forenoon. I
have no doubt he made a strong personal appeal
for yon, and that settled the case."

I should very gladly have believed that I owed
my good luck to the personal influence of my un-
cle, but I was confident that he- had used that old
slander to procure my appointment. Tom left me
after I had promised to meet him at Mr. Oli-
phant's in the evening. I was sad, and I felt
mean. I was tempted to go to Mr. Bristlebach
and undo what my uncle had done. I could even
procure a letter from Mr. Gorham testifying to
the integrity of Tom. Alas ! I had not the cour-
age to do justice to my friend. A salary of twelve
hundred dollars was too glittering a prize to be
thrown away ; and after all it was possible that
Tom had been guilty — possible, but not at all
probable.

Before the store closed I received official notice
of my appointment, and informed my employers
of my intention to leave them. They did not say
much, and I am not sure that they were very
sorry to have me go. I went to my boarding-
house, and dressed myself with the utmost care
for the occasion in the evening. Miss Lilian
Oliphant was a bright vision before my eyes. I

MISS LILIAN OLIPHANT. 31

wondered that she had been condescending enough
to notice a person so insignificant as I was. I
was thinking only of her, and as the happy mo-
ment drew near when I was to see her again, I
even forgot my own infamy towards Tom.

Twelve hundred a year! It was an immense
sum for a young fellow like me, and with such a
foundation for an air-castle, I pictured to myself
a pleasant home with Lilian as the presiding gen-
ius of the place, shedding unutterable bliss upon
my existence. Twelve hundred dollars would
hire a house, furnish it, and enables me to live
like a lord. If Lilian did dress well, if she was
rather extravagant, I could stand the pressure with
the magnificent income which would be mine.

I was admitted to the parlor in which the fam-
ily were seated. Tom and two other gentlemen
were there, conversing with the young ladies, all
of whom were dressed elegantly, and were evi-
dently " got up " for the purpose of making an
impression. Miss Lilian gave me a cordial welcome,
and introduced me to the rest of the party. Mr.
Oliphant had heard of my good fortune. He con-
gratulated me, and did me the honor to say that
I should soon be the cashier of the Forty-ninth
National Bank. I was treated with distinguished

32 LIVING TOO FAST.

consideration, and, without exactly knowing why,
I felt myself to be the lion of the occasion. Dis-
count clerk of the bank, I was a bigger man than
any of the gentlemen present.

Miss Lilian was very gracious to me, but I bore
my honors with tolerable meekness. I tried to
avoid putting on any airs, and I think I produced
a favorable impression. We played whist, and
Lilian was my partner ; I did not do myself jus-
tice, for I was so fascinated by her loveliness that
I could not keep my thoughts about me, and
Tom and Miss Bertha beat us badly. But Miss
Lilian attributed our misfortune to ill-luck, and
smiled as sweetly as ever. I may as well hasten
to the catastrophe, and declare at once that I was
deeply and irretrievably smitten, as I had intended
to be from the first. She was very kind to me, and
seemed to look with a favorable eye upon me ;
but I could not, of course, know whether she
would accept me. I was fearful that she would
require even a bigger man than the discount clerk
of the Forty-ninth National Bank.

I left the house at eleven o'clock with the most
intense regret. I knew not how soon I might see
her again, but I ascertained where she went to
church, and I went there the very next Sunday.

MISS LILIAN OLIPHANT. 33

It was cloudy, and she did not appear. I was
sad and impatient. It seemed to me that I must
see her again soon, "or I should do some desperate
deed. I tried to invent an excuse for calling at
her father's house on Sunday evening, but my in-
genuity failed me. I dropped in upon Tom Flynn,
and talked of nothing but Lilian Oliphant. I
hoped he would take the hint, and propose to call
upon her that evening, but he would not ; in fact,
he was going to a prayer-meeting, and only in-
vited me to go there with him. It was not Lilian's
church, and I did not wish to go. It would be
pleasanter to walk on the Common and think of
her, if I could not see her.

I did not sleep half an hour that night. I was
madly, desperately in love with Lilian, and I was
afraid that some young fellow with only a thousand
a year might snap her up while I was waiting to
go through all the forms of society in decent and
conventional order. I was not to take my desk
in the bank till the first day of the new year, a
week hence, and I induced my employers to let
me off from the last four days' service, for the
reason that I was so infatuated with Miss Lilian
I could not do anything. I Avalked by Mr. Oli-
phant's house twenty times a day, but I had not
2

34 LIVING TOO FAST.

the pluck to call. On Tuesday afternoon I sent
her a beautiful bouquet labelled "In memory of
a pleasant evening. P. G." When I had done
so, I happened to think that one of my compan-
ions during the pleasant evening alluded to was
Paul Grahame. It was an awful blunder on my
part, for how could she know whether Paul Gra-
hame or Paley Glasswood was the sender of the
flowers, which had cost me five dollars ! If Paul,
who was more intimate in the family than I,
should happen to call during the week, Lilian,
under the consciousness that such a pretty bouquet
could come only from a sincere admirer, might
speak a gentle word or bestow a loving smile upon
him, which would forever darken my hopes.

The situation looked desperate, and I must call
on Wednesday, or drown myself in the icy waters
off Long Wharf on Thursday. Water below a
reasonable temperature was particularly repugnant
to me, and I did not relish the alternative. I
wondered if she would be glad to see me.
I tried to determine whether her gracious de-
meanor towards me during that important even-
ing had been dictated by mere politeness, or by a
genuine interest in me. I was vain enough to
flatter myself that I had made an impression upon

MISS LILIAN OLIPHANT. 35

her gushing heart. In my native town I had
been accounted a good-looking fellow, as revealed
to me through sundry " compliments." I thought
I was not bad looking, and I consulted my mir-
ror on this momentous question. The result was
satisfactory, and I was quite willing to believe
that Miss Lilian ought to be pardoned for feeling
an interest in me.

On Wednesday afternoon I walked by her
father's house seven times, and probably I should
have passed it seven times more, if on the eighth
I had not seen Lilian at the window. The stars
favored me. The dear divinity saw me ; she
smiled, she bowed to me, and I thought she
blushed. Whether she did or not, I blushed, and
the die was cast. The thrilling glance the fair
being bestowed upon me inspired me with a res-
olution equal to the occasion. I rushed to the
door, and before I had time to change my purpose,
I rang the bell.

I was admitted. I asked for Miss Lilian Oli-
phant, and was shown into the parlor in which
she was seated. My heart throbbed like the beat-
ings of the ocean in a tempest, and my face felt
as if a blast of fire had swept over it ; but I sur-
vived. I was more than fascinated ; I was infat-

36 • LIVING TOO FAST.

k
uated with the fair being before me. I am free
to say that no such vision of loveliness was ever
realized before or since in my experience.

" This is a very unexpected pleasure, Mr. Glass-
wood," said she, more self-possessed than I was.

"I'beg your pardon for calling," I stammered.

"I'm sure you needn't do that, for I'm very
glad to see you, sir," she replied, kindly helping
me out.

"I didn't — really — I thought — it's a beautiful
day, Miss Oliphant."

" Splendid day ! " laughed she ; but I saw that
she was beginning to be embarrassed.

I ventured to hint that I had spent a very pleasant
evening at her house on the preceding Friday ;
and she was kind enough to say she had enjoyed
it very much, and hoped I would call again soon
with my friend", Tom Flynn, and have another
game of whist.

" I played so badly then that I shall hardly
dare to try again," I replied. I was — really, I
was — "

" What ?" she asked, when I broke down com-
pletely.

" I was going to say that I usually play better,
but something disturbed me that evening so that

MISS LILIAN OLIPHANT. 37

I was not myself;" and I fixed my loving gaze
upon the threadbare carpet at my feet.

» Why, what was the matter with you? " laughed
the vision of loveliness before me.

" I don't know, but I didn't seem to have the
command of my faculties."

" Then you must come again and redeem your
reputation, if you feel that you did not do your-
self justice."

" Thank you ! When shall I come ? " I asked
eagerly.

" As soon as you please."

" If it were as soon as I pleased, it would be
this very evening," I added with a boldness which
absolutely confounded me.

" Do come this evening then. We can make
up a set without any other help."

Why didn't she say something about that bou-
quet, and thus enable me to advance a step nearer
to the conquest. She did not, and I was afraid
the five dollar trifle had been placed to the credit
of Paul Grahame. I went away, but I hastened to
the florist's and bought another bouquet — price
seven dollars. On the card I wrote, " In mem-
ory of a pleasant call. P. G******d." She could
not make Grahame out of that.

38 LIVING TOO FAST.

Early in the evening I rang the bell, and was
ushered into the parlor. On the piano was my
bouquet, and near it stood Lilian, who, as I en-
tered the room, was in the act of inhaling its fra-
grance. I think she blushed a little when she
saw me.

" What a beautiful bouquet ! " she exclaimed
with rapture, after the preliminary formalities had
been disposed of. "I am very grateful to you
Mr. Glass wood, for this kind remembrancer."

" O, not at all; it was the best I could find,
but it is altogether unworthy.'*

"Why, it is positively lovely! It is beautiful,
delicious. My friends are very kind. It was only
the other day that Mr. Grahame sent me one, but
it was not so pretty as this one.'*

" Did he, indeed? " I asked.

" How stupid I am ! Why it was you Mr.
Glasswood. I interpreted the initials as those of
his name."

Miss Lilian looked upon the floor, and her chest
heaved with emotion that agitated me more than
her. I fancied it was all right — and it was. I
played whist, and the old gentleman and one of
the other daughters beat us worse than before. I
trumped my partner's tricks, and put my ace upon

MISS LILIAN OLIPHANT. 39

her king. But I consoled myself with the re-
flection that she must be thinking of something
else, or she would not so often have played the
king before the ace was out. We played a double
game, of which whist was the less important;
but we played into each other's hands, and won
the game in which hearts were trumps, if we lost
on all other suits.

I ought to have gone home at ten o'clock, but
I staid till half-past eleven. I was cordially in-
vited to come again, and I may say I went again,
until my visits included every evening in the
week, not excepting Saturday and Sunday, when
all but " fiddlers and fools " stay at home. Be-
fore the snows melted we were engaged.

On the first day of the *iew year I took my
place in the bank. It looked to me then like a
bed of roses ; I have since found it to be a bed of
thorns ; though I ought to add that I made it so
myself. I knew the routine of bank business tol-
erably well, though I had much to learn. I tried
to discharge my duties faithfully, and though Mr.
Bristlebach, the president, was a hard man, I won
even his approval. I need not dwell on this sea-
son of happiness, for as I look back upon it, I
appreciate it ; I could not then.

40 LIVING TOO FAST.

My services were so satisfactory that when our
paying teller was promoted to a higher place in
another institution, I was advaDced to his situa-
tion with a salary of eighteen hundred dollars,
and a promise of an additional two hundred if I
proved to be competent to discharge the duties of
the office. My uncle and others were my bonds-
men. Never did a young man look forward to a
brighter future than I did. .

Every evening in the week I went to Mr. Oli-
phant's and was treated as one of the family.
During the year I had been paying assiduous
court to my beautiful charmer. I spent all my
salary, and more than all, for I was in debt at
the end of this time. I wore good- clothes, for I
wished Lilian to be proud of me ; I sent her bou-
quets, I took her to the theatre, the opera, the
concerts, and to balls and parties, a single one of
which in some instances, spoiled a twenty dollar
bill. I took her out to ride, and paid for many
costly suppers. But Lilian appeared to love me
with all her soul, and I was satisfied.

I had found the end of my twelve hundred dol-
lars so easily that I dared not think of getting
married; but my promotion decided me. Lilian
offered no unreasonable objections, neither did her

MISS LILIAN OLIPHANT. \\

parents, and the happy day was fixed. * Tom
Flynn, who had taken my place as discount clerk
in the Forty-ninth National, was to stand up with
me. Somewhat oddly, as it seemed to me, my
good friend advised me not to marry, and we
almost quarrelled over some plain talking which
he did. The die was cast ; I would not have re-
treated if I could..

CHAPTER III.

GOING- TO HOUSEKEEPING.

I was married in the spring, and the bank gave
me my vacation on the joyous occasion, so that I
was enabled to make a bridal tour of ten days to
the South. I went to Philadelphia, Baltimore
and Washington, and while I distinctly recollect
that I enjoyed myself exceedingly, and traveled
like a prince, I can more vividly recall the rapidi-
ty with which my funds were expended. It had
cost me all my salary to pay my board and to
take Miss Lilian to the opera and the balls, but
I could not afford to deprive Mrs. Glass wood of
any luxury.

Before we started I was " hard up," and I
tried to contrive some clever expedient by which
the bridal tour might be dispensed with. I sug-
gested to Lilian that the journey was not abso-
lutely necessary ; that some very " nobby " people
staid at home after they were married. Her chin
dropped down as though a ten pound weight had
been attached to it, and she looked so sad and

42

GOING TO HOUSEKEEPING. 43

gloomy that I could not think for a moment longer
of depriving her of this triumphal march, for
so I am afraid she regarded it. Of course I did
not hint to her that I could not afford to spend
two or three hundred dollars in travelling, for we
were still lovingly cheating each other into the
belief that she was a princess and I was a repre-
sentative of Croesus himself.

There was not a dollar to my credit at the
hank, and I had not a dollar to my credit any-
where else. I was fretful one day, and unguard-
edly mentioned to Tom Flynn that I was short.
The generous fellow promptly offered to lend me
a hundred dollars. I am surprised now that I
was able to accept it, but I did, and he put my
"value received" into his wallet as choicely as
though it had been as good as the gold itself.
But a hundred dollars, though Tom seemed to
think it would pay for every thing which it could
possibly enter into the head of a groom to
procure, was expended in trifles and before we
were ready to start upon the bridal tour I was
penniless again.

I wanted three hundred dollars, for it would
not be safe to start on a ten-days' trip attended
by such a helpmate as Lilian with less than

44 LIVING TOO FAST.

this sum in my pocket. First class hotels, pri-
vate parlors, carriages, the opera in New York,
would make large demands upon my purse. I
was rather sorry that Tom Flynn had offered to
lend me a hundred dollars, for if he had not done so
I should have asked him to favor me with the loan
I now needed. I could not ask him, after what
he had done. My uncle, Captain Halliard was a
rich man, though he was a calculating and a care-
ful one. I had been a favorite of his in my ear-
lier years, and I knew that he had a great deal
of regard for the honor of the family. I had
hardly seen him since he helped me into my situ-
ation, for he had been on a business mission to
Europe.

Three hundred dollars was nothing to a man of
his resources, and, with some sacrifice of pride on
my part, I made up my mind to wait upon him
with my request. He would understand the case,
and readily see that a young man about to be
married must incur a great many extraordinary
expenses, and it would not be at all strange that
he was temporarily "short." I found the worthy,
old gentleman in the insurance office, up to his
eyes in the news of the day. I talked with him
for some time about indifferent topics, about my

I call upon my Uncle. Page 45.

GOING TO HOUSEKEEPING. 45

mother's health and the affairs of Springhaven.
Then I rose to depart, in the most natural man-
ner in the world though I was rather grieved to
see that he was not sorry to have me go ; in fact,
he returned to his newspaper with an eagerness
which seemed to intimate that I had bored him.
I took a few steps towards the door, and then, as
though I had forgotten something, I hastily
retraced my steps.

4 'By the way, uncle — I'm sorry to trouble you,
but — could you lend me three hundred dollars
for a few weeks ? "

" Three hundred dollars ! " exclaimed the vener-
able seeker after the main chance, just as though
I had attacked him in the tenderest part of his
being.

" The fact is, uncle, getting married in these
times is an expensive luxury, and I find myself a
little short, though, of course, I shall be all right
as soon as I get settled down."

"It's rather a bad sign for a young man to
have to borrow money to get married with," he
added with a glance of severe dignity at me.

" Never mind it, uncle. I won't trouble you,
then, if it is not convenient," I replied, in a
thoroughly off-hand manner, as though the little

46 LIVING TOO FAST.

favor I asked was of more consequence to him
than to me. " I shall expect to see you at the
house of Mr. Oliphant at the ceremony, and re-
member the levee is at eight o'clock. Don't fail
to be there, uncle."

" Stop a minute ! I suppose if you need three
hundred dollars, I can let you have it," he added.

uO, it is of no consequence. Don't trouble
yourself. ,Two or three of my friends wanted to
lend it to me, but I did not exactly like to accept
such a favor outside of the family. Aunt Rachel,
I dare say, will be glad to accommodate me."

" Write a note," said he, rather crustily, as he
went to one of the desks, and drew a check for
the amount I required.

I could not help smiling, as I wrote the due
bill, to think of the address with which I had
managed my case. I am confident if I had whined
and begged until the sun went down, he would
have been hard enough to refuse me. Possibly he
did not like to have me apply to Aunt Rachel.
She was a maiden sister of my father who had
about twenty thousand dollars and lived with my
mother. Her inheritance had been the same as
my father's, but, having no expenses, she had kept
certain lands in the middle of the town till they

GOING TO HOUSEKEEPING. 47

increased in value so that she was made independ-
ent. As I wished to be her heir, I had always
treated her with the utmost consideration. Cap-
tain Halliard managed some stocks for her, and he
was anxious to keep in her good graces.

I put the check in my pocket with the utmost
nonchalance, and again begging my uncle not to
fail to be present at the ceremony, I left him.
It was all right with me for the present. When
I started on my bridal tour I owed about six hun-
dred dollars, which I calculated that I could
easily pay off in six months with my increased
salary. When we returned from Washington I
had barely money enough left to pay the hack-
man for conveying us to the house of my wife's
father. If I had not been so cautious as to count
up my money, and estimate the expenses of the
return trip, I should have exhausted my exchequer
before we reached home. When I found I had
just enough left to pay these expenses, I told
Lilian that I had received a letter which com-
pelled me to return immediately, though we had
intended to stay two days longer.

She pouted, but I told her I should lose my
situation if I did not go back. She thought I
might get another situation rather than break up

48 LIVING TOO FAST.

the pleasant excursion so abruptly. I told her I
could easily get another situation, but it was not
exactly prudent to give up one until the other
was obtained. It almost broke my heart to cross
her in anything, and if I could have met a friend
good-natured enough to lend me a hundred dol-
lars I might have been spared the annoyance. I
met no such friend, and we went on cheating
each other as before. It was stupid in me to do
so, but I had not the courage to tell her that I
was not made of money, and I permitted her to
believe that my pockets were still well lined.

We returned home, but on the way I was
obliged to pretend that I was sick, in order to
save the expense of supper aboard the steamer.
We had dined at four o'clock, and though it was
absurd to eat again at six, Lilian wanted to see
who were at the tables; but my pretended ill-
ness saved me, and, what was more important,
saved the two dollars for the hack hire in Boston.

" What shall we do when we get home ? " asked
Lilian, as we sat that evening in the cabin of the
steamer.

" We shall live on love for years to come," I
replied, with enthusiasm.

" Of course we shall do that," she added ; but

GOING TO HOUSEKEEPING. 49

I thought she did not seem to be exactly pleased
with the diet. " Shall we board or keep house ? "

" Which do you prefer, my dear Lilian ? " I
asked, for though we had discussed this question
before, she had not been able to make up her
mind.

"If we can board at the Revere House, or at
Mrs. Peecksmith's in Beacon street, I would rather
board."

"It would not be possible to obtain such rooms
as would suit us at the Revere House at this sea-
son of the year ; and I heard a gentleman in
Washington say that Mrs. Peecksmith had not a
single apartment unoccupied. "

" How provoking ! "

It was provoking, but I had to invent my ex-
cuses as I went along. I did not venture to sug-
gest that my entire salary would not pay the ex-
penses of boarding at either of the places she
named. I was too weak and vain to tell her the
truth. I deceived her. She had no knowledge of
the world, no experience of the value of money,
for her poor father had actually ruined himself in
a vain attempt to keep up the style of living he
had enjoyed in more prosperous days. Nearly all
his profits went upon the backs of his daughters,
4

50 LIVING TOO FAST.

each of whom had been taught to believe that a
husband, when interpreted, was money. I did
nothing to disturb the illusion.

"I think we must find a place to board for a
few weeks, till we can get a house, and then we
will go to housekeeping, " I suggested.

"We must go to housekeeping if we can't get
rooms at the Revere, or at Mrs. Peecksmith's, "
added Lilian. " But dear ma will take us to
board for a time ; and really I could not think of
going anywhere else. "

We went to " dear ma's, " and after I had paid
the hackman, I had just twenty-five cents left in
my pocket. "Dear ma" was willing to take us
to board for a time, under the circumstances,
though it would be a great inconvenience to her.
She would not think of taking anybody else, though
she had plenty of house room. I ventured to hint
that, as a prudent man, I should like to know
what the terms would be, though really it did not
make the least difference to me, in point of fact.
"Dear ma" did not like to speak of such things;
she was going to take us simply as a matter of
accommodation — "under the circumstances."

" Of course, Mrs. Oliphant, I understand you,
and I am very grateful for the sacrifice you pro-

GOING TO HOUSEKEEPING. 51

pose to make ; but it is always well to have things
clearly set forth," I replied, mildly.

" Certainly it is. I always believe in having
things in black and white. I suppose it would
cost you fifty dollars a week to board at Mrs.
Peecksmith's ; but I should not think of charging
you that," she continued, with a benevolent smile.

" Gracious ! I should hope not," I mentally
ejaculated, for at the Beacon Street house the
boarders walked on Wilton carpets, looked out
through windows decked with velvet draperies,
slept upon rosewood bedsteads, and had seven
courses at dinner, while Mr. Oliphant's house was
an old one, its furniture worn out and dilapidated,
its carpets threadbare, and the fare — when they
had no extra company — below the grade of a
cheap boarding-house. If I had not loved Lilian
with all my soul, I should have deemed it a char-
ity to take her off her parents' hands. As it was,
she was cheap at any price.

" Whatever you say will be all right," I re-
plied. " I am getting a handsome salary now,
and I am willing to pay a fair price."

" I think thirty dollars a week would be no
more than the cost to us. Of course I don't ex-
pect you to pay anything near what it would cost
at Mrs. Peecksmith's."

52 LIVING TOO FAST.

Whew! I could board at a house only one
grade below Beacon Street for twenty. I expected
she would say ten, or at the most fifteen dollars,
but, poor " dear ma !" I suppose she needed the
money to deck out the next daughter for the sac-
rifice. I could not object. It was all in the fam-
ily ; but I determined to find a house with all
possible dispatch.

I went to the bank and took my place. I flat-
ter myself that I was smart, for I won the appro-
bation of even Mr. Bristlebach. I made no mis-
takes. I was not nervous. When I drew my
month's salary of one hundred and fifty dollars,
all but about twenty dollars of it went into the
purse of " dear ma," for board which would have
been high at ten dollars a week. Though Lilian
complained of the accommodations, she said noth-
ing about housekeeping. I made some inquiries,
and found I could board better for half the price
I was paying. I then said something about engag-
ing rooms nearer to the bank. My dear wife
protested. She could not leave " dear ma's,"
where she had all the comforts of a home, and
was in her own family. I saw that she was a
party to the swindle; that "dear ma" had in-
structed her what to do and what to say.

GOING TO HOUSEKEEPING. 53

My home was no home at all, and I was deter-
mined to leave it before I had another month's
board to pay. To stay any longer would be ruin.
My twenty dollars' surplus would pay for only a
few concerts and rides, and in less than a fort-
night I was penniless again. My debts began to
trouble me. One day Captain Halliard wanted to
know if he had not lent me three hundred dol-
lars for a few weeks. I assured him he had, and
that I intended to pay him in a few days. Tom
Flynn hinted that he was short, though he did
not directly say he wanted his money. My tailor
was becoming slightly unreasonable, and the keeper
of a livery stable stupidly insisted upon being
paid, and even had the audacity to refuse to trust
me for any more teams.

It would not do for me to have these importu-
nate creditors coming into the bank to see me.
The president and the cashier would be alarmed
if they discovered that the paying teller was in
debt. But trying as these duns were, they were
insignificant compared with the annoyances which
I endured at " dear ma's." Lilian hinted, and
then insisted, that I should refurnish our room at
my own expense. I told her I would think of it,
and went out to walk after dinner. I did think

54 LIVING TOO FAST.

of it ; and thought I would not do it. Strange as
it may seem, " dear ma " was absolutely becoming
disagreeable to me, and I wondered how such an
angel as Lilian could have been born of such a
designing woman as I found her mother to be.

I stumbled upon a friend who had been to look
at a house. It was a splendid little place, but
not quite large enough for him, and the rent was
only six hundred dollars a year. I went with him
to see it. It looked like a fairy palace to me, and
was just the size I wanted. It was an English
basement house, three stories high. I went to see
the owner. Another man had just left it, and
meant to take the house, but he must first con-
sult his wife. If I stopped to consult mine, I
should lose it, and I closed with him on the in-
stant, regarding myself as the luckiest fellow
in the world.

Lilian would be delighted with it ; there could
be no doubt of that. What a magnificent sur-
prise it would be to her, if I could take her in,
after it was all furnished ! Stupid as the idea
may seem to lady housekeepers, I was so enamored
of my plan that I determined to put it into
operation. I was satisfied we could live in this
gem of a house for less than I paid for board, and
live in much better style.

GOING TO HOUSEKEEPING. 55

The idea of a surprise to Lilian was delightful
to me, and I laid out the plan in detail ; hut the
first thing was to provide the funds. Then my
jaw dropped down. I owed over six hundred
dollars to certain restless creditors ; but I could
save money by going to housekeeping, and my
duty to them required that I should do so. I had
not yet troubled Aunt Rachel, and taking Lilian
with me, I went down to Springhaven to spend
the Fourth of July, ostensibly to escape the noise
and dust of the city, but really to lay siege to
my venerable aunt's purse strings.

The only thing that was likely to defeat me
was the fact that Aunt Rachel did not like
my wife, for Lilian, who regarded the worthy spin-
ster as an " old fuss, " had not always been as
prudent in her presence as I could have wished.
But I caught my aunt alone at five o'clock in the
morning, for the noise of fire-crackers had driven
the old creature from her bed at an unwonted
hour. I played my cards with all the skill of
which I was master. She not only gave me the
money, a thousand dollars, which she had " salted
down " in the house for fear all the banks would
break, but she promised to keep my secret. She
declared that Lilian was too extravagant for a

56 LIVING TOO FAST.

young man like me, and I explained that I wished
to furnish the house without her knowledge, so as
to save expense. She commended my good mo-
tive, and I returned to the city with a thousand
dollars in my pocket, to furnish the English base-
ment house.

CHAPTER IV.

THE ENGLISH BASEMENT HOUSE.

A THOUSAND dollars in cash was more than
I had ever before possessed at one time. I
felt like a rich man, for the shadow of the six hun-
dred dollars which I owed did not offensively obtrude
itself upon me. I could hardly conceal my ex-
hilaration from Lilian, but I was so intent upon
giving her a grand surprise that I kept the great
secret, and preserved a forced calmness. I had
made very careful estimates of the cost of living
in my new palace — I thought they were very
careful — and I was fully satisfied that I should
save one-third of my present expenses.

My column of figures, after I had thought of
every possible expense that could be incurred in
the course of the week, footed up at a trifle
over twenty dollars a week, but I was entirely
convinced that I should bring the actual below the
estimated expense. From the first of July my
salary was to be two thousand a year, or about
thirty-eight dollars and a half a week. I could

57

58 LIVING TOO FAST,

therefore let my expenses go up to twenty-five
dollars a week without upsetting the argument.

Then I allowed three hundred a year for cloth-
ing my wife and myself, and for incidental ex-
penses. In our beautiful home we should not
care to ride and go to concerts and theatres much,
and both of us were well supplied with cloth-
ing. I deemed the sum appropriated as amply
sufficient. At this rate I could pay off my
debts in a year and a half, and be square with
the world. Until this was done, I intended to
hold myself to a most rigid economy. I must
even contrive some way to let Lilian know that
I could not spend money so freely as I had done,
but I could promise her that, when my debts
were paid, she should have every thing she
wanted.

I was perfectly satisfied. My prudential calcu-
tions set me all right with myself and with the
rest of mankind. The vision of the English base-
ment house, all finished and furnished, with Lilian
sitting in state in the little boudoir of a parlor,
was my castle in the air for the present. I was
very cheerful and light hearted, and went to my
daily duties at the bank with an alacrity I had
never before felt. I told Lilian I should not be

THE ENGLISH BASEMENT HOUSE. 59

at home to dinner that day. When she wanted to
know why, I said something about bank commis-
sioners, and was afraid I should be detained un-
til a late hour. She kissed me as usual when I
left her, and even "dear ma" looked so very
amiable, that I was afraid she would kiss me too.
But she did not, and my heart smote me as I
thought of the treason I was meditating against her
and the two unmarried daughters.

I ought to say here, in justice to myself, that
these two sisters of my wife were a heavy burden
upon me, independently of the thirty dollars a
week I paid for my board; for if Lilian and I
proposed to go to a concert, to the theatre or the
opera, it was somehow contrived that one or both
of them should join the party. My wife reasoned
that a carriage would cost no more for four than
for two, and the paltry expense of the tickets was
all the additional outlay I incurred, while it was
such a pleasure for the sisters to go. Then I
could just as well purchase three pairs of white
kids as one — Mrs. Oliphant would pay me for
them. I must do her the justice to say that she
always offered to do so, but, as it was " all in the
family, " I was too magnificent to stoop to such
trifles ; and I know that she would have consid-

60

LIVING TOO FAST.

ered me mean if I had accepted the paltry dollars.
I went to the bank with the thousand dollars in
my pocket. I intended to devote the afternoon
to selecting the furniture for my new house. My
friend Buckleton was in the furniture business.
He would not only keep my secret, but he would
give me a bargain on his wares; and what was
better, if I came a little short he would trust me.
The thousand dollars' worth of goods in my house
was so much real property, the possession of which

would add to my credit, and
was available as security, if
occasion required.

The bank closed, and
after I had settled my cash,
I decided to take a little
lunch at Parker's before I
went to Buckleton's store.
I was going out of the
bank when that confounded
Shay top, the stable man,
presented himself before me
like the ghost of a faded
joy. He had the impudence
stop's Little Bill. to thrust his little bill,
which amounted to only sixty odd dollars, in my

THE ENGLISH BASEMENT HOUSE. 61

sunny face. Humph ! sixty dollars was nothing
to me in my present frame of mind. I didn't
"cotton" to any such sum as that, and Mr. Bris-
tlebach, the president of the bank, who was
reputed to be worth a million, could not have
looked more magnificent than I did, if he had
tried.

" Mr. Glasswood, I am getting rather tired of
calling on you about my bill," Shaytop began, in
the most uncompromising manner.

"Do I owe you anything, Mr. Shaytop ? " I
inquired, very loftily.

"Do you owe me anything!" exclaimed the
fellow, oi^ening his eyes wide enough to catch a
vision of the prophetic future. " I reckon you
do."

"Is it possible ? I declare, I had quite for-
gotten the circumstance. "

"Forgotten it! I'll bet you didn't! I think I
have taken pains enough to keep you informed of
it. "

"Don't be rude, Mr. Shaytop. I don't permit
any man to dun me. "

"Don't you? Well, by George, you have made
an exception in my favor. Haven't I been to see
you once a week for the last three months ? "

" I don't remember, " I replied, vacantly.

62 LIVING TOO FAST.

" Look here, my gay bird, you can't tom-fool
me any longer. I'm going to have my money, or
break something, " he added, with an energetic
gesture.

" Certainly, my dear sir, if I owe you anything,
I shall pay it with greater pleasure than you will
receive it. "

"I'll bet you won't! I want to see Mr. Bris-
tlebach. I don't think he likes to have his clerks
run up bills for teams, and not pay for them. "

" All right ; you can see Mr. Bristlebach, if you
wish. He is in the director's room. Shall I in-
troduce you to him ? "

"I want to see him if you are not going to pay
me."

" Haven't I told you that I should take great
pleasure in paying you, if I owe you anything.
It had slipped my mind that I owed you' a bill,
though now it comes to me that there is a small
balance due you. "

" A small balance ! You owe me sixty-two
dollars !"

" Well, I call that a small balance. In the bank
we deal in big figures. How long have I owed
you sixty-two dollars, Mr. Shay top ? "

" About six months."

"Exactly so! Have you added interest?"

THE ENGLISH BASEMENT HOUSE. 63

" No. I shall be glad enough to get the bill,
without saying anything about the interest."

" If I forgot this little matter, it is not right
that you should lose anything by my neglect.
Add the interest to your bill, and I will pay it."

44 That's what you said every time I asked you
for the money — all but the interest."

"I'm going up to Parker's for a lunch now. If
you will call there in half an hour, I will pay you
the bill and the interest," I continued, glancing
at the clock in the bank.

44 If you mean so, I'll be there."

44 Don't insult me, Mr. Shaytop."

44 I'll be there, and if you are not there, I'll
take the next best step."

He turned on his heel, and left me. It was
painfully impressed upon my mind that I must pay
that bill, and thus diminish the resources for fur-
nishing the house. But I was something of a
philosopher, and I argued that paying this demand
would not increase the sum total of my indebted-
ness; it would only transfer it to the account of
the furniture. This thought suggested a new
train of ideas. My tailor was bothering me about
a little bill I owed him ; Uncle Halliard would be
asking me again if I did not owe him three hun-

64 LIVING TOO FAST.

dred dollars ; and Tom Flynn would hint that he
was short. Why could I not improve my credit by
paying off all these debts, and " running my face "
for the furniture ? It was worthy of consideration
as a piece of financial policy.

I went to Parker's, and ordered " a little lunch "
which cost me a dollar and a half. Before I had
finished it, Shaytop made his appearance. I never
saw a fellow look more doubtful than he did.
He evidently believed that he had come on a fool's
errand. Since I could not well avoid paying the bill,
I was to have the pleasure of dissolving this illu-
sion in his mind.

" Sit down, Mr. Shaytop," I began politely, point-
ing to the chair opposite my own at the table.

"I haven't much time to spare," he replied,
glancing at the viands before me, perhaps with
the ill-natured reflection that this was the way
the money went which ought to be used in pay-
ing his bill.

" Won't you have something to eat, Mr. Shay-
top ; or something to drink, if you please ? "

" No, I thank you ; I've been to dinner, and I
never drink anything."

" Happy to have you eat or drink with me," I
added, coolly.

" I'm in a hurry, Mr. Glass wood."

THE ENGLISH BASEMENT HOUSE. 65

" Are yon ? Well, I'm sorry for that. We
don't live ont more than half of onr lives on
account of always being in a hurry. By the way
it seems to me very strange I forgot that little
bill of yours. One hundred and sixty-two dollars,
I think you said it was ? "

" Sixty-two dollars, I said," he answered as if
congratulating himself that it was not the sum I
named.

He took the bill from his pocket, and laid it on
the table before me.

"Good!" said I, glancing at the document.
"I'm a hundred dollars in. I was thinking you
said it* was a hundred and sixty-two."

I intimated to the waiter that he might bring
me a Charlotte Russe, and he removed the dishes
from the table.

" I don't like to hurry you, Mr. Glass wood,
but I ought to be at the stable."

" O, you are in a hurry ! I had quite forgotten
that you said so. Well, I will not keep you wait-
ing," I replied drawing my porte-monnaie from my
pocket.

His eyes glistened, and I think he had a hope by
this time. I glanced at the bill again.

"You haven't added the interest," I continued.
5

66 LIVING TOO FAST.

"Never mind the interest."

"But I am very willing to pay it."

" Well, you add it. You can figure as fast
again as I can."

" Sixty- three, eighty-six," I replied. " Receipt
the bill, Mr. Shaytop."

He went over to the cashier's desk and per-
formed this pleasing operation. I think the act
gave him an additional hope of receiving his
money.

44 Perhaps you had just as lief take my due bill
for six months for this amount, now that we have
added the interest ? " I suggested.

"No, I'll be hanged if I had!" retorted he,
very sharply. " Have you brought me up here,
and wasted an hour of my time, to give me your
note, which isn't worth the paper you will write
it on?"

"You are impudent, Mr. Shaytop."

44 Perhaps I am, but — "

44 Never mind ; if you don't want the note, you
can have the money. It don't make much differ-
ence to me, though it would be more convenient
to pay the bill at another time than now. There
isn't the least need of making use of any strong
language."

44Pay me, and I won't use any, then."

THE ENGLISH BASEMENT HOUSE. 67

I opened my porte-monnaie and took therefrom
the roll of bills I had received from Aunt Rachel.
A $nq hundred dollar bill was on the top, and the
balance of the pile was in hundreds and fifties.
I ran through the bills with professional dexterity,
so that he could see the' quality of them.

"I can't make the change, Mr. Shay top," I
replied, with cool indifference.

I glanced at him. I went up in that man's
estimation from zero to summer heat. He would
have trusted me for a span every day in the week
for six months. I took out a hundred dollar bill
and tossed it over to him. As I suspected, he
could not give me the change. He went to the
counter and procured smaller bills for it, and gave
me the sum coming to me. He had ceased to be
in a hurry.

" If you want any more teams, Mr. Glass wood,
I think I can fit you out as well as any other
stable in the city," said he, after he had put his
wallet back into his pocket.

" I don't," I replied, curtly.

" Don't you ride any now ?"

" Yes, just as much as ever; but you see, Mr.
Shaytop, I don't like to be bothered with these
small accounts, and to deal with men who think

68 LIVING TOO FAST.

so much of little things," I answered, magnifi-
cently." You have threatened to speak to Mr.
Bristlebach, which you are quite welcome to do ;
and you intimate that my note is not worth the
paper on which it is written."

"I hope you will excuse me for what I said,
but I was a little vexed" pleaded he. "I was
mistaken in you. The fact of it is, I lost two or
three bills—"

" You haven't lost anything by me, and I don't
intend you shall," I interposed.

I finished my "little lunch," rose from the
table, and having paid my bill, left the house.
Shaytop followed me. He wanted my trade, now
that he had seen the inside of my pocket-book.
But I shook him off as soon as I desired to do
so, and hastened to the store of Buckleton. Con-
fidentially I stated my plan to him, and he was
willing to be my bosom friend. In the course of
the interview I opened my porte-monnaie, and con-
trived that he should see the figures on the bank
bills it contained. It was surprising how those
figures opened his heart.

When I suggested that I was making a large
outlay, he volunteered to trust me to any extent
I desired. He was kind enough to go with me

THE ENGLISH BASEMENT HOUSE. 69

to the carpet store, and assist me in the selection
of the goods I wanted. I insisted upon paying
two hundred dollars on account, which made the
carpet people astonishingly good-natured to me ;
and I was taken aback when they offered to give
me credit. Buckleton then went with me to the
kitchen furnishing store, and his advice helped me
very much as I wandered through the long lists
of articles. I made the selection and paid the
bill.

When we returned to the furniture store, I
warmed toward him, and finally prevailed on him to
accept two hundred dollars towards the bill I
bought of him. He gave me a receipt. When
we footed up the prices of the goods I had selected,
I was rather startled to find they amounted to
nearly eight hundred dollars.

u I can't afford that ! " I protested, " I must go
over it again, and take some cheaper articles."

"It don't pay to buy cheap furniture, Glass-
wood," replied my friend. "You have been very
moderate in your selections."

He overcame my scruples by declaring that I
need not pay for the goods till it suited my own
convenience. I left him and went back to the
bank to count my funds. I had only four hun-

70 LIVING TOO FAST.

dred and seventy dollars left. I could not pay
off the six hundred of old debts now ; so I left
the matter open for further consideration.

The carpet people went to work immediately,
and in a week all the rooms were ready for the
furniture. Buckleton was so obliging as to go to
the house himself and arrange the chairs, tables,
bedsteads and other articles. The kitchen furni-
ture was all put in the closets, hung up on the
walls, or otherwise disposed of, so that the place
looked like an occupied home. I had sheets, pil-
low-cases, towels, and other articles made up, and
in three weeks the English basement-house looked
as cosey as the heart of a bank officer could
desire.

But fearful inroads had been made upon my
exchequer. The carpet people made up a total
bill of three hundred and thirty dollars ; and when
I hinted that I might possibly find it necessary to
avail myself of their offer to give me credit, they
had a note to pay and wanted the cash. I was
too magnificent to haggle. I settled their bill — and
cursed them in my heart. When I had paid every-
thing except the six hundred I owed Buckleton,
I had only ninety dollars in my pocket.

I was alarmed. A cold sweat stood on my

THE ENGLISH BASEMENT HOUSE. 71

forehead as I added up the items and found that
I was twelve hundred dollars in debt. The situ-
ation worried me for a few days, but I soon became
accustomed to it. I consoled myself with the
hope that the bank would raise my salary, though
I could pay off the debts with my present income
in three years. It would all come out right in
the end, and it was useless to worry about the
matter.

I didn't worry long. The English basement house,
all furnished, new and elegant, with a Biddy in
the kitchen, was a joy which could not be ignored.
If it had cost me nearly fifteen hundred dollars to
furnish the house, I had that amount of property
on hand, and my debts were really no more than
before. The house was ready for my wife, and I
proposed to her, one afternoon, when all was
ready, to take a walk with me.

CHAPTER V.
LILIAN ASTONISHED — SO AM I.

IN spite of the doubts and fears which had dis-
turbed me, I was delighted with the English
basement house and already in anticipation I
enjoyed the surprise of Lilian, when I should tell
her that the beautiful home was her own. I
asked her to walk with me, but she was a little
fretful that day; somehow she seemed more like
14 dear ma " than I had ever seen her before.

"I don't want to walk to-day, Paley. I'm
tired," she replied, with a languid air.

" I only wish to go a little way," I added.

"Not to-day, Paley."

" I want to show you a house, Lilian."

"A house!" she exclaimed with something like
an abused expression on her beautiful face, as
though she half suspected the treason towards
" dear ma " which I was meditating.

" I saw a little English basement house in
Needham street, which I would like to have you
look at, just as a curiosity, you know," I contin-

72

LILIAN A S TONISHED —SO AM I. 73

ued, with as much indifference as I could
assume.

"Why do you wish me to see it, Paley?" she
asked, exhibiting more interest and apparently
forgetting that she was tired.

44 Well, because I saw it, and liked the looks of
it. There can be no harm in seeing it."

"I don't know, Paley," she answered, doubt-
fully ; but whatever suspicions she cherished, she
could have no idea of the truth, " We will go
some other day."

44 But we may not have the opportunity another
day. I happen to know that the house is open
to-day."

44 What do you mean, Paley? You look just
as though you were planning something."

44 So I am. I am planning a little walk that
will not take half an hour of your time."

44 Something worse than that," she added, shak-
ing her head.

44 1 was thinking that, some time or other, we
might possibly go to housekeeping."

44 Well, I suppose we shall, some time or other,"
she answered, languidly. 4' But I hope you are
not thinking of doing it yet awhile. I can't bear
the thought of leaving dear .ma ; we are so pleas-
antly situated here."

74 LIVING TOO FAST.

To use a vulgar expression, " I did not see it."
I was. not wicked enough to attempt to prejudice
my darling against " dear ma," and I felt obliged
to manage the matter with care. But, as the
shock could not long be deferred, I might as well
make some approaches.

" Of course we are situated pleasantly enough
here; but you know, Lilian, that you said we
must go to housekeeping."

"Certainly, we must go to housekeeping in time,
but not yet."

" But you know that your mother was kind
enough to take us to board only till we could
complete our arrangements. She is very obliging,
and I am very grateful to her for the favor; but
I don't think it would be right for us to impose
ourselves upon her any longer than is absolutely
necessary."

"O — well — of course not; but it will be very
hard for me to go away from home."

" We need not go far ; indeed, not so far but
that you can call upon her every day. My con-
science reproaches me when I think of the trouble
we are giving her."

" She does not complain."

"She will not complain, but at the same time

LILIAN AS TONISHED — SO AM I. 75

it is not right for us to remain here, under the
circumstances, any longer than we are compelled
to do so. You know she said she should not
think of taking any body else to board ; and after
she has been so kind to us, we ought to be con-
siderate enough not to trespass upon her good-
ness."

"I will speak to her about the matter; and if
she really does not wish to keep us, why, we'll
leave," added Lilian.

" But, my dear, you must not forget that she is
your mother, and that she will make any sacrifice
for your sake, even to her own great injury. It
is a matter of conscience with me ; and I do not
feel like asking her to make this sacrifice of com-
fort any longer than necessary. Our coming here
was only a temporary arrangement, you know,
and whatever she may say, our being here will
give her a great deal of trouble and anxiety.
Come, Lilian, dearest, put on your bonnet. It
will do no harm to look at the house. It is al-
ready rented to a young couple who are just
going to housekeeping," I continued; but I did
not think it necessary to say who the young
couple were, and she did not seem to care enough
about it to ask me.

76 LIVING TOO FAST.

" If the house is let, why do you wish me to
see it ? " she inquired.

" I want to get at your ideas in regard to a
house," I replied, ingeniously.

She looked at me, and seemed to have some
doubts, but she probably reasoned that the house
was already rented, and there could be no treason
against " dear ma " in merely looking at it. She
put on her bonnet and shawl. When my hand
was on the door the ever watchful Mrs. Oliphant
appeared, and wished to know whether we should
be back to tea.

We should ; but this was not enough. Lilian
was not very well, and she must not walk too
far. We were only going around to Needham
street, and should return in half an hour. If
Lilian was going to call on the Trescotts, why
had she not told her mother, for both owed them
a call ? We did not intend to call on the Tres-
cotts ; we were only going out for a little walk.
If we were going to walk, why were we particu-
lar in saying that we were going through Needham
street? There was some treason in Needham
street, and Lilian was forced to say that we desired
to see a house which was already leased to a
young couple who were going to housekeeping.

LILIAN A S TONISHBD — SO AM I. 77

" Dear ma " looked uneasy, but she permitted
us to depart. I was afraid she would insist upon
accompanying us, as I think she would, had she
not been satisfied by the assurance that the
house was already leased. We walked to Need-
ham street. I was full of hope. Lilian would like
the English basement house — she could not help
liking it, and what a rapturous moment would it
be when I told her that it was all her own!
Even the anticipated battle with " dear ma"
seemed to be farther removed and of much
less consequence than before. We approached the
house, and my heart beat high with transports of
delight. In a few days, perhaps the very next
day, I should see the idol of my soul enthroned
within its walls !

With Lilian leaning lovingly on my arm, I
halted at No. 21. On the door, to my intense
confusion and disgust, glittered a new silver plate
whereon was inscribed the name, " P. Glass-
wood," not in Old English, German text, or any
other letter which he who runs may not often
read, but in plain script! I had told the maker
not to put it on the door for a week; but he had
misunderstood me, or had taken it upon himself to
defeat my plan.

78 LIVING TOO FAST.

"P. Glass wood ! "-exclaimed dear Lilian, stunned
and horrified, so that the shock she had thrilled
my whole frame.

" Certainly; P. Glassford," I interposed, promptly.
"You know Pierce — don't you, Lilian? I think
you saw him when we were at Springhaven. He
is only a second cousin of mine, but he is a good
fellow."

" I didn't know you had a cousin of that
name," she replied, much comforted.

As I did not know it myself, I did not blame her
for not being aware of the circumstance.^ I opened
the door, and we went in, for I had already pro-
vided myself with a night key — that gross metallic
sin against a wife. Of course the house and fur-
niture were at their best estate. Every thing
was new, nice and eleganfc. The hall gave the
first cheerful impression of the house, and Lilian
was delighted with it. The little sitting-room was
so cosey and snug that my wife actually cried out
with pleasure.

The parlors and the chambers were equally sat-
isfactory, and Lilian thought my cousin would be
very happy with his bride in this new house. We
proceeded to the kitchen, where the Biddy in
charge smiled benignantly upon her new " missus, "

LILIAN A S TON I SHED —SO AM I. 79

though she did not betray the secret she had been
instructed to keep. My wife was not so much
interested in the kitchen as in the parlor and sit-
ting-room, but she was kind enough to say that
every thing was neat and convenient, though I
am afraid she was hardly a judge on the latter
point. We returned to the sitting-room, and my
wife seated herself in the low rocking-chair which
had been selected for her use.

"How do you like it on the whole, Lilian?" I
asked, dropping into the arm-chair, in which I
intended to read the Transcript every evening.

" I think it is real nice," she replied, with a
degree of enthusiasm which fully rewarded me for
all the pains I had taken, and the anxiety I had
suffered.

" I'm glad you like it, Lilian. I like it exceed-
ingly, and I am glad to find our tastes are one
and the same."

" I don't mean to say that, if I were going to
house-keeping, I wouldn't have some things differ-
ent," she added.

"But you think you could contrive to exist in
a house like this ? "

" Why, yes ; I like it very much indeed."

"Then it is yours Lilian! " I added, rising from

80 LIVING TOO FAST.

my arm-chair, as I precipitated the climax upon
her.

"What do you mean, Paley?" she asked, be-
wildered by my words.

" This house and all that it contains are ours,
dearest Lilian."

"I thought you said it was your cousin's."

" So I did, Lilian ; but that was only a little
fiction to aid me in giving you a delightful sur-
prise. This house is yours, my dear, and all that
it contains, including myself, and Biddy in the
kitchen."

"Is it possible? Do you mean so, Paley?"

"I do ; every word, syllable, letter and point,
including the crossing of the t's and the dotting
of the i's, of what I say is true. The house and
all that it contains are ours."

" I don't understand it."

" Well, dearest, it is plain enough. Not only
to give you a pleasant surprise, but to save you
all trouble and anxiety, I have hired the house
and furnished it."

" You have, Paley ? "

" I have, dearest Lilian ! How happy we shall
be in our new home."

" I don't think so ! "

LILIAN ASTONISHED — SO AM I. 81

Certainly Lilian had been duly and properly
astonished. It was my turn now, and I was, if
possible, more astonished than she had been. She
did not think so ! What an unwarrantable con-
clusion !

" You don't think so, Lilian ? " I added, inter-
rogatively.

" No, I don't ! If you begin in this way we
can never be happy."

" Why not ? "

" In the first place, I don't want to go to house-
keeping yet."

" But I thought you did. The plan has been
from the beginning, since we could not get board
at the Revere or in Beacon Street, to go to house-
keeping," I replied, with rather more sharpness
than I had ever before found it necessary to use
to dear Lilian.

She was evidently angry, and her eyes glowed
like diamonds in the sunlight. But she never
looked so pretty as she did at that moment when
her face was rouged with natural roses, and her
eyes appeared like a living soul.

" Do you think, Paley, that I want to go to
house-keeping in a little, narrow contracted box
like this ? " she added.
6

82 LIVING TOO FAST.

"I thought you liked the house, dearest Lilian."

" I like it very well for Mrs. Pierce Glass wood,
but not for Mrs. Paley Glasswood."

" I am sorry you don't like it, for it is too
late now to recede," I replied, gasping for breath.
" I was sure it would please you."

" It don't ! "

"What possible fault can you find with it?"

" It don't suit me. How could you do such a
thing, Paley, as to hire a house and furnish it,
without saying a word to me ? "

By this time I had come to the conclusion that
it was very stupid in me to do it.

" I wanted to surprise you."

" Well, you have surprised me," she snapped,
with such a sweet expression of contempt that I
was almost annihilated. " Do you think a lady
has no will of her own ? No taste, no judgment,
no fancy ? How could you be so ridiculous as to
furnish a house without asking my advice ? Could
you have found a homelier carpet in Boston, if you
had looked for one, than this very carpet under
our feet? "

"Buckleton said it was the handsomest one in
the city, and the neatest pattern."

" Then Buckleton has no taste. No one can

LILIAN ASTONISHED — SO AM I. 83

select a carpet for a woman. What did you put
that cold oil-cloth on the entry for? I should
think you imported it from the polar regions on
purpose to give me a chill every time I see it !
The figure in the parlor carpet is large enough
for a room a hundred feet square. That great
blundering tete-a-tete is fit for a bar-room, but
not for a parlor. There is no end to the absurd-
ities in this house.''

" Now, really, dearest Lilian, I was sure you
would be pleased with every thing," I pleaded.

"You are a stupid, Paley Glass wood."

I agreed with her.

" I am very sorry, Lilian ; but I did everything
with the hope of pleasing you."

"Now here's a pretty kettle of fish! " exclaimed
my indignant bride. " What can we do ? "

" I can't alter the house, my dear, but I can
change the furniture so as to suit you, though
doing so will be very expensive," I continued,
meekly, as I endeavored to conciliate her.

We had been married only about four months,
and the present occasion looked very much like a
quarrel. I had not had the remotest suspicion that
she was so spunky. It did occur to me that she
was slightly unreasonable, if one so beautiful

84 LIVING TOO FAST.

could be unreasonable. Her father was as poor
as a church mouse. His house, as I have hinted,
was meanly furnished, and certainly neither the
house nor the furniture was worthy to be com-
pared with the one I had provided for my little
wife. She had no reason for putting on airs, and
being so fiercely critical about the carpets and the
chairs. They were vastly better than she had
ever had at home.

" Do you think I will live in this house, Paley
Glasswood?" said she, with her lips compressed
and her eyes snapping with indignation.

" Why, I hope so," I replied, more astonished
than she had been at any time during the visit to
the new house.

" You are mistaken, Paley Glasswood. I am
your wife, but not your slave ; I am not to be
dragged from my home when and where you
please. You ought to have told me what you
intended to do in the beginning."

"I know it now ; and I confess that I was
wrong," I replied, with due humility, and, I may
add, with perfect sincerity. " I hope you will
forgive me, this time Lilian, and I will never be
guilty of such an offence again."

"I should hope not. But here we are! What's
to be done with this house and furniture ? "

LILIAN A S TONISHED — SO AM I. 85

" Why, my dear, won't you go to housekeeping
with me ? "

" Certainly not, in this house," she answered,
with a nourish.

This announcement was very startling to me.
It was appalling to think that I had expended
fifteen hundred in preparing a cage which the
bird refused to occupy. Intensely as I loved,
adored Lilian, I could not help seeing that she
was developing a trait of character which I did
not like. But I was a politic man, and seeing
how useless it was to attempt to argue the mat-
ter while she was in her present frame of mind,
I had to keep still. We left the house and
walked home. For the first time since we were
married she declined to take my arm, and I began
to be very miserable. Somehow it seemed to me
that the meeker I was, and the more I deprecated
her wrath, the greater became her objection to
the house.

"What shall I say to dear ma?" demanded
Lilian, after she had thrown off her things.

" My dear, you need not say a word to her. I
will do all this unpleasant business myself," I
replied. " You can lay all the blame upon me.
I will tell her that we are going to our new house

86 LIVING TOO FAST.

"You needn't tell her any such thing, for I
am not."

Before we had proceeded any farther with the
discussion Mrs. Oliphant entered the room. The
battle was imminent.

CHAPTER VI.

A FAMILY JAR.

I DID not feel at all at ease when Mrs.
Olipliant entered the room. I was entirely
willing to be conquered and trodden under the
little feet of the fair Lilian, but I was not so
ready to be trampled upon by the unromantic feet
of "dear ma." I was conscious that my pretty
wife was getting the weather-gage of me — that
she had already got it, in fact. I was not dis-
posed to complain of this, but I intended, if pos-
sible, to out-manoeuvre Mrs. Oliphant. I regarded
Lilian as " my family," and I wished to have her
" set off" from my mother-in-law.

In spite of all the strong talk which my lovely
wife had used in regard to the English basement
house, I confidently expected that she would take
her place in the new home I had provided for
her. If she was dissatisfied with it, she would
soon love it for my sake, if not for its own. But
I was sure she did not rebel on her own account;
it was the influence of her mother which had

87

88 LIVING TOO FAST.

controlled her. I accepted the theory that the
queen's majesty could do no wrong. If anything
was not right, it was the fault of the ministers.

After I had permitted lier to say all she had to
say, and to exhaust her vocabulary of invective,
she would quietly submit to the new house, move
in, be as happy as a queen in a short time, and
wonder how she had ever thought the little snug-
gery was not a palace. I had made a fearful ex-
penditure in preparing the house for her ; I had
thrust my head into the jaws of the monster
Debt, and I must make the best of the situation.

"Ma," said Lilian, as her mother entered the
room, "what do you suppose Paley has done?"

The poor child looked at the faded carpet as
she spoke, hardly daring to raise her eyes to the
maternal visage. I hoped she contrasted the hue-
less fabric on the floor with those bright colors
which gleamed from her own carpet in the
Needham street house.

"Why, what has he done?" asked Mrs. Oli-
phan, with a theatrical start, which was modified
by a tiger smile bestowed upon me.

"He has hired a house?" replied Lilian, with
a gasping sigh, which was simply intended as
convincing evidence that she was not implicated
in the nefarious transaction.

A FAMIL T JAR.

89

" Hired a house ! "
exclaimed Mrs. Oli-
phant ; and her sigh
was genuine, and
not intended for
effect.

" And furnished it
too ! " added Lilian,
with horror, as she
piled up the details
of my hideous wick-
edness.

"And furnished
it too!" groaned
poor Mrs. Oliphant,
sinking into a chair, Mrs. oiiphant.

as though she had reached the depth of despair in
the gulf into which my infamous conduct had
plunged her.

" He did not say a word to me about the house
or furniture until this very afternoon ! " continued'
my beautiful wife, holding up both her prett}^ white
hands the better to emphasize her astonishment
and chagrin.

" Of course, if you desire to leave your own
pleasant home, Lilian, it is not for me to say a

90 LIVING TOO FAST.

word," added the meek mamma, with another
sigh, which seemed to measure the depth of the
resignation that could submit to such an out-
rage.

"But I do not desire to leave my pleasant
home," protested Lilian. " I never had such a
thought. I am sure, I have been so happy here
that I never dreamed of another home, as long as
you were willing to keep us, mother."

" You have been very kind indeed to us, Mrs.
Oliphant," I ventured to remark, though I was
not certain that the time had come for me to de-
fend myself. " I feel very grateful to you for the
sacrifice you have made to accommodate us ; and
I am sure I shall never forget it."

" A mother lives for her children alone," sighed
Mrs. Oliphant. " Even when they are married she
cannot lose her interest in them."

" Certainly not, madam ; especially not in so
good a daughter as Lilian."

"It is hard enough to have them removed by
marriage from the direct influence of a mother,
and to feel that she is no longer a mother in the
sense she has been."

I thought that Mrs. Oliphant had submitted to
the marriage of her daughter with tolerable resig-

A FAMIL T JAR. 91

nation, and would even permit the other two to
go to the sacrifice without rebelling- against the
dictates of fate.

" Of course she can never be entirely removed
from a mother's influence," I replied, wishing that
she could. " You have been very kind and con-
siderate toward us since we were married — to me
for Lilian's sake."

" And for your own," she interposed.

" I trust I shall never be ungrateful. I feel
called upon to explain my conduct," I continued.
" You remember, when we returned from our
bridal tour that something was said about board-
ing. We could not find such accommodations as
we desired, and you were so kind as to offer to
accommodate us till we could obtain a house, or
make other arrangements."

uYes, I remember," replied Mrs. Oliphant. "I
don't take boarders, but I was willing to do what
I could for Lilian's comfort and happiness."

" You were, madam ; and I was very grateful
to you for your consideration, both to Lilian and
to me. You intimated that it would not be con-
venient for you to take us to board, but you
were willing to sacrifice your own comfort and
your own feelings to oblige us. I was very sorry

92 LIVING TOO FAST.

indeed that the circumstances compelled us to
trespass upon your kindness. You did us a favor
for which I shall never cease to be grateful. But
I did not feel willing to compel you to submit to
the inconvenience of boarding us any longer than
was absolutely necessary. My gratitude compelled
me, when I found a house, to take it, and relieve
you at once from all the care and responsibility
which your self-sacrificing nature had imposed
upon you."

" And without even permitting me to see the
house in which I was to live!" exclaimed Lilian,
coming to the assistance of her mother, who
seemed to be thrown into disorder by my tactics.

" I did not suppose it was possible for any one,
even with your refined taste, Lilian, to object to
such a beautiful little house. But I was obliged
to hire it on the instant, or lose it. Another
man would have taken it in less than half an
hour. It is so near your mother's that you can
come to see her half-a-dozen times a day, if you
please."

" But I will never live in that house," protested
Lilian, with more energy than I thought the occa-
sion required, though I could not help adoring
her while her cheeks glowed and her eyes
snapped.

A FAMILT JAR. 93

"Don't say that, dear Lilian. You should
endeavor to conform to the wishes of your hus-
band," mildly interposed the suffering parent.
" Doubtless he has done all for the best, and per-
haps you will like the house, after all."

" I know I never shall like it," snapped the
divine Lilian ; which was as much as to say that
she was fully determined not to like it.

" Mrs. Oliphant, would you do me the favor to
walk over to the house with me ? " I suggested
to the affectionate mother.

"No ; I would rather not. I never step between
man and wife," replied she, with praiseworthy
resolution. "I do not wish to see the house.
This is an affair between you and Lilian, and it
is my duty to be strictly neutral."

" But I hope you appreciate my motives? "

" I can ' not say that I do," she answered. " I
think a man should consult his wife before he
hires and furnishes the house in which she is to
spend a great deal more time than her husband."

I wish to say to my readers that I heartily
endorse Mrs. Oliphant's position. A man ought
to consult his wife about the house in which she
is to spend more of her time than he. It is emi-
nently proper, right and just that he should do

94 LIVING TOO FAST.

so ; but I beg to call the attention of the critic to
my unfortunate position. Lilian was an angel (in
my estimation) ; her mother was not an angel.
The daughter was a mere doll — I am writing
after the lapse of years. She was completely
under the control of her mother. What I sus-
pected then, I knew afterwards — that Mrs. Oli-
phant intended to have us as permanent boarders.

Mr. Oliphant had long been running behind-
hand under the heavy expenses of his extrava-
gant family. Something must be done to eke out
his failing income, or the two unmarried daugh-
ters could no longer hold their position in society.
They must dress, or be banished by their own
vanity from the circle in which they moved — a
circle which contained husbands. They could not
take strangers as boarders, for the house was not
fit to accommodate them ; but a son-in-law would
submit in silence, while a stranger would rebel.
I was the victim.

If I proposed house-keeping, my plan would be
condemned, as another boarding-place had been
already. Perhaps I persuaded myself into the
belief, under the necessities of the occasion, that
I was hiring and furnishing the English basement
house as a pleasant surprise to Lilian. If I did,

A FAMIL T JAR. 95

it was a comfortable delusion, for it was really
only a scheme to escape from the. clutches of my
mother-in-law, and to avoid the martyrdom of my
situation on Tremont street. Perhaps the reader
will forgive me after this explanation. If he does
not, it is not the worst of my errors, and I would
thank God most devoutly if I had no graver sin
to answer for.

I told Mrs. Oliphant that I had hired a house
which was rather better than I could afford ; that
I had furnished it at an expense which was beyond
my means, in order to please Lilian. I said some-
thing more about the "pleasant surprise," and
was positive that no bank officer of my degree
had so fine an establishment. I repeated all I
had said about not imposing upon her self-sacrific-
ing nature. But all I said seemed to fall flat
upon her ear. She was not touched by my devo-
tion to her daughter ; on the contrary she was
disgusted with me, as I read her sentiments in
her face, for she did not utter them.

Lilian felt that she had an able champion in
her mother, and she said but little. Still profess-
ing entire impartiality, Mrs. Oliphant read me a
lecture on the impropriety of my conduct, fre-
quently interpolating the discourse with the state-

96 LIVING TOO FAST.

ment that it was none of her "business though, as
I had asked her, advice (which I had not), she
felt obliged to be candid with me. She and Lilian
seemed to understand each other perfectly, and
while the latter resolutely refused to occupy the
house I had prepared for her reception, the former
mildly and often declared that a wife should sub-
mit to her husband. Lilian knew what to say so
as not to implicate her mother in any improper
remarks. I think my wife loved me almost as
much as she feared her mother. I am sure that
she would have accepted the situation with
pleasure, if she had not been under her " dear
ma's " influence. *

What could I do ? I had well-nigh ruined myself
in fitting up the house. I was vexed, and as the
conversation proceeded I began to grow impatient.
Finally I left the house to buy some cigars, I
said, but in reality to find an opportunity to think
over my situation. I did think it over, and 1 did
not buy any cigars, for I was not allowed to
smoke them, even in the kitchen. Lilian would
yield at once, if she could escape her mother's
influence. As it was, I must fight the battle with
both of them.

I walked across the Common, thinking what I

A FAMILY JAR. 97

should do. If I submitted this time, I should not.
only be obliged to bear the privations to which
the Oliphants subjected themselves in order to
maintain their social position, but I must forever
be the willing slave of " dear ma." I could not
endure the thought. If the family chose to live
on tough beef and salt fish, it was their affair,
not mine. I could not stand it, and the result
of my deliberations was that I decided not to stand
it. I went back to the house, stiffened for any
thing that might occur, though it almost broke
my heart to think of opposing Lilian.

u Perhaps the person who wanted the house
you have hired would be willing to take it now,
and purchase the furniture you have put into it ? "
suggested Mrs. Oliphant, when the subject was
resumed.

Perhaps he would ; but my idea just then was
that he would not have the opportunity to do so.

"I think not; the party who wanted it would
have furnished it at half the expense I have
incurred," I replied.

" Couldn't you let it as a furnished house ? "
she added.

" My lease does not permit me to underlet it."

" I think it would be cruel to take Lilian away

98 LIVING TOO FAST.

from her own pleasant home, when she wishes to
remain here so much," continued Mrs. Oliphant, a
little more sharply than she had yet spoken.
" But, of course, it is none of my business and I
do not wish to interfere between you."

After supper, I saw Lilian alone in our room.
She was as resolute as a little tiger. She posi-
tively refused to go into the English basement
house, or to have anything to do with it.

"I think you have insulted my mother," she
added.

" Insulted her ! " I exclaimed, rather startled by
this new charge which had evidently been put into
her brain by " dear ma."

" She has made her arrangements to board us,
and now you want to go away."

" She hasn't made any arrangements at all.
Not an article of furniture has been added to the
house."

" She says she has ; and I think she knows best,"
retorted Lilian, sharply.

" You have spoken to me every day for a month
about furnishing our room."

" I think we ought to furnish it."

" And pay thirty dollars a week for our board !
I don't think so,u I replied ; and this was almost

A FAMILY JAR. 99

the first time I had ventured to disagree with her.

" Mother says she boards us cheaper than any
body else would," snapped my pretty one. " Now
you insult her for her kindness to us."

" I have already explained my position to her.
I did not mean to insult her, and I don't think
my conduct will bear that construction. But,
Lilian, the house in Needham Street is all ready
for us. I have even hired a servant girl, who is
there now."

"I will not go into it, Paley. If you wish to
abuse my mother you can, but I will not. I am
sorry you have ceased to love me."

"I have not ceased to love you, Lilian," I
replied, putting my arm around her neck
and kissing her.

Then I went over the whole argument again,
and if I did not convince her that I had not
insulted or wronged her mother, it was because
her fears set logic at naught.

" You will sell the furniture, and give up the
house — won't you, Paley ? " said she, in her most
fascinating way.

" I would if I could Lilian, but the die is cast. I
must go, or I am ruined. "

Suddenly, in a fit of passion, she shook my arm
from her neck and shrunk from me.

100 LIVING TOO FAST.

" For the last time, Paley, I say it, I will never
go into that house," said she, angrily.

" I am sorry, Lilian," I replied, sadly. " You do
not act like the loving wife you have always been."

" I will not be insulted any longer."

" Very well, Lihan; I am going to move into
the new house to-morrow."

" What ! " exclaimed she, aghast, for she evi-
dently did not believe me capable of such rebel-
lion.

" I shall go to the new house to-morrow, after
bank hours. If you will not go with me, I can-
not help it ; and I must go alone."

" Do you mean to say that you will desert
me ? " gasped she.

" Lilian, I will not pretend to say that what I
have done is right, though I did it to please you. I
have provided you a house much better than the
home of your parents. I have done everything I
could to make it comfortable and pleasant. I am
sorry I did this without your knowledge, but it
is done, and cannot be undone. If you will live
in the house for a year or so, and then are not
happy, I will leave it. I can do no more to
please you."

" I will not move into it ! " said she, more bit-
terly than ever.

A FAMIL T JAR. 101

I went out of the house, and walked the streets
till eleven o'clock at night in utter misery. I
returned home. Lilian told me ever so many
things her mother had said, and was firmer than
ever. The next morning when I went to the
bank, I felt like a hopeless martyr.

" Mr. Bristlebach wishes to see you in the di-
rector's room, Mr. Glass wood," said the messenger
to me.

The president looked stern when I entered the
room, and I realized that some charge was pend-
ing against me.

CHAPTER VII.

A SHADOW OF SUSPICION.

I HAD not sinned against the bank in thought,
word, or deed, and I had no fears of the
result of an interview with the president. All
my sorrows related to my domestic difficulty,
which was hardly banished from my mind for a
moment, though I did try to imagine what Mr.
Bristlebach could possibly want of me. Whatever
pecuniary trouble stared me in the face, I had
never even been tempted to appropriate a penny
belonging to the bank.

" Mr. Glasswood, I have sent for you," said
Mr. Bristlebach, sternly.

" Yes, sir ; and I am here," I replied, very
respectfully.

" When did you balance your cash last ?"

"Yesterday afternoon."

" Did it come out right ? " .

" Yes, sir," I replied, with the utmost confi-
dence.

" Close the door, if you please."

102

A • SHADO W OF SUSPICION. 103

I did so, and though Mr. Bristlebach did not
often take the trouble to spare anjr one's feelings,
this order looked ominous to me. I would give
all my earthly hopes at this moment for the con-
sciousness of the rectitude of my character which
I possessed at that time. I shut the door, and
took my stand again in the august presence of
the great man — he was great to me, if he was not
to others.

" Mr. Glasswood ! " continued Mr. Bristlebach,
sternly.

I bowed meekly, to intimate that I was ready
to- hear anything he pleased to say.

44 Your cash is not right."

"It was right yesterday, at three o'clock," I
answered.

"If it was right at three, it was not at five.
I advise you, Mr. Glasswood, to make no denials
to any statement which you know to be true.
You are a defaulter, sir ! "

Troubles never come singly. It was not enough
that I should quarrel with my angelic wife, but I
must cross swords with Mr. Bristlebach, who was
far from angelic. I might as well find the deep
water off Long Wharf and drown myself. What
would Lilian say if I did ? Would she care ? Or

104 LIVING TOO FAST.

would she be only shocked? Bad as it was, the
affair at the bank did not seem half so desperate
as the quarrel with Lilian. I bowed my head
meekly to Mr. Bristlebach's charge. I was inno-
cent, and it did not make much difference to me
what the president said. Under the shadow as I
was of a heavier woe than this, it really did not
seem worth while to defend myself.

" I say you are a defaulter, Mr. Glass wood,"
repeated the president, more severely than before.

"No, sir, I am not," I answered, very mildly.

" Have you the effrontery to deny the charge ? "

" Yes, sir, I have."

" You have robbed the bank of twelve hundred
dollars, at least; and how much more I don't
know."

"No, sir ; I have not robbed the bank of twelve
hundred dollars ; nor of even a single cent."

" I am surprised that you should have the hard-
ihood to deny the charge. Shall I call on your
uncle, who is one of your bondsmen ? "

" If you please, I do not object," I replied ;
and I think I should not have objected to any
thing.

" Perhaps you will make the bank good your-
self?" sneered Mr. Bristlebach.

A SHADOW OF SUSPICION. 105

"I don't owe the bank a penny, sir."

"Mr. Glasswood — sit down!"

I sat down.

" Listen to me, sir ! " -

I listened.

" I have worked up the case, and understand it
perfectly. I am informed that three or four weeks
ago you had in your pocket several hundred dol-
lars— perhaps a thousand dollars or more," con-
tinued Mr. Bristlebach, whose looks as well as his
words were intended to carry confusion to my
soul. " Will you do me the favor to say whether
or not this statement is true ? "

" Quite true, sir. The sum in my pocket-book
was one thousand dollars," I replied, beginning to
gather up a little light on the subject.

"A thousand dollars! Very well, sir! I am
glad you have not the effrontery to deny it. Bank
officers in your situation do not usually carry a
thousand dollars about with them."

"I do, when I have it to carry, sir."
" Don't be impudent, Mr. Glasswood. Will you
deny that this sum was abstracted from the funds
of the bank ? "

" Certainly I shall deny it, sir. Did Mr. Shay top
inform you that I had taken it from the bank ? "

106 LIVING TOO FAST,

"Who said anything about Mr. Shay top? " de-
manded he, sternly.

"I did, sir. It is not very manly in him to
accuse me of stealing simply because I refused to
hire any more teams of him. Since I was married
I have found it necessary to curtail my expenses."

"Do not attempt to dodge the issue, sir."

" I am ready to look the issue fairly in the
face."

" You had this money. You confess it."

" I affirm it. I don't confess it."

"Since you had it, perhaps you will not deem
it impertinent in me to ask where you got it?"
sneered Mr. Bristlebach, who seemed to be as cer-
tain that I had robbed the bank as though he
had already proved the charge.

" Under the circumstances, sir, I should not
deem it impertinent," I replied coolly ; and, under
the influence of my domestic trouble, I felt rather
reckless.

" Well, sir, where did you get it ? "

" I borrowed it."

" Precisely so ! Borrowed it of the bank ! "

" I beg your pardon, Mr. Bristlebach, but there
is a wide gulf between my premise and your con-
clusion. I did not borrow the money of the bank.

A SHADOW OF SUSPICION. 107

If I had, doubtless the paper I offered would have
passed under your eyes."

" Mr. Glass wood, your tone and manner do not
please me."

" I hope you will excuse me, sir, if I venture
to say that the charge you make against me does
not please me."

" Will you tell me of whom you borrowed the
money ? "

" With pleasure, sir. Of my Aunt Rachel."

Mr. Bristlebach looked at me ; looked sharply
at me. He seemed to be a little staggered at
something, though, of course, I did not suppose
he believed me. He asked me twenty questions
about my aunt, all of which I answered with a
greater regard for the truth than I was sometimes
in the habit of paying to that sublime virtue.

44 Mr. Glasswood, your cash is twelve hundred
dollars short," he added.

44 1 was not aware of the fact," I replied.

44 After you went away yesterday, I made a
strict examination of your department, and you
have heard the result."

I was surprised at the announcement, and of
course I could not disprove the assertion.

44 1 can only say, sir, that I left it right at three
o'clock yesterday," I added.

108 LIVING TOO FAST.

" Do you doubt my statement ? "

" Certainly not, sir ; but I do not understand
it."

" The fact that you had a thousand dollars, or
any large sum about you, and that you recklessly
exhibited it in the dining-room of a hotel, was
quite enough to excite my suspicions."

" If I had stolen the money, I think I should
not have been so stupid as to exhibit it. If I
know myself, I should not."

"But you did show it."

" I did show it ; but it was not stolen."

" I think it was ; and when I heard of the cir-
cumstances, I spent my afternoon here in making
the investigation. Perhaps you can put me in the
way of verifying your statement that you borrowed
the money of your aunt ? "

" I shall be very glad to do so. My aunt lives
in Springhaven. She will show you my note."

" Even if she does show me your note, and it
is fully proved that you borrowed a thousand dol-
lars of her, that will not explain how your cash
happens to be twelve hundred dollars short."

" Perhaps I can explain that myself, if you will
allow me to examine my drawer," I replied.

Just then a light flashed through my mind, and

A SHADOW OF SUSPICION. 109

I recalled an incident which had occurred just
after the closing of the bank on the preceding
day, which my private griefs had driven out of
my head. I understood it all then, and I was
satisfied that I should utterly confound Mr. Bris-
tlebach, though I was, at the same time, in dan-
ger of confounding the cashier. But the clock
was striking nine, and it was time to open the
bank. There was not time to count the cash
again, and I did not care to expose a little irreg-
ularity on the part of the cashier, by telling what
I knew.

Mr. Bristlebach bit his lips and looked at the
clock. Through the glass windows of the direc-
tors' room, he saw a man come in with a check
in his hand. He was evidently deliberating upon
the propriety of permitting me to discharge my
duties for the forenoon. We were one hand short,
and there was no one to take my place.

" Mr. Glass wood, you will not go out of the
bank, even for a moment, until this matter is set-
tled. Go to your place, and as soon as the bank
closes, we will count the cash again in your pres-
ence."

I went to my station, after taking my drawer
from the safe. I was now not quite willing to

110 LIVING TOO FAST.

believe that the president considered ine guilty.
If he did, he would not trust me with the funds
of the bank, though he had forbidden me to leave
the building. I proceeded in the discharge of my
duties as usual, but I soon discovered that the
eyes of my superiors were upon me, and if I had
been disposed to indulge in a coup dC etat, I was
too closely watched to permit it to be a success.

Within half an hour after the opening of the
bank, the cashier handed me twelve hundred dol-
lars in payment for a draft, which had been placed
in my keeping, and which I had deposited in the
safe. Just after the bank closed the day before,
he had accommodated a friend from my depart-
ment, by giving him the cash for this draft on a
bank, which, for some reasons best known to its
officers, declined to pay it after bank hours. It is
not for me to discuss the propriety of this action
on the part of my superior. It was irregular,
and the cashier was personally responsible for his
conduct. The draft had been handed to me, and
I included it in my cash in balancing.

I learned that the cashier had not been present
when the president counted my 'cash. The book-
keeper and receiving teller had assisted him, and
as the draft was not in my drawer, the amount

A SHADOW OF SUSPICION \ \\\

appeared to be a deficit on my part. It was very
strange to me that I did not think of this transaction
sooner.

Perhaps if my family trouble had not perplexed
me, I should have done so. But it came to my
mind soon enough to correct the impression in the
mind of the president, if I had not chosen to suffer
rather than betray the irregularity of my superior.

" That makes it all right," said the cashier, as
he slipped the bills into my drawer, rather slyly.

"I'm afraid not, Mr. Heavyside," I replied, in
a low tone, for Mr. Bristlebach seemed to be all
eyes and ears on this forenoon.

"What do you. mean, Glasswood?" he asked.

" What time did you leave the bank yesterday? "

" About three. I went out to ride with my
wife."

" Where do you get your teams ? "

" Of Shaytop. Why do you ask? "

" My cash was examined yesterday afternoon,
after both of us left ; and I am charged with a
deficit of twelve hundred dollars."

" Whew ! " whistled Heavyside, more alarmed
than I was.

He stood by my side at the counter while I told
him that Shaytop "had put a flea into the ear of
the president" on my account.

112 LIVING TOO FAST.

" The scoundrel ! I will never drive another of
his teams ! " exclaimed the cashier.

Shaytop was not likely to make much by his
snivelling operation, which was too mean for any
gentleman to appreciate. There was no ground
for a charge against me, and I think the stable-
keeper made it out of pure malice.

"I said nothing to Mr. Bristlebach about the
draft," I continued; "and he still thinks the cash
is twelve hundred dollars short."

" This is bad," said he, biting his lips with vex-
ation.

I paid a check, and the cashier walked away to
his desk. I saw that he was much disturbed. He
was an honest man, in the ordinary sense of the
word, and the worst which could be said of the
transaction in which he was implicated was that
it was simply irregular. He came to me again soon.

" Although this affair amounts to nothing at all,
it will cost me my situation, and perhaps my rep-
utation, if the president knows of it," said he.

" He shall not know of it through me," I replied.

" Thank you, Glass wood," he added, warmly;
but the conversation was interrupted so that noth-
ing more was said on the subject.

Mr. Bristlebach was a very particular man, but

A SHADOW OF SUSPICION. 113

I do not complain of him on this account. It
was proper and right that he should be very exact,
and even very exacting, in his requirements.
Though Mr. Heavyside had no intention of defraud-
ing the bank of a single dollar, he was imprudent.
I believe he did not realize the nature of the act
when he obliged his friend out of the funds of
the institution. I was fully satisfied in regard to
his integrity, and I was more disposed to suffer
myself than to excite a suspicion against him.

I am willing now to acknowledge that my posi-
tion was wrong. The truth should have been told
in the beginning. Mr. Heavyside might have been
censured, as doubtless he ought to have been, but
I do not think he would have been discharged.
If he had been, perhaps the tendency would have
been to make bank officers more circumspect, more
inflexible in the discharge of their duties. It is
not safe to step over the straight line of duty
even for a moment, for there is no knowing how
far one may wander on the wrong side of it.

If this incident did not injure him, it paved the
way for me to take a long stride down the road
to ruin. When he consented to be sheltered from
the displeasure of the president by the cunning of
his subordinate, he placed himself, to some extent,
8

HI LIVING TOO FAST.

in my power. A superior should never sacrifice
his dignity before a subordinate, and should never
place himself in the attitude of dependence upon
him.

The business of the bank went on as usual.
My griefs at home had robbed me of my appetite,
and I had taken no breakfast. I was not permitted
to go out for a lunch, and when the doors were
closed my empty stomach and my sleepless night
had produced an effect upon me. I was pale and
faint, but I was too proud to say anything, and
my looks told against me. I could hardly stand
up, and doubtless Mr. Bristlebach thought he saw
in my wan features and trembling frame abundant
evidences of my guilt. He looked triumphant.

The examination of my department was com-
menced at once. The checks paid were called off,
and the bills counted. To the intense astonish-
ment of the president, and, I am sorry to add, to
his intense chagrin also, the balance came out all
right. There was not a dollar missing. Two
counts gave the same result. Mr. Bristlebach was
compelled to give it up. I persisted that my
account had been squared the day before, but I
suggested that some papers had been laid upon a
few odd bills which had probably escaped his

A SHADOW OF SUSPICION. H5

notice in counting — if I had been present the t
mistake could not have occurred.

The president stumbled through something which
he intended for an apology ; and while he was
doing so, I absolutely fainted away from sheer
exhaustion. Mr. Bristlebach was not a bad man,
and I am sure he regretted his inconsiderate accu-
sation. I told him I was not very well, and that
the satisfactory result of the investigation was all I
desired. I did not blame him. I thanked him
for his fairness, and all that sort of thing. From
that moment he had more confidence in me than
ever — and Shaytop lost another customer.

A cup of coffee and. a beefsteak set me right,
and I started for my miserable home. I was
thinking of meeting Lilian, when my uncle, Captain
Halliard, stopped me in the street.

" By the way, didn't I let you have three hun-
dred dollars some months ago ?" said he.

" I think you did," I replied, blandly.

He wanted to talk with me, and led the way
into an insurance office.

CHAPTER VIII.

COMING TO THE POINT.

I WAS not pleased at the meeting, and ventured
to suggest that I had important business at
home ; but my uncle gently dragged me into the
insurance office. It was not pleasant to see him just
then, and for several weeks I had avoided him,
so far as it was practicable to do so. Captain
Halliard was a rich man, and it could not possi-
bly make any difference to him whether or not I
paid the money I owed him. But I knew that he
was exacting.

" 1 think you said you did borrow three hun-
dred dollars of me," said my uncle, as he seated
himself at the long table and took out his pocket-
book, evidently for the purpose of finding the
note.

" There is no doubt about it," I replied, with
what self-possession I could command.

" Just so ; I had forgotten the particulars," he
continued, as he took the note from the papers in
his pocket-book.

116

COMING TO THE POINT. 1JJ

He might as well have told me that I had forgot-
ten it, as that he had ; but I am sorry to say
that both of us had a bad habit of pretending not
to remember what, from the nature of the case,
must have been uppermost in the mind. It was a
stupid and ridiculous affectation. My creditors
were often in my mind, and I am sure his debtors
were as faithfully remembered.

" I am not prepared to pay the note just now,"
I began, with more candor than I generally used.

"But, Paley, it is three or four months since I
lent you the money ,• and you promised to pay it
in a few weeks.""

His memory was improving wonderfully.

" I have just furnished my house, uncle, and
that cost me a good deal of money," I pleaded.

" But you got trusted for that," said he,
sharply.

" For only a small portion of it," I answered,
wondering how he could know that I owed any
thing.

" Paley, how much do you owe ? " he demanded.

" O, only a few hundred dollars ! I don't know
precisely how much, but not more than I can pay
in a short time."

" I'm glad to hear it," replied he, rather dryly.
"In how short a time?"

118 LIVING TOO FAST.

"In a few weeks."

" That won't do. When I lend money to any
one I expect him to pay me, whether friend or
foe, in the family or out of it. I'm afraid you
are getting along a little too fast."

" I don't think so."

" Your wife is rather extravagant,^- I'm told."

"I don't think so."

" Where have you taken a house."

" In Needham street."

" Humph! What do you pay for it?"

" Six hundred dollars."

" Six hundred dollars ! " exclaimed he, leaping
to his feet.

" A very moderate rent for the house," I added,
not at all pleased at what I considered the impu-
dence of my uncle.

" That is more than I pay, Paley. I'm aston-
ished ! "

" I think it is a fair rent."

" I don't think so. What did it cost you to
furnish it?;' he continued, fixing a severe gaze
upon me.

44 About eight hundred dollars," I answered,
not deeming it prudent to give more than half of
the actual cost.

COMING TO THE POINT. H9

" You are crazy, Paley ! You will run yourself
out in a couple of years, at this rate. Eight hun-
dred dollars ! When I was married I didn't spend
a hundred dollars on my house. Paley, I will
give you three days to pay this note. If you don't
do it in that time, I shall do the next thing."

" What's the next thing ? " I asked, indignantly.

" I'll trustee your salary ! "

" You needn't trouble yourself about the little
sum I owe you ; I will pay you," I replied, ris-
ing and walking towards the door. "" The next
time I have occasion to ask a favor, I shall not go
to a relation."

Doubtless he regarded this as a very savage
threat, though perhaps he did not think its exe-
cution involved any great hardship on his own
part. I walked out of the insurance office with a
degree of dignity and self-possession which would
have been creditable in a bank president. My
uncle must be paid. There was no doubt of that.
I would not be thorned by him for all the money
in the world, for he was a very uncomfortable
sort of man to a debtor, and very obstinately
insisted on collecting his dues.

It was patent to me that some one had been
talking to Captain Halliard. Perhaps that mis-

120

LIVING TOO FAST.

chievous stable-keeper had been in communication
with him ; and it was possible that my friend
Buckleton had mentioned the trivial circumstance
that I owed him eight hundred dollars. It was
not impossible that Mr. Bristlebach and my uncle
had been discussing my affairs. They were inti-
mate acquaintances, and the captain did business
at the Forty-ninth.

I must pay Captain Halliard, or there would be
a tempest about me at once. Not that he would
trustee my salary, or anything of that kind; for
this was only a hint that he would mention the

matter to the presi-
dent of our bank. I
must pay him, but
how to do so, was a
matter about which
I could not ven-
ture an opinion. I
had little money, and
I had already bled
my friends as much
Tom. riynn. as it was prudent to

bleed them. I must " raise the wind," or go
under. I walked up State Street, trying to think
who should suffer next for my sins, when I met

COMING TO THE POINT. 121

Tom Flynn. We never passed each other with-
out stopping to speak, though we stood side by
side in the bank during business hours. I saw
that he looked embarrassed, and it flashed upon
my mind before he opened his mouth that he
wanted his money, and that he had made up his
mind to ask me for it. I did not regard it as
proper for him to do so.

" Tom, I'm glad to see you," I began. " I
wanted to meet you."

" That's just my case. I was going down to
the bank to find you, after calling upon you at
Mr. Oliphant's. I wanted to see you very badly ; "
and the honest fellow looked more embarrassed
than ever.

" Well, that's a coincidence," I replied, deem-
ing it my duty to spare him any unnecessary
embarrassment. " I have just had a call for a lit-
tle money I owe, and it was not convenient for
me to pay it. It was awkward, because I have a
habit of paying up all these little things at sight,
even if I have to borrow the money to do so. I
shall be flush in three or four days, but I dislike
to make this particular fellow wait. Could you
lend me a hundred dollars till Monday? "

"I am very sorry, Paley," replied the poor fel-

122 LIVING TOO FAST.

low, the wind all taken out of his sails. " The
fact is, I'm short myself."

" O, well, never mind it. I'm sorry I said any
thing," I continued.

" There was no harm in saying it to me,"
laughed he, apparently more troubled at my neces-
sity than his own. " I had a chance fco buy some
stock at a low figure, if I could raise the money
to-day, so that the owner can leave to-night for
New York. I am one hundred short of the amount
required; but no matter; let it go."

" I'm sorry I haven't the amount about me," I
replied, with a troubled look. " Perhaps I can
raise it for you."

" O, no ! I don't want you to do that. You
said you should be flush in a few days."

" Yes ; I shall have some money on Monday."

"Well, then, Paley, since you can't, help me
out, I can help you out," said the noble fellow,
with a generous smile. " I can't buy my stock,
and you may as well have the money as to let it
remain idle."

" Thank you, Tom," I replied, warmly.

" You said a hundred dollars," he continued,
stepping into a doorway and drawing out his
wallet.

COMING TO THE POINT 123

" I said a hundred dollars, but only because I
had not the cheek to mention more. I must raise
three hundred to-morrow — but only till Monday
you know."

"Three hundred," said he musing. "I think I
can help you out."

" Thank you, Tom. Next Monday I will pay
you this and the other hundred I owe you. And
by the way, I had quite forgotten that you held
my note."

" It's of no consequence. I haven't wanted it-
very badly. But I have a chance to invest what
little I possess next week, and if I can get it then
it will suit me better than to receive it now."

" You shall have the wh&le next Monday, with-
out fail," I replied, though I had no more idea
where the money was to come from than I had of
the source of the Nile.

" That will fit my case exactly."

" We will step into the bank, and I will give
you a note."

Every body had left the bank except the mes-
senger, and I wrote the note. I had the three
hundred dollars in my fist. I was intent upon
taking the sting out of my uncle's tongue. I
meant to overwhelm him by paying my note before

124 LIVING TOO FAST.

I slept. I parted with Tom in the street, and
hastened to the insurance office, where I had left
Captain Halliard. I found him tipped back in his
chair in the inner room, talking with Mr. Bristle-
bach. 1 suspected that my case was the subject
of their discussion. «

"Is that you, Paley?" called my uncle, as I
made a movement to retire.

"Yes, sir; but I won't trouble you now, if you
are engaged," I replied.

" Come in ; we were talking about you, Mr.
Glasswood, said the president. "I was just telling
your uncle how well satisfied I am with you."

" Thank you, sir. I am very much obliged to
you for your good opinion, and I hope I shall
always merit it," I added, with becoming mod-
esty.

"Do you wish to see me, Paley?" asked my
uncle.

" Only for a moment, sir ; but I will wait till
you are at leisure."

Mr. Bristlebach took his hat and left the office,
saying he had no particular business with my
uncle.

" The president of the Forty-Ninth speaks well
of you, Paley," said my uncle, good-naturedly.

COMING TO THE POINT. 125

" I was glad to hear it, for I had a hint that you
were going a little too fast. Bristlebach and I
talked the matter over yesterday."

" I'm glad you found it all right. Have you my
note in your pocket now?" I continued, rather
stiffly.

« Yes, I have it."

I drew my wallet, and took out the three hun-
dred dollars I had just borrowed.

" You needn't trouble yourself about that just
now," said he, laughing.

u I don't like to be driven into so close a cor-
ner as you put me into a little while ago. Here is
the amount of the note, with the interest."

" What I said was spoken under a misapprehen-
sion. You needn't pay the note till you get
ready."

" I am ready now, uncle."

" Of course, I don't object to taking the money ;
but I didn't mean to press you."

" Didn't you, indeed ? You gave me three days
to pay the note, and threatened to trustee my sal-
ary if it was not paid in that time. If that was
not pressing me, I took it as a gentle hint. If I
don't know any better than to borrow money of
my relations another time, I ought to be hung for
being a fool."

126 LIVING TOO FAST.

" I am sorry now that I said any thing, Paley.
I will take it all back."

" Take principal and interest also, and I shall
be satisfied."

It was not in his nature to refuse money under
any circumstances. He gave up my note and
pocketed the amount. It is quite probable that
he wondered where I had obtained the funds so
readily, and he even hinted at a desire to be en-
lightened on the subject. Perhaps he would sus-
pect that I had taken them from the vault of the
bank; but if he consulted Mr. Bristlebach on the
matter, the messenger could inform him that the
vault had not been opened during my last visit.
To remove any such disagreeable impression as
this from his mind, I said something about having
a sum of money due me from a friend which I
had kept in reserve for another purpose.

After the excellent character which the presi-
dent had given me, I think my uncle was satis-
fied. He apologized for the sharpness of his words
and declared that he had more regard for my moral
welfare than for any thing else. Perhaps he had,
but his ideas of moralty were very indefinite, for
he had helped me into my situation by pulling
down Tom, though I must do him the justice to

COMING TO THE POINT. 127

say that he helped my friend into his present sit-
uation, by declaring that new light entirely con-
vinced him of the innocence of Tom.

I left my uncle with the feeling that I had
completely overwhelmed him, and made him blush
for his conduct. I was satisfied that I could bor-
row five hundred dollars of him within a reason-
able time, and with a reasonable explanation of
the necessity. The affairs of the day had im-
proved rather than injured my reputation. My
integrity and honesty stood at the highest point.
I had made a friend of the cashier, who had stu-
pidly placed himself in my power when open con-
duct would have served him better in the end.
I owed no more than before, but I had hampered
myself with a promise to pay Tom Flynn four
hundred dollars the next Monday. I had said Mon-
day, because I had a faint hope that I might go
down to Springhaven on Saturday and get the
amount out of my aunt, who had at least another
thousand dollars salted down in her bureau.

There was time enough to think of this matter
before the day of payment ; but, if the worst
came, Tom could easily be cajoled, and even made
to insist upon my retaining the money another
week or another month. While all these events

128 LIVING TOO FAST.

were transpiring, the unfortunate relations which
I sustained to my beautiful wife were hardly out
of my mind for a moment. It was nearly six
o'clock when I started for home, and all my
thoughts were then of Lilian and the new house.

I was tempted to recede from my hard and try-
ing situation, and I probably should have done so
if I had not been endowed with a certain obsti-
nacy, sometimes called firmness. It seemed to me
that my wife was not my wife while she remained
in the home of " dear ma." Her mother had
more influence over her than I had, and I could
not be happy till I had redeemed her from this
bondage. My mother-in-law was swindling me for
the benefit of her unmarried daughters. I could
not endure it any longer, and come what would
come, I would not. I entered the house the
saddest and most miserable man in the whole
city.

The hour for final action had come. I had
informed Lilian that I should move into the Eng-
lish basement house that day. I had ordered an
express wagon to come for my luggage at seven
o'clock. We had nothing to move but our trunks,
in which, for the want of suitable closets, our
clothing was still kept. I had seen Biddy in the

COMING TO THE POINT. 129

morning, and told her to have supper for me at
half-past seven. I went up to our room. Lilian
was there. I saw that she had been crying, but
whether from grief or from anger I could not tell.
I put my arm around her neck and kissed her, as
I always did, when I came into the house.

44 You are late, Paley," said she, in forced tones
of calmness.

44 1 was detained at the bank by the president,"
I replied. " But the wagon will be here at seven,
Lilian."

"The wagon? What wagon?" she asked.

" The wagon to take our trunks to Needham
Street, Lilian."

"You do not mean that, Paley?" said she,
looking up into my face, while her lips quivered
and her chest heaved with emotion.

44 Of course I mean it, Lilian."

44 Do you mean to say that you intend to drag
me to that house, whether I am willing to go or
not?"

44 Certainly not. I have never hinted at any
thing of the kind. I only say that I am going ;
and going at seven o'clock this evening."

44 O, Paley ! I did not think you would do such
a thing ! " sobbed she.
9

130 LIVING TOO FAST.

" I did not think, Lilian, after I had done all I
could to please you ; after I had carried out the
arrangement we agreed upon when we came to
board at your mother's ; after I had nearly ruined
myself in fitting up the house, that you would
refuse to live in it," I pleaded. " I acknowledge
that I have done wrong, but I cannot help it now.
If you will go to the new house with me, I will
promise to give it up in a reasonable time, if you
are not happy there."

" I will not go, Paley ! I have said it, and I
mean it," said she, spitefully.

"Very well. I am going at seven o'clock," I
replied, sadly enough.

I began to pack my trunk, while she sobbed in
her chair.

CHAPTER IX.

A LONELY HOUSE.

6 6 I \0 you mean to desert me, Paley?" asked
1 J Lilian, sobbing bitterly.

" Does it look as though I meant to desert you
when I have nearly ruined myself to provide a
house that would please you?" I replied, as
gently as I could speak, for I was not angry.

"But you say you will go to that house without
me? " she added, looking up as if she had a gleam
cf hope that I did not mean what I said.

" 1 did say so, Lilian. I am going at seven
o'clock, when the express wagon comes."

" Don't you call that deserting me?"

" No, Lilian ; it will not be that I desert you,
but you desert me."

"But I never will go into that house," said
she, sharply, as she dashed away the tears that
filled her eyes.

"Very well; then we need say no more about
it," I answered, placing the last of my wearing
apparel in the trunk, and locking it.

131

132 LIVING TOO FAST.

" I did not think you would be so cruel, Paley."

"Cruel, Lilian! Do I ask anything unreason-
able ?"

" I think you do. You come home, and wish
to pack me off at half an hour's notice into a
strange house."

" I think I spoke of the matter last night, and
told you I intended to go. If the time is too
short, you may fix a day yourself to move. Name
the time you will go, three days, a week, a month
hence, and I will not object."

" I shall name no time. I will not live in that
house ! "

" Then we may as well settle the matter now
as at any other time," I replied, with Spartan
firmness.

"You will leave me, Paley? "

"I will."

" O, Paley ! Have Host all influence over you?"

"I do not believe in this sort of influence. I
repeat that I have done everything to please you ;
and before I told you that the house was for you,
were you not delighted with it ? "

This was a sore subject to her. I knew very
well that she liked the house herself. Her mother
intended to keep us in our present quarters, for

A L ONEL T HO USE. 133

the sake of the income to be derived from us.
She could board us for ten dollars a week, and
make something even at that, for salt fish and
round steak form a cheap diet. I estimated that
it cost five hundred dollars a year apiece to clothe
the two younger daughters, and the profits on my
board more than paid the bills. This was the
whole matter in a nutshell. I do not think that
Lilian was a party directly to the conspiracy, but
she knew that it would upset all her mother's
plans if we left. Unfortunately for me, I had
given the impression that I was made of money ;
that I not only had a large salary, but that I was
the heir of Aunt Rachel, whose wealth was sup-
posed to equal the capital of the Bank of England.
My wife was too proud to acknowledge that she
had any interest in her mother's scheme ; it was
safer to say that she did not like the house. I
knew that her family was reduced to the greatest
straits ; that Mr. Oliphant's income was utterly
insufficient to keep up the style of former years.
I knew that Mrs. Oliphant pinched herself in
every possible way, that the prospects of her two
unmarried daughters might not be injured. But I
felt that I had done enough for the family when
I relieved them of one mouth to feed, and one

134 LIVING TOO FAST.

form to clothe. It certainly was not fair that I
should pay the extravagant expenses of making
the world believe that my wife's two sisters were
fine ladies.

I was fighting the battle for my own independ-
ence, and not less for that of my wife. I know
that mothers-in-law are shamefully traduced, but
only because such a one as Mrs. Oliphant is taken
as a type of the whole class. I regard her as
the exception, not the rule. Her plan required
that she should hold my wife as a slave within
the maternal home. In little things, I found that
Lilian consulted the will of her strong-minded
mother, rather than my feelings. For example, I
once overheard Mrs. Oliphant tell my wife to
induce me to go to a certain concert, simply
because Miss Bertha desired to go. Lilian did
induce me to go, and I went. She came up to
the point by regular approaches. Not a word was
said about Miss Bertha till I was closing the door
behind me, as I went to the bank, when it was
— " By the way, Paley, don't you think we had
better ask Bertha to go with us?" Of course I
thought so, and she went with us. Lilian did not
care a straw for the concert ; neither did I.

This is only a specimen of the manner in which

A LONELY HOUSE. 135

I was victimized. I not only dressed the two
marriageable sisters, but I was to introduce them
into society, by paying their bills at concerts,
theatres, parties and balls. But this was not the
most objectionable part of the arrangement. I
could not endure the thought of having my wife
made the cat's paw for the monkey to pull the
chestnuts out of the fire. She was not my wife,
in the just and proper sense- of the word. She did
not think so much of my interests and my hap-
piness as she did of her mother's will and wish.
Neither of us was to live for each other, but both
of us for the Oliphants' ambitious schemes. So
thoroughly was I persuaded in my own mind of
the justness of my position, that I was determined
to stick to it, even if it resulted in a complete
separation.

The door-bell rang, and we heard the sound of
it in our room. I looked out the window. An
express wagon stood before the door. The crisis
had come, but I was as resolute as ever, and I
expected to spend the night alone in the house in
Needham Street.

" A man at the door wants to see you, Paley,"
said Mrs. Oliphant, who did not keep a servant.

I went down to the door, and brought the man

136 LIVING TOO FAST.

up with me. Lilian and her mother stood aghast.
They appeared to be utterly confounded, and
neither of them spoke in the presence of the
stranger.

" That trunk," I said to the expressman.

"Is that all?" asked he.

" That is all," I replied, giving him the number
of the house in Needham Street.

The man picked up* the trunk and I followed
him down stairs. I paid him, and he went off
with my baggage. I was not willing to leave
my wife without saying good-by to her, for I had
some hope that she would yet relent. When my
hand was on the door which I intended to close,
Lilian called me from the stairs above. She came
down, followed by Mrs. Oliphant. I hoped that
both of them would understand me by this time.

" What's the matter, Paley ? " asked " dear ma,"
trying to look pleasant.

" Nothing is the matter," I replied, not caring
to discuss the question with her.

" Lilian tells me you are going to your new
house."

" Doubtless she told you that before."

"But I did not think you would go off and
leave her."

A LONELY HOUSE. 137

" Such is my purpose, unless she decides to go
with me."

" Of course it is not for me to say any thing
about it," she added, in her magnanimous way.
"But I must say I think you are a little unrea-
sonable."

" Well, Mrs. Oliphant, I don't care about dis-
cussing the subject any more. If Lilian chooses
to desert me I can't help myself.

" Desert you ! Goodness gracious ! I should
think it was just the other way, and you are
deserting her."

''•I think not. If I provide a suitable home for
my wife, it seems to me that she ought to occupy
it with me," I answered, meekly. "I do not wish
to be unreasonable, but I think Lilian will admit
that our plan discussed, and agreed to while we
were on our bridal tour, was to go to housekeep-
ing. I have provided a pleasant house, near yours,
and furnished it in a style much better than I can
afford. I have told her that, after occupying the
house for six months or a year, if it does not suit
her, 1 will conform to her wishes, whatever they
may be. I think my view is a reasonable one,
and I intend to adhere to it."

" Is she to go there whether she wants to or
not?" demanded Mrs. Oliphant.

138 LIVING TOO FAST.

" Am I to stay here whether I want to or not ? "
I replied. " In the matter of housekeeping, I con-
sulted her, and we were of the same mind."

"You will not leave me, Paley, will you?"
pleaded Lilian, satisfied that her mother was mak-
ing no headway in solving the problem.

" No ; but you will leave me, Lilian. I am
going now."

" Don't go, Paley ! "

" Will you name a time when you will go with
me, Lilian ? "

" I cannot go, Paley ! Indeed I cannot."

" Good-by then, Lilian," I replied, kissing her,
while the tears gushed from my eyes.

I rushed from the house, without stopping to
close the door behind me. I wiped away my
tears as I crossed the street at a furious pace. I
walked till I had subdued the emotions which
crowded upon me. It was half an hour before I
dared to present myself before the Biddy I had
engaged, lest she should fathom the secret that
worried me. I rang the bell at my house, and
the servant admitted me. She opened her eyes
wide when she saw me alone.

"Where is the missus?" asked she.

" She has concluded not to come, to-night," I
replied, hanging up my hat in the hall.

A LONELY HOUSE.

139

" The pretty crayture ! Sure I'm dyin' to have
her in the house wid me!" exclaimed Bridget.
" Is it sick she is ? "

'■* She don't feel very well
this evening," I replied eva-
sively.

" Sure the supper is all
ready for the two of ye's.
The tay is drawn this half
hour, and the crame toast is
breakin' in flitters wid
waitin' for ye's."

" Very well ; I will have
my supper immediately."

The tea and the toast
were certainly good enough
even for Lilian ; but it was
the most miserable supper
to which I ever sat down.
My heart seemed to be almost broken. I lighted the
gas in the little sitting-room, and threw myself
into the rocking-chair. I looked around the apart-
ment. Everything was neat, tasty and pleasant.
"Was it possible that Lilian refused to share such
a palace with me ? No ; it was not her fault.
With her mother's permission how gladly she would

Biddy.

140 LIVING TOO FAST.

have taken her place bylny side. Mrs. Oliphant
evidently had not given me credit for any consid-
erable amount of resolution. She was " the better
horse " in her own matrimonial relations, and she
found it difficult to comprehend any other than a
similar arrangement in her daughter's family.

I tried to read the newspaper I had brought
home with me, but my thoughts were with Lilian.
I turned over the leaves of the books I had laid
on the centre-table. I went into the dining-room
and smoked. I was almost worn out with fatigue
and excitement. I was miserable beyond descrip-
tion. I went to bed at midnight, and I went to
sleep, but it was only to dream of Lilian, goad-
ing and persecuting me, led on by a demon who
was always at her side.

I rose in the morning, and found my breakfast
ready at the time I had ordered it. It was such a
breakfast as Lilian liked, but she was not there
to enjoy it, and I groaned in spirit. I must go to
the bank. I was not to see my wife, but I
decided to write her a line — it was only a line :

" Dearest Lilian : — I shall hope to find you at
our new home when I come up from the bank.

" Paley."

I sent Biddy to deliver it, and told her not to
wait for an answer.

A L ONEL T HO USE. 141

I went to the bank. Everything was " lovely "
there. Even Mr. Bristlebach was u lovely ; " and
that was a most unusual attitude for him. Cap-
tain Halliard dropped in to see me. He was
" lovely." Tom Flynn was in excellent spirits ;
but he took occasion to tell me something about
his business affairs, so that I could distinctly under-
stand what a sad mishap it would be to him if I
should fail to pay him the four hundred dollars I
owed him on Monday. I felt that I must pay
him, and I decided to visit Springhaven on Sat-
urday, and cajole Aunt Rachel into lending me
the amount.

I went through my duties mechanically, but
that day I lived on hope. I had ordered my din-
ner at home at half past three, which was the
hour I usually dined. Lilian knew my habits, and
I felt almost sure that I should find her in Need-
ham Street. I believed that she loved me, and I
could not believe that she would desert me. How
my heart beat when I went into the English base-
ment house ! How it sank within me when Biddy
failed to tell me that the " missus " was there.
I dared not ask her any questions, lest she should
discover the anxiety under which I was laboring.

I looked into the sitting-room. It was as empty

142 LIVING TOO FAST.

as the tomb of all I desired to see. I went into
the dining-room. The table was set for two, but
one of the plates seemed to mock me. Lilian was
not there. She was not in the kitchen. I went
up stairs, but the same oppressive vacancy haunted
every spot in the house. No Lilian was there,
and without her the house was not home. The
casket and all its appliances were there, but no
jewel flashed upon my waiting, longing eyes.

There was no note in reply to mine. Biddy did
not deliver any message to me. It was plain
enough that she had not heard from the "missus."
I was sure that Lilian loved me, and that if left
to herself she would come to me, even if I had
been lodged in a prison instead of the palace I
had provided for her. I ate my dinner alone and
in silence. The dinner was a good one, but it
would have been the same thing to me if the
roast beef and mashed potato had been chips and
shavings, so far as I had any interest in their
flavor.

When the meal was finished I left the house,
and wandered about the streets till tea-time. I
kept walking without going anywhere ; I kept think-
ing without knowing what I was thinking about.
After I had been to supper, and Biddy had finished

A L ON EL T HO USE. 143

her work, she came into the sitting-room where I
was looking at the blank sheets of the newspaper
I held in my hand. She begged my pardon for
coming. She wanted to know when the "missus"
was to be at the house. I evaded an answer.
She told me she couldn't stay in a house with no
missus in it. She didn't " spake to a sowl all
day long," and she couldn't " shtop in a house
wid only a man in it. She had a chamze&ter,
and people would be talking if she shtopped in a
house wid only a man in it." Of course I was
utterly confounded at this complication of the dif-
ficulty, but I told her that if the "missus" was
not able to come by Monday she might go, and
I would pay her wages for an additional week.

" God bless your honor ! but is the missus sick? "
she asked.

" She is not very well, and does not like to
leave her mother yet."

She appeared to be satisfied, and I was per-
mitted to spend another miserable night in the
loneliness of my new home. I heard nothing from
Lilian. I thought she might, at least, send me a
note in reply to mine ; but I knew that she acted
upon the advice of " dear ma." That strong
minded woman evidently intended to bring me to

144 LIVING TOO FAST.

terms. If possible, I was more resolute than ever.
Before I went to the bank the next morning I
decided to write one more note — one which could
not fail to bring the unpleasant matter to an issue
within twenty-four hours. It was in the form of
an advertisement, as follows : —

" Whereas, my wife, Lilian O. Glasswood, has
left my bed and board, without justifiable cause,
I hereby give notice that I shall pay no debts of
her contracting, after this date.

" Boston, Aug. — . Paley Glasswood.

" Shall I insert the above in to-morrow's papers ?

P. G."

I sent this epistle to Mr. Oliphant's by Biddy.
Though it was directed to Lilian, it was intended
for her mother.

CHAPTER X.

MY WIFE AND I.

I KNEW very well that this note would produce
a tremendous sensation in the Oliphant family,
and, as I walked down to the bank, I considered
whether so violent a demonstration was justifiable.
But I soon came to the conclusion that it was
not a mere feint, and that if my wife wo aid not
live with me in Needham Street, she could not
live with me anywhere else. If she did not choose
to share my lot in the pretty residence I had
provided for her, I would not pay her board in
Tremont Street.

I wanted my wife. I had not married Mrs.
Oliphant, and was willing to dispense with the
benefit of her advice. Perhaps it was reckless in
me to do so, but no man had ever made up his
mind on any point more decidedly than I had
made up mine on this one. I attended to my
duties as usual, but there was a sort of grimness
about everything I did which astonished me, if it
did not any one else.

(10) 145

146 LIVING TOO FAST.

At my usual hour I rang the bell of my house
with a more intense anxiety than had before agi-
tated me. If the savage measure I had taken did
not bring Lilian and her mother to their senses,
nothing would, and the breach must be regarded
as permanent. I hoped and confidently expected
to find my wife in the house, and I braced my
nerves for the scene which must ensue. Biddy
opened the door, with a sweet smile on her face
which augured well for my anticipations.

" There's a bit of a letther on the table for ye's,
sir," said she, as I hung up my hat in the hall.
" Shtop ! and I'll bring it to ye's."

" A bit of a letther ! " Was that all ? Of course
it was from Lilian. She did not intend to sur-
render without conditions. Biddy handed me the
missive. It was in my wife's pretty hand-writing,
but I was disappointed, and more than ever dis-
posed to be morose. I opened the envelope.

" Come and see me this afternoon, Paley.

"Lilian."

That was all. The case did not look hopeful.
If I went I must fight the battle with " dear ma."
I promptly decided that it would be worse than
folly for me to heed this request. It was only
an ingenious device of Mrs. Oliphant to carry her

MY WIFE AND I. 147

point by some new strategy. To go would be
to throw myself into the toils of the enemy.

Biddy stood looking at me while I read the
" bit of a letther." If she did not suspect the
trouble, she was more stupid than I supposed. She
was a good girl, though her manners needed some
improvement. If the wife was ill, the place of
the husband was at her side. My gem of the
Green Isle could reason out this proposition with-
out exploding her brain. She must understand
that a family tempest was gathering.

" Av coorse the bit of a letther is from the
missus," said she. " I hope she is betther."

" Is dinner ready, Biddy ? " I replied, trying to
laugh.

" All ready, sir. Sure the missus must be betther,
for she brought the letther herself.' '

" She is better, Biddy. There is trouble between
us."

" Faix, I knew it from the flrsht! "

" Let me have my dinner now, and we will' talk
about it another time."

She seemed to be proud to have even so much
of my. confidence, and she flew around with an
alacrity which was as creditable to her locomotive
powers as it was to her Irish heart. Even her

148 LIVING TOO FAST.

looks were full of respectful sympathy. I sat
clown to the table, and taking her place behind
my chair, she waited upon me with a zeal which
would have shamed the black coats of a fashion-
able hotel.

"In a word, Biddy, my wife refuses to live in
this house with me. That's all the trouble we
have," said I, as I began to eat my dinner.
"Bad luck to her for that same ! "
It was very undignified for me to say anything
to my servant, or to any one, indeed, about a
matter of this kind, but I was absolutely hungry
for a confidant to whom I could pour out my
griefs. If the matter was to go any farther, I
intended to send for Tom Flynn, and talk over
the situation with him. It seemed as though my
brain would burst, if I could not relieve it by
exhibiting the cause of my sorrows. If Biddy had
not known so much I would not have told her
any more. I had informed her in the beginning
about the " pleasant surprise" I was preparing for
my wife. She had seen Lilian when she called,
and it was stupid in me to attempt to conceal any-
thing from her. I explained to her the difficulty
as far as I deemed it necessary. Biddy was my
strongest friend, then. She would not have left
me even to save her " char/w&ter."

MT WIFE AND I. 149

She rehearsed the whole matter, declared that I
was an angel, and the house a palace. It was
not only unreasonable, but cruel and barbarous,
for my wife to refuse to share my lot. Thus
spake Biddy, and I endorsed her sentiments.
When I had finished my dinner I wrote a brief
note to Lilian, declining to see her again, until
we could meet in " our own house." Biddy was
a zealous messenger. She was instructed to deliver
it without any words, and without answering any
questions, for I was afraid she would take the
matter into her own hands, and complicate the
difficulty by attempting to fight my battle for
me.

An hour later came the reply to my note. Lil-
ian wrote that she was " quite indisposed," and
unable to leave the house that day. She wished
to see me very much, and begged me not to deny
her this favor. Perhaps she was sick. So was I
— sick at heart. It would not be strange if the
intense excitement attending this affair had made
her ill ; it had made me so. But I knew she was not
so ill that she could not leave the house. She had
delivered her own letter in the forenoon when she
knew I was at the bank. Yet, if I did not see her
when she was sick, it would make the story tell with

150 LIVING TOO FAST.

damaging effect upon me. I decided to see her at
once — to see her as my sick wife, and not to
make terms in the quarrel.

In five minutes I rang the bell at the door of
Mr. Oliphant's house. It was opened as usual by
Mrs. Oliphant. A smile of triumph played upon
her face as she stood aside to permit me to pass
into the hall.

44 1 am glad you have concluded to come, Paley,"
said she.

This remark indicated that she was already in
possession of the contents of my last note ; in fact
that she, and not Lilian, was fighting the bat-
tle.

"Is Lilian sick?" I inquired.

" She is not very well.''

" I will go up and see her."

I went up.

" O, Paley ! how can you be so cruel ? " exclaimed
she, with much nervous excitement.

"Are you sick Lilian?" I replied, taking her
hand, and kissing her as though nothing had hap-
pened.

" I am sick, Paley."

" I am sorry, Lilian."

" Do you think I am made of iron ? "

" Shall I go for Dr. Ingoldson ? "

MT WIFE AND I. 151

" I do not need a doctor so much as I need
peace."

" We both need that."

" Are you going to drive me into that hateful
house?"

"Certainly not, Lilian."

" Did you write that cruel note which came
this morning, Paley? I cannot believe it."

" I did write it, Lilian ; but if you are sick we
will not talk about that," I replied, tenderly, but
firmly.

" But we must talk about it. Do you mean to
say that you will print that horrid advertise-
ment?"

" Most certainly I shall, if you persist in your
present course. It is not right for me to support
a wife who will not live with me. If you are
sick, we will defer all action until you are bet-
ter."

"I am not well, but I wanted to see you about
this awful business. Have you ceased to love me,
Paley?"

"No, Lilian."

Perhaps Mrs. Oliphant had tried to stay down
stairs, and permit her daughter to pour out her
griefs to me alone; but if she had tried, she had

152 LIVING TOO FAST.

not succeeded ; and at this stage of the interview
she entered the room, without the ceremony of
knocking.

" I am glad you have come, Paley, for we want
to talk over this disagreeable business."

" Lilian's note informed me that she was sick,
and I came to see her, but not to talk over any
matter. If she is ill — "

" She isn't very ill," interposed Mrs. Oliphant.

I thought not; at least not too ill to discuss
the exciting topic.

" I am glad she is not very ill. If she is,
I will stay at her side and do all that a husband
should do for a sick wife."

" O, we can take care of her ! But I wanted
to ask you if you really intended to put that
advertisement into the newspapers?"

" You will excuse me, but I have nothing to
say on that subject beyond what I expressed in
my note. If Lilian does not need any assistance
from me, I will go. If Lilian is ill, I will defer
the insertion of the advertisement until Monday
morning."

" O, Paley ! " gasped Lilian.

" Are you such a monster ! " exclaimed Mrs.
Oliphant, her lips compressed and her eyes flash-

MT WIFE AND I. 153

ing in such a way as to indicate in what manner
poor Oliphant had been conquered.

"I have nothing more to say, . madam," I
replied, with all the dignity I could command.

I moved towards the door. Mrs. Oliphant was
proceeding to rehearse the enormity of my offence,
when I clipped the wings of her rhetoric by
opening the door.

" Good-by, Lilian, if we are to meet no more,"
I added. " On Monday it will be too late."

I retreated down the stairs, and fled from the
house, though Mrs. Oliphant made a lively pur-
suit as far as the street door, calling upon me
with all her might to return.

I know that my lady readers are branding me
as a barbarian, but I beg to remind them again
that I was not fighting the battle with my wife,
but with her mother. I was striking for my own
and for Lilian's independence. If I could not
have her as my wife, I would not have her at all.
I did not go directly home. I called to see Tom
Flynn. He was not in, but I left a message for
him to see me in Needham Street as soon as he
returned.

I was tolerably calm, considering the amount
of actual suffering I endured. Biddy was gar-

154 LIVING TOO FAST.

rulous, and disposed to say harsh things of the
" missus." I checked her, declaring that Lilian
was an angel herself, and that Mrs. Oliphant was
the fomenter of the strife. Fortunately I was
relieved from her comments by the arrival of Tom
Flynn. The noble fellow looked sad when he
entered, and I think he feared I intended to say
I could not pay him the four hundred dollars on
Monday, as I promised. He had not visited my
house before, and he was lavish in his praise of
the good taste displayed in the furniture. Per-
haps it suggested him a doubt in regard to the
safety of his money.

" Where is Lilian ? " he asked. "I have not
seen her for a month."

The question opened the subject nearest to my
heart. I began my story, and related it in the
most minute detail up to the interview which
had just taken place between my wife and myself.
The noble fellow was astonished at the recital,
and his countenance beamed with generous sym-
pathy.

" I am very sorry for all this, Paley. It is an
awkward and uncomfortable predicament," said
he.

" What can I do ? "

MY WIFE AND I. 155

" I don't know. I think you are right in your
main position, though I am not quite so sure in
regard to your method of treatment," he replied,
musing. "1 should not quite like to advertise my
wife."

"I don't like to do it; but as sure as my name
is Paley Glasswood, I will do it, if she does not
come to this house before Monday morning!" I
replied, quite excitedly.

" However, I don't think you will have occasion
to do it," he added. " Oliphant has had the
reputation of being a hen-pecked husband ever since
I first heard of him. His wife is a strong-minded
woman, and I suppose he found it cheaper to
yield than to fight it out. He was a prosperous
man formerly, but they say his spirit was broken
by this domestic tyranny. I can't advise you to
back out, though I wish you had consulted your
wife before you furnished the house."

" That would only have transferred the battle-
ground to another location. If I yield, I am lost."

It was fully settled with the advice of my friend,
that I should not yield. I explained that if Lilian
did not like the house or the furniture after a
reasonable trial, I would change either or both.
Tom Flynn stayed with me till midnight, and told

156 LIVING TOO FAST.

me a great many things in regard to the Oliphants
that I was glad to know. It is enough for me
to add that I had not misapprehended the char-
acter of " dear ma."

The next day was Saturday. I went to the
bank at the usual hour, and stayed there till the
close of business. I wanted to go to Springhaven
tfiat day to make my assault upon Aunt Kachel's
purse-strings. The last train left at six o'clock.
I was going home, and if my wife did not appear,
I intended to spend Sunday at home with my
mother. It was the last day of grace, both for
Lilian and the money I was to pay Tom Flynn on
Monday.

Biddy admitted me, but she had no tidings of
my wife. Lilian had not come to my house, and
had sent no message for me. Was it possible that
Mrs. Oliphant meant to let the affair take its
course — to make a " grass-widow " of her daughter
rather than allow her to submit ? It looked so,
incredible as it seemed. After I had eaten my
dinner, I wrote a note to Lilian, informing her
that I intended to spend Sunday at my mother's,
that I would call at our house in Needham Street
on Monday morning, and that, if I did not find
her there, I should insert the advertisement in all

MY WIFE AND /. 157

the newspapers. It was then after four o'clock,
and I sent the note by Biddy with the usual
instructions.

I went up stairs to take a bath and dress for
my visit. It was after five when I came down.
Biddy had returned, and was busy with her work.
I began to tell her where I was going when the
door-bell rang.

" Bedad ! the missus has come, and brought her
mother with her ! " exclaimed she, as she rushed
into the dining-room where I was smoking away
the half hour I had to spare before going to the
train.

" Where are they ? "

"In the parlor."

It was not a very encouraging fact that Mrs.
Oliphant had come with her. I went into the
sitting-room where were seated my guests, for as
such only could I yet regard them.

" I am glad you have come, Lilian," said I,
entering the room.

"But I have not come to stay," she interposed,
promptly.

" Then I am sorry you have come," I added,
as promptly.

"It is terrible, Paley, to think that my husband

158 LIVING TOO FAST.

is prepared to desert me, and to advertise me in
the newspapers," said she.

"It is just as terrible for me to be deserted as
for you, Lilian. I hope you will think well of it
before it is too late."

" I came over to see about this business, Mr.
Glass wood," interposed Mrs. Oliphant, stiffly.

" Nothing need be said, madam. I must add
that I decline to discuss the question at all."

" That's a pretty way, sir ! " continued she.
" You married my daughter, and you prom-
ised—"

" I know I did, madam, and she promised, too.
If she does not choose to occupy the house I have
provided for her, that is the end of the whole
matter ; and also the end of all argument. I am
going to Springhaven now. I have nothing more
to say, except to add that when my wife returns
to me I will treat her as tenderly as I know how,
bury the past, and seek only her happiness."

I moved towards the door. Lilian burst into
tears. I saw her glance at her mother, who sat in
dignified stiffness on the sofa.

" Good-by, Lilian," I said, glancing tenderly at
her.

" No, no, Paley ! You shall not go ! " gasped

MT WIFE AND I 159

she, springing into my arms. " I will stay here ! "
" Lilian ! " exclaimed her mother, springing to

her feet.

She was my wife then.

CHAPTER XL

OVER THE PRECIPICE.

LILIAN" was in my arms again, and all that I had
suffered was compensated for by the bliss of
the moment. I think she had been thorougly aroused
by the peril of her situation, and it was only at
the last possible moment, as she understood the
case, that she yielded. Lilian was human, like
the rest of the world, and she was fond of her own
way. I was willing to let her have her own way,
but when it came to giving her mother the con-
trol of my affairs, I was rebellious.

My poor wife sobbed in my arms, and I could
hardly restrain my own tears. I would not have
repressed them if Mrs. Oliphant had not been
present. Lilian was conquered, but I was sure
she had only reached a point which she had desired
to attain before. I am not sure that this same
battle is not fought out by every man and wife,
however gentle and affectionate they may be.
Some husbands are brutes, some wives are head-
strong, but each is always jealous of individual

160

My Wife concludes to stay. Page 160.

OVER THE PRECIPICE. 1G1

power and influence. I think Lilian was disposed
to adopt the tactics of her mother, and rule her
own household ; but now she had suddenly-
become a gentle and submissive wife, and had thus
placed herself in a position to be potential in re-
gard to her husband.

Mrs. Oliphant was disgusted. She frowned sav-
agely upon both of us. She realized that her influ-
ence was gone forever, if this state of feeling
existed. Her cherished plan fell through and was
a wreck beyond the possibility of redemption. I
do not wonder that she was disgusted, for it was
no trivial thing to be suddenly deprived of the
handsome income she derived from me, which I
should have been very glad to pay her, if I could
have done so, though not under the egregious
cheat of paying her thirty dollars a week for board
which was dear at ten.

" Lilian," said Mrs. Oliphant, sternly, " I did
not think you were so weak and childish."

"Weak and childish, mother? Shall I desert
my husband ? " added my wife, gently.

"It is not for me to say any thing, for I never
interfere between man and wife," continued " dear
ma," in the tone of a martyr. " But I can't help
thinking that your husband is very unreasonable.

11

162 LIVING TOO FAST.

It isn't every child that has so good a home as you
have, and parents who are willing to slave them-
selves to death for her ! And this is all the thanks
they get for it ! "

" Why, dear ma, what have I done ? " asked
Lilian, horrified at the implied charge of ingrati-
tude.

" Nothing, nothing ! It is no matter ! " replied
Mrs. Oliphant, with a vigorous effort to appear
like a much-abused person. " I suppose it is a
mother's lot to be deserted by her children."

" Deserted, mother ! " exclaimed my poor wife.

" I would not say any thing, Lilian," I whispered
to her.

" After I had made all my arrangements to
board you, suddenly, and without a word of notice
you go off and leave me. What have I done to
merit this treatment?"

Lilian followed my suggestion, and made no
reply.

" Well, I suppose I am not wanted here, and I
may as well go," she said, flouncing up, and aim-
ing for the door.

" On the contrary, Mrs. Oliphant, we shall both
be very glad to have you come here as often and
stay as long as you can," I added.

OVER THE PRECIPICE. 163

" Yes, mother, my house shall be your house,"
said Lilian, warmly and with much feeling.

"It is easier to talk than to do," persisted Mrs.
Oliphant, who was determined to be an abused
person. "I'll go home alone."

" I will go with you, mother if you desire it."
interposed Lilian.

Mrs. Oliphant did desire it. It is quite possible
she expected still to conquer our united forces.

" Send the wagon for my trunks, Paley, as soon
as you please," whispered Lilian, as she left the
house with her mother.

I need not say that I lost no time in comply-
ing with these stealthy instructions. I hastened
for the job wagon, but it was an hour before I
reached Mr. Oliphant's with it, for I could not
readily find a team at that hour. The clock
struck six, and I lost my train to Springhayen;
but I hardly noticed the circumstance, so intent
was I upon healing the breach in my domestic
affairs.

When I arrived at the house, I found Lilian in
tears, and a little inclined to yield again ; but the
appearance of the expressman seemed to strengthen
her again. She permitted the trunks to be car-
ried down, and the man departed with them.

164 LIVING TOO FAST,

" I cannot go, Paley," said she, as she dropped
into a chair.

"Why not, Lilian?"

" Mother is terribly incensed against me."

" She will get oyer it in a few days. What
does your father say ? "

" Nothing," said she, looking up at me, as
though she thought I asked a curious question.

" The sooner we go, Lilian, the better it will
be for all of us," I suggested.

" I will go, Paley, but I am afraid I shall never
be happy again," said she, rising.

" Yes, you will, my dear. Your mother will be
the same as ever by to-morrow."

We went down stairs, and found Mrs. Oliphant
in the parlor.

" Good-by, mother. I shall come to see you
every day," said Lilian, trying to be cheerful.

" Good-by, Lilian," replied Mrs. Oliphant, in a
tone which indicated the depth of her despair.

Lilian said good-by to her sisters, and hoped both
of them would come to the house in Needham
Street every day, Sundays not excepted. Then
we went home. Blessed word ! It meant more to
me than ever before. I need hardly add that we
talked of nothing during the evening but the

OVER THE PRECIPICE. 165

exciting topic of the day, though I tried frequently
to change the subject.

Biddy was the happiest girl outside of Ireland,
for though my wife was very sad, she was still
the " missus'' in her own house. Lilian confessed
to me that she liked the house very much ; that
she would not have had it any different if she had
been consulted, but her mother was so anxious ta
have us remain at her house that she could not
think of such a thing as leaving her. If her
mother could only be satisfied with the new
arrangement, she should be as happy as any mor-
tal in existence.

I hoped for the best. I did not count upon
any continued opposition from Mrs. Oliphant, as
it was so obviously for her interest to keep the
peace now that the Rubicon had been passed. If
I had not been so busily occupied in smoothing
the path for Lilian, I should have made myself
very miserable over my failure to visit Springhaven.
I had four hundred dollars to pay on Monday,
with nothing on hand to meet the demand. It was
an ugly subject, and I avoided it as much as pos-
sible in my meditations, though it would often
flash upon me. I could not disappoint Tom
Flynn.

166 LIVING TOO FAST.

I took an early walk on Sunday morning, and
invited Tom to drop in upon us to dinner that
day, which he did. He was delighted to see Lil-
ian in her new home, and congratulated me pri-
vately upon the happy issue of the difficulty. In
the afternoon Mr. Oliphant called. We showed
him all over the house, and the old gentleman
appeared to be in raptures. Then Bertha and
Ellen came, and they visited every part of the
new mansion, expressing their entire satisfaction
with all the arrangements.

After church, Tom called again, for he never
staid away from service for any reason, forenoon
or afternoon. We sang psalm tunes till nine
o'clock in the evening, and truly home was home
me to then, as it had never been before. Bertha
was a splendid singer, and I noticed that Tom,
who was very fond of music, appeared to be more
interested in her than I had ever before observed.
He went home with her, and I ventured to hope
that my example would not be without its influ-
ence upon him.

When I went to the bank the next morning,
Tom told me, in the most careless manner in the
world, that Bertha was a very pretty girl, and a
magnificent singer. Of course I agreed with him,

OVER THE PRECIPICE. 167

but the sight of my friend thrust upon me, more
forcibly than any other consideration, the ugly
fact that I owed him four hundred dollars, due
that clay. I had not the courage to ask him for
further time. My honor, and more than that, my
pride, were involved. What could I do ?

I might run down to Springhaven at night. No,
I could not leave, for, at church and elsewhere,
we had invited all our friends to call upon us,
and I expected to see company every evening
during the week. I must be at home. The
money must be paid. There was no possible way
by which I could honorably postpone it.

" What time to-day do you want that little
matter of money I owe you, Tom?" I asked of
my friend.

" As soon after bank hours as convenient."

" You shall have it at half-past two. I must
go up the street for it, and can't leave very well
before the bank closes."

"All right; it will do at three," added my
obliging friend.

What odds would it make to me whether the
time was fixed at two or three ? I was just as
unable to pay it at one time as the other. A lucky
thought occurred to me. I could call upon my

168 LIVING TOO FAST.

uncle, Captain Halliard, who would no doubfc be
glad to redeem his credit with me by lending me
any reasonable sum I wanted. In a week or so I
could find time to see Aunt Rachel, and as I
was her favorite, she would put me in funds.

The bank closed. I was in a tremor of anxiety.
Before balancing my cash, I hastened out to find
my uncle. He was in the Insurance Office as usual
at this hour. I asked him a great many stupid
questions about indifferent matters, without daring
to put the main question. He actually appeared
to have forgotten that he had insulted and offended
me. He was rather patronizing and stiff in his
manner, and the result of the interview was that
I did not mention the matter nearest to my heart.
I was sure he would refuse if I did ; and I could
not be humiliated for nothing.

I was in despair. My heart was in my throat.
My pride revolted at the thought of telling Tom
Flynn that I could not pay him. I went back to
the bank and balanced my cash. I counted over
an immense sum of money. Four hundred dollars
would make me happy. Mr. Bristlebach had entire
confidence in me. Why could I not borrow four
hundred dollars of the bank as conveniently as of
Captain Halliard.

OVER THE PRECIPICE. 169

I trembled at the bare thought of such a thing.
Thus far I had kept myself honest before God
and man. But then I did not mean to steal this
sum. I would even put a memorandum in the
drawer, to the effect that I was indebted to the
bank for this amount. What harm? Who would
be wronged by it ? I intended to pay every penny
of it back in a few days, as soon as I could visit
my aunt. It was a little irregular, but even the
cashier had done a similar thing within my knowl-
edge. No one would ever know anything about
it, and certainly no one would ever lose anything.

Why should I be tortured for the want of four
hundred dollars, when thousands were lying idle
in my drawer ? Why should I humiliate myself
before Tom Flynn, when, without wronging any
body, I could pay my debt, make him happy,
and be happy myself? I was certain that I could
return the four hundred dollars. My aunt would
certainly let me have it. My uncle even would
lend it to me. I had property enough in my
house to pay it three times over.

Why should I linger here at the brink of the
precipice over which I had determined to leap?
I thought, as hundreds of others have thought, in
the same trying situation. I comforted myself, as

170 LIVING TOO FAST,

they have done, with fallacious reasoning. I per-
suaded myself that, as I intended to pay back
what I borrowed, and convinced myself that I had
the means to do so, it was not dishonest for me
to take the money. I assured myself il? was only
a slight irregularity that I meditated ; that, even
in the sight of God, it was only a trivial error of
form. The Good Father judges us more by our
intentions than by our acts.

Perhaps I had prepared myself for this step, as
every young man does who permits himself to run
in debt, who allows himself to be continually sub-
jected to a fearful temptation by the pressure
of obligations needlessly incurred. Certainly my
experience in furnishing my house had prepared
me for this temptation. It came when I least
expected it. It was but a trivial form that I
purposed to break through; not the law of hon-
esty, of moral rectitude.

I took four one hundred dollar bills from my
drawer, and slipped them into my vest-pocket.
Everybody in the bank was minding his own busi-
ness. No one took any notice of me. I think I
must have been as pale as death when I did the
deed, trivial as I chose to regard it. I wrote the
amount in figures, on a slip of paper, and put it

OVER THE PRECIPICE. 171

under the bills in the drawer. I convinced myself
that this was a suitable acknowledgement of what
I had done, which fully relieved me of every inten-
tion of doing anything wrong. It is astonishing
how weak and silly we are when we are trying
to conceal our own errors from our own eyes.
The contents of my drawer were transferred to
the vault, and I prepared to go home.

44 Tom, I haven't had time to get that money
yet, but I will meet you at three o'clock, at the
reading-room," I remarked to my friend, as easily
as I could.

" O, don't put yourself out, Paley," said the
generous fellow. " If it is not convenient, let it
go."

" No, but it shall be paid. The money is all
ready, only I have not had time to go for it."

" I hope " the matter has not given you any
trouble, Paley," he added ; and perhaps I had not
been entirely successful in concealing the anxiety
which disturbed me.

" O no, not a bit ! You see my affairs at home
took up my time, and I neglected to attend to
the matter on Saturday. Be at the reading-room
at three, and I shall have the money for you,
without fail."

172 LIVING TOO FAST.

" I will be there, Paley. But what makes you
look so pale?" he inquired.

" I don't know. I haven't been very well, and
my difficulty at home has worn upon me. But I'm
all right now," I replied, assuming a very cheer-
ful face, as I left the bank.

At the appointed time Tom was at the reading-
room, and I gave him the four hundred dollars.
The bills passed out of my hands, and it was
forever too late to undo what I had done. I had
leaped over the precipice beneath which lie dis-
honor, shame and disgrace. I was sorely troubled.
My irregularity vexed me, and I felt as one tor-
mented by a legion of devils.

The fact that Tom had noticed my altered
appearance put me upon my guard. I tried to be
gay and even joviai. I laughed, cracked jokes,
rallied Tom on being in love with Bertha — any
thing to banish from my mind the corroding feel-
ing that I was a defaulter. I tore up my note
which Tom handed to me. I invited him to come
to my house in the evening. I invited him to
come every evening. I know that I must have
talked strangely. There seemed to be a twenty -
four pound cannon shot in the centre of my brain.
I wanted something to elevate my spirits. I went

OVER THE PRECIPICE. 173

into a bar-room, and drank a glass of whiskey —
a thing I had never before done, though I had
taken a glass of wine occasionally.

The liquor inspired me. I drank a second glass,
at another bar-room, and found myself capable of
rising above my troubles. I went home. Buckleton
was there, waiting to see me.

CHAPTER XII.

A KEEPER IN THE HOUSE.

LILIAN opened the door, and kissed me as
usual when I came home.

" Why, Paley, you have been drinking," whis-
pered she.

" I had a severe pain, and took a glass of whis-
key. I feel fetter now," I replied.

" There's a gentleman waiting for you in the
sitting-room," she added.

" Yes, I saw him. It is Buckleton, an old
friend of mine. I may ask him to dine with us."

I think Lilian suspected something was wrong
with me, though I am sure she had not the
remotest conception of the nature and extent of
the mischief which was gathering around us.
Probably the smell of my breath startled her,
with the added fact that I was a little flighty in
my manner, for I believe that nothing can be
more justly startling to a woman than the possi-
bility of her husband becoming a drunkard. She
knew nothing whatever of my financial affairs. I

174

A KEEPER IN THE HOUSE. 175

had never made her my confidant ; on the contrary,
I had weakly and foolishly assumed to be "full
of money," and behaved with a liberality and
extravagance far beyond my means.

Buckleton was waiting for me. I owed Buck-
leton eight hundred dollars, for which he had no
security. What did Buckleton want with me? It
had been his own proposition to give me, under
a liberal interpretation of his own words, unlim-
ited credit as to time, if not amount. Why had
he come to my house? I had been at the bank
all the forenoon, and that was the proper place to
meet a man in relation to business. Of course if
I had not owed him eight hundred dollars, I should
not have troubled my head about this particular
visit of an old acquaintance.

However, I had drank two glasses of whiskey,
and the circumstance of his coming did not trouble
me much. I still felt light-hearted, and was not
disposed to let anything trouble me much or long.
I smoothed down my hair, and after drinking a
glass of ice-water in the dining-room, which my
parched tongue required, I entered the room where
Buckleton was waiting for me. He was as cordial
as though he had come only as an old friend.
But exhilarated as I was, I could not fail to notice

176 LIVING TOO FAST.

a certain constraint on his part, as though his
cordiality was in a measure forced.

He was glad to see me. He had business at
the South End, and thought he would call in upon
me as he was passing. The messenger at the bank
told me, the next day, he had been there to find
me ten minutes after I left. But his coming at
this particular time, he labored to represent, was
purely an accident. He was glad to see me so
well situated. He hoped I should call on him at
the West End with Mrs. Glasswood. He had not
had the pleasure of knowing my wife, but he
hoped to make her acquaintance. All these things
he said with the utmost suavity, and then rose
from the sofa to take his leave ; but he did not
take it, and I knew he did not intend to do so
until he had said something about the little matter
of eight hundred dollars that I owed him. He had
his hat in his hand, and moved toward the door.

" Stay and dine with me, Buckleton," I inter-
posed. " Dinner is all ready, and I should be
delighted to have you."

" Thank you ! Thank you ! I should be glad
to do so, but I have to meet a gentleman at the
store in half an hour," he replied, consulting his
watch.

A KEEPER IN THE HOUSE. 177

" Let him wait ; you needn't be over half an
hour behind time."

" I can't do that, for the fact is he owes me
some money, and I am desperately short just now."

Bah ! I had given him the opportunity to say
that, and it was now an easy step for him to dun
me.

" Well, come up next Sunday, won't you ?
And bring your wife with you. We shall be
delighted to see you," I continued, hoping to
throw him off the track.

" I will, if possible ; but I often find that Mrs.
Buckleton has made engagements for me, and, if
I remember rightly, her father and mother dine
with us next Sunday. Besides, I have been so
annoyed with business matters for a week, that I
have not felt much like going into company. I
expected a remittance of six thousand dollars from
Havana, and learned the other day that the party
had stopped payment. I don't know what we
shall do to meet our own notes. By the way,
Glasswood, would it be perfectly convenient for
you to pay the amount you owe us in a few days ? "

"It would not be perfectly convenient," I
replied, squarely.

" I know very well that I proposed to wait for

12

178 LIVING TOO FAST.

it, but, you see, this confounded Cuban affair
throws us all out of groove ; and we are in hot
water up to the eyes. Isn't it possible for you to
pay it ? "

" Perhaps it is possible, but it would be deused
inconvenient. You know I should not have bought
so largely if you had not suggested that I might
pay for the goods in my own time."

" We sold you, as you are aware, at the very
lowest cash prices," he added.

I was not aware of it, but I did not deem it
wise to open any controversy on a subject so
insignificant.

" I don't see how I can do a thing for you,
Buckleton, at present."

" It would be a very great accommodation if
you could. Half would be better than nothing,
though we want every dollar we can possibly
raise. I will discount five per cent, for cash."

" That's liberal, but it won't help me much."

" Think it over, and see what you can do for
me, Glasswood. I am in a tight place."

" I am sorry for it, but I haven't got quite set-
tled yet. I shall be able to pay you in a couple
of months."

" I may be in bankruptcy before that time," said

A KEEPER IN THE HOUSE. 179

he, with a grim, smile. " I will call and see you
to-morrow morning at the bank."

He went away. I thought I was inclined to
stretch the truth quite enough in . making out a
case, but I could not equal him. He was in no
more danger of failing than our bank was. The
Cuban matter was a myth. I was satisfied that
he had been examining into the condition of
my credit. It was more than probable that he
had heard rumors of my little difficulty at the
bank, and had not heard of the triumphant con-
clusion of the affair. Shaytop had been whisper-
ing in his ear. Very likely my uncle had hinted
that I was hying too fast. Certainly some persons
had been busy with matters which, in my estima-
tion, did not concern them. I was indignant, and
felt that I had been abused. Let me say to
young gentlemen that shrewd business men usu-
ally know us better than we know ourselves, and
see sooner than we which way we are going.

Lilian was waiting for me in the dining-room.
Of course she wished to know " what that man
wanted ; " and I turned off the affair as best I
could. I sat down, and for a sick man who found
it necessary to take medicine, I ate a very hearty
dinner.

180 LIVING TOO FAST.

44 Well, my dear, how do you like the house,
and housekeeping ? " I said, in order to turn the
subject from " that man."

" Very much, indeed, Paley. The only draw-
back is that mother feels so badly about it."

44 O, well! she will get over it in a few days."

" Do you know, Paley, that I have been think-
ing of something ? " she continued, looking up to
me with that peculiar archness which indicated
that she had a plan to propose.

44 Have you, indeed? Well, that is not very
remarkable."

" I don't know that it is ; but why don't you
ask me what I have been thinking about?"

" Well, my dear, what have you been thinking
about?"

"I'll tell you, since you ask," laughed she.
" We haven't had anything like a house-warming

yet."

" We have not. That was a great oversight. We
will invite our friends, and have some nuts and
raisins."

44 Nuts and raisins ! And be called mean by
everybody ! "

44 Well, what do you propose ? " I inquired,
though I was rather appalled at the idea of pay-
ing the bills for a large party.

A KEEPER IN THE HOUSE. 181

" I don't know ; but if we invite all our friends,
we must not be mean about it. Besides, I hope
mother will come, and then we shall be able to
make it all up."

" I hope she will."

We proceeded to discuss the details of the house-
warming. Lilian thought it would be cheaper and
more stylish to have Smith take charge of the
whole thing. He would provide all the eatables,
and place a cream-colored waiter in white cotton
gloves in the hall to open the door for the guests.
She thought it would be more " re-church-y ," and,
of course, I could not stand up against this tre-
mendous argument. As I was busy at the bank,
she would call and see Smith herself the next
forenoon.

She had just been restored to me, and I could
not deny her anything. I think it would have
broken her heart to know that I was up to my
ears in debt ; that I could not afford to pay Smith
for even a moderate thing in his line. I ought to
have told her the truth, the whole truth, but I had
not the courage to do so. I knew very well that
the life we had been living at her mother's was
just as distasteful and disagreeable to her as to
me. She had consented to it for her mother's

182 LIVING TOO FAST.

sake, and had been a martyr since the day we
returned from our bridal tour. I need not say
that she was fond of style and show, and she had
deprived herself of all these luxuries for the ben-
efit of her family. The chain was broken, and
the first thing was a party.

I could not help myself without being a tyrant.
Smith's bill at the outside could not be over a
hundred dollars, and that would not kill me for
once. It occurred to me that I would limit the
expenses to one hundred dollars, but I did not
see how they could exceed this sum ; so I decided
to let Lilian manage the whole affair to suit her-
self. I have no doubt she would have done very
well, and that the result would have been satis-
factory to me, but unfortunately my wife's ideas
were different from mine. By an act of grace on
the part of a very wealthy gentleman to whom I
had been able to render some service, we were
invited to a great birthday party of his daughter,
shortly after our marriage. Lilian's pretty face
and graceful figure made her a great favorite among
the gentlemen, and she made quite a sensation.
Of course I was proud of her and Lilian deemed
it the most fortunate thing in the world to obtain
the entree of such company.

A KEEPER IN THE HOUSE. 183

It never occurred to me that Lilian would
attempt to imitate the style of my wealthy friend,
or to invite any of the acquaintances she had
made there. She knew that I was a bank-teller,
on a salary of two thousand dollars, and of course
she could not think of competing with a million-
aire. I went to the bank the next day, and Lil-
ian went to Smith's. While I was looking at the
morning paper, Buckleton appeared. He did not
seem to have the same suavity which had dis-
tinguished him at my house. On the contrary, he
was rather stiff and decided in his manner. I told
him it was quite impossible for me to pay the
bill at present.

" Glasswood, I must be square about this busi-
ness. Things were not exactly as I supposed,
when I sold you those goods. I must have the
money or security for the debt at once."

I was mad. Some one had been talking to him
about me, and he had listened to the foe rather
than to me.

" You seem to be putting a different face upon
the affair. Yesterday you were short ; to-day you
are afraid of losing the money," I replied, coldly.

" I only want to know what you are going to
do."

184 LIVING TOO FAST.

" You told me to pay for the goods when it
was convenient. If you had not said so, I should
not have bought them."

" Give me a mortgage on the furniture in your
house, and I will wait any reasonable time."

" I won't do it ! " I replied, angrily.

" Very well ; we needn't talk any more about
it."

" You professed to be my friend, and were will-
ing to accommodate me."

44 Circumstances alter cases. I have different
information now."

44 What information have you ? " I demanded.

" I am not at liberty to say. I never betray
any man's confidence. You are living beyond your
means. I am willing to do anything that's fair,
but I must have the money or the security."

44 I'll see you after bank hours to-day."

44 Perhaps you will," said he, leaving the bank
very abruptly.

Who had been talking to this man ? I never
knew, but I am forced to acknowledge now, what
I did not believe then, that his information was
correct. I was vexed and disconcerted, and as the
forenoon wore away, and my wrath abated, I
concluded to give him the mortgage on my

A KEEPER IN THE HOUSE. 185

household furniture. This matter was so absorb-
ing that I hardly thought of the four hundred
dollars I owed the bank till the memorandum I
had put in the drawer attracted my attention. I
do not know why I tore it up and threw it into
the waste-basket, but I did so.

Mr. Bristlebach was very gentle towards me ; so
was the cashier ; and I was confident that no one
suspected my cash was four hundred short. The
late inquiry into the condition of my department,
instead of securing the bank, had opened the way
for my first irregularity. I went on with my
duties until about one o'clock, when I was not
a little astonished to see Biddy come into the
bank. My heart rose into my mouth. I was
afraid that something had happened to Lilian, and
that she was dead or very sick. But Biddy only
handed me a note, instead of making the scene I
had anticipated.

The note appeared to have been very hastily
written, and was not in Lilian's usually careful
style. My name was scrawled hastily on the enve-
lope. It occurred to me that Smith might have
disappointed her, but I feared something worse
than this. I tore open the note. The letter
covered two pages, and it was evidently written

186 LIVING TOO FAST.

under great excitement. I was alarmed, and
hardly dared to read it, lest it should inform me
that one of her family was dead.

I did read it, and it went on to tell me that,
while she was away at Smith's, a deputy sheriff
had come to the house and attached all the fur-
niture, and left a man there who called himself a
"keeper." She had talked with this man, and he
had told her Mr. Buckleton was the person who
had caused the goods to be attached. These were
the material statements of the letter, to which
Lilian added that the matter was " horrid ; " that
she never felt so strangely before in her life.
She wanted to know if I really owed Mr. Buckle-
ton a thousand dollars.

I was almost stunned by this heavy blow.
Some observations I dropped in regard to Buckle-
ton were not complimentary to that individual. I
could not stop to think then. The first business
was to quiet Lilian, and I wrote her a note, say-
ing that Buckleton had taken offence at something
I had said ; that the affair was a mere trifle, and
I would send the man away with a flea in his
ear when I went home to dinner. I sent Biddy
off with this note.

A keeper in my house ! What could I do ?

CHAPTER XIIL
THE SECOND STEP.

UT TOLD you
JL so ! "

It was not easy
for me to tell what
to do. Eight hun-
dred dollars and all
the expenses o f the
attachment. The
keeper was in my
house at that moment
and poor Lilian
appeared to be frightened out of her wits. It
was easy enough for me to nourish and call it a
small matter, but I could not put my hand upon
the money which was to lift the load from my
shoulders.

What a crash there would be if this keeper
was not driven from the house that very day!
What a text it would afford for " dear ma!"
How she would declare that it was a judgment

187

188 LIVING TOO FAST.

upon me for my wickedness in turning Lilian from
the maternal bosom! How poor Lilian would suf-
fer under this terrible infliction !

It was galling to me even to think of exposing
myself to the fire of Mrs. Oliphant, and I was
willing to drown myself rather than suffer the
punishment she could inflict with her tongue. It
was horrible to anticipate her " I told you so ! "
It would be the sum total of all miseries to be
pitied and advised by her. I must either run
away and leave Lilian to her fate, or pay this
debt; for I could not think of breasting the storm
which would follow an exposure of my financial
condition.

The cold sweat stood on my brow as I thought
of the situation. But I was naturally hopeful and
sanguine. If I had not been so, I should never
have incurred the burden of debt which now
weighed me down. 1 began to devise expedients ;
and Aunt Rachel was always the foremost of
expedients with me. The venerable spinster had
thirty thousand dollars according to the calcula-
tions of Captain Halliard, which was one-third
more than I had ever supposed. It was currently
reported, and currently believed, that I was to be
her heir. It was true that the old lady had never

THE SECOND STEP. 189

expressed herself to this effect in so many words,
but among our friends and relations this theory
was fully accepted.

It could make no difference to her if she
advanced one or two thousand dollars before she
shuffled off her mortal coil. I had so easily per-
suaded her to let me have a thousand dollars, that
I was confident the second thousand would come
without much difficulty. If I could only find time
to see her, I was satisfied my powers of persua-
sion would do the rest. I wanted twelve hundred
dollars ; but this sum would barely cover my press-
ing liabilities, and I made up my mind that fif-
teen hundred would come as easily as twelve hun-
dred, and the difference would enable me to meet
the cost of the attachment, Lilian's house-warm-
ing, and other little matters which would appear
before the next pay-day.

I had entire confidence in my own powers. I
could put my hand on my heart, and say that I
had always treated Aunt Rachel with kindness
and consideration. I had always been a favorite
with her, and I was positive that the old lady
could not resist my eloquence. In fact, I was as
sure of the money as though it had already been
in my pocket; and as I considered the subject I

190 LIVING TOO FAST.

became hopeful and happy. But I could not go
to Springhaven that night, and in a few hours
more that abominable keeper might reveal his
presence in my house to the whole neighborhood.
Lilian did not understand the matter, and if any
of her dear friends called, she might relate to
them the wretched story I had written in my
note.

The keeper must be sent out of the house as
soon as I could get away from the bank. His
staying there any longer would certainly ruin me.
Whatever else was doubtful, this was plain. Tom
Flynn stood near me. He had money, though he
had just invested all he had in stocks ; but I was
sure, if I told him the whole truth, he would help
me out of the difficulty even if he had to sell his
stocks, and sacrifice his dividends. But it was too
humiliating to think of telling him that I had
plunged into a sea of debt, and was already strug-
gling for life in the waves.

I did think of calling upon my uncle, but I
rejected the suggestion on the instant, for I could
not listen to the storm of invectives he would
heap upon me ; and, besides, he would tell my
Aunt Rachel, and thus give her a bad opinion of
me. The old lady might disinherit me as a " fast
boy."

THE SECOND STEP. 191

Buckleton had offered to take a mortgage on my
furniture ior security. This seemed to be the
most practicable solution of the problem which had
yet presented itself. But what was the use of
mortgaging the property when I could pay the
debt as soon as I had seen Aunt Rachel ? Besides,
if there was a man on the face of the footstool
whom I hated with all my mind, heart and soul,
that man was Buckleton. He had induced me to
purchase more extensively than I intended by
holding out to me the most liberal terms of credit.
Now, in less than a month, he was putting the
twisters upon me. I regarded him as a treacher-
ous and unfeeling man ; one without a soul ; one
who would sell his friend for sixpence. I de-
spised him from the deepest depths of my heart,
and the idea of asking a favor of him, or even of
having a word to say to him, was utterly repul-
sive to me. I could not see him ; I could only
treat him with cold and dignified contempt.

Perhaps it was not becoming in one situated as
I was to put on such airs, or to attempt to save
my dignity. I could not help it. I was proud —
I wish I had been too proud to do a wrong deed.
There appeared to be no resource to which I
could turn for immediate relief. Of the fifteen

192 LIVING TOO FAST.

hundred dollars for which I had decided to ask
my aunt, I was perfectly sure. If the old lady
hesitated, I could tell her that ruin stared me in
the face, that I should be compelled to run away,
and never show my face about Boston again, if I
did not obtain this money. I was satisfied this
threat would bring the money, if nothing else
did. I could assure her it would be all the same
with her. I would pay her the highest rate of
interest, and return the principal in a short time.
If she wished it, I could give her security on my
furniture for the amount.

I was sure of the money from her. Why should
I be distressed for the want of it during the few
days that must elapse before I could see her ?
There was no reason, in my estimation. I need not
inform the reader that by this time I meditated tak-
ing another loan from the bank funds in my keep-
ing. I could borrow eleven hundred more, thus
making my total indebtedness to the bank fifteen
hundred. A few days, or even a week hence, I
should receive the loan from Aunt Rachel, and I
could slip the whole amount in the drawer. Then
I should be square with the bank. Then no one
would have the power to distress me.

Two o'clock came, and the bank closed. With

THE SECOND STEP. 193

far less compunction than I had experienced on
the former occasion, I took eleven hundred dol-
lars from my drawer as I transferred the cash to
the safe. I did not go through with the idle for-
mality of depositing a memorandum in my trunk
with the money. It was a loan for a few days,
which Aunt Rachel would enable me to pay. I
will not say that I did not tremble — I did. I
did not persuade myself that the act was right,
only that I intended no wrong. I called the deed
simply an " irregularity." It was not stealing,
embezzlement, or any other ugly thing with a
savage name. I had the money in my pocket,
and I think this fact was the basis of all the
arguments I used in persuading myself that I had
not done a very wicked act.

As soon as I had balanced my cash I left the
bank and hastened home. I need not say that
Lilian was in a tempest of excitement, in spite of
my consoling note. The horrible keeper sat in
the dining-room, reading the morning paper, and
apparently unconscious of the misery he had brought
to my house. He was polite and gentlemanly, and
I was magnanimous enough to treat him with
consideration. I inquired into the particulars of
the case, and proposed to settle the claim at once.
13

194 LIVING TOO FAST.

He had no authority to settle it, and referred me
to Messrs. Shiver & Sharp, attorneys, in Court
Street, who had procured the writ.

Dinner was nearly ready, and I invited the
keeper to dine with me. He was condescending
enough to accept, and while we sat at the table
I did some large talking, in which I was partic-
ularly severe upon Buckleton, and particularly
complimentary to Glasswood, the latter of whom
was a highly honorable man, who had been grossly
wronged by the former. Buckleton had put on
the attachment out of spite. Glasswood had
always paid his debts fairly and squarely, but
would not be imposed upon.

After dinner I rushed down to the office of
Messrs. Shiver & Sharp. I was indignant and
savage, but I was magnificent. I rolled out the
hundred-dollar bills with a perfect looseness. I
did not even dispute the costs. I paid all, to the
utmost penny demanded. Then I talked about the
insult, the stain upon my honor, and dilated upon
kindred topics, but I fear I failed to make any
strong impression upon the astute Mr. Sharp, who
conducted the business. He was polite, but he
was cold. He gave me a note to the keeper,
which I delivered on my return to Needham

THE SECOND STEP. 195

Street, and which caused his immediate departure,
after he had carefully examined the well-known
signature of the legal firm.

" Such things are unpleasant, Lilian, but I sup-
pose they have happened to almost all men at one
time or another," I remarked, as soon as the door
had closed upon our unwelcome guest.

"I never was so frightened before in my life,"
she replied with a deep sigh, indicative of the
relief she felt.

"It was a miserable trick! It was too mean
for any decent man to be guilty of."

"But did you really owe this Buckleton?"

" I did really owe him about eight hundred
dollars, but he told me at the time I bought the
furniture to pay him whenever it was convenient.
It was not convenient to pay him to-day, and
he sued me. You know, my dear, that when one
has money comfortably invested, drawing large
interest, one does not like to disturb it, at least,
just before dividends are payable."

"It's too bad!" exclaimed Lilian, warmly, her
pretty face beaming with sympathy ; and she actu-
ally believed that the indefinite pronoun I had
used in my description represented myself.

" Well, Lilian, what have you done about the

196 LIVING TOO FAST.

party ? " I inquired, rather anxious to change the
topic, lest she should desire to know more of my
financial affairs.

" I have seen Smith, and made all the arrange-
ments for next Friday evening. As it is to be a
house-warming, we must not put it off too long.
But, dear me, when I came home, and found this
awful man here, I was so alarmed that I was on
the point of countermanding the order I had given."

" It's all right now. But you must hurry up
your invitations."

" There is time enough for them. We will pre-
pare the list this evening. But, Paley, what shall
we do for a piano? It will be very awkward to
be without a piano on such an occasion. Besides,
people will think we are nobody if we don't have
one."

" That's very true, Lilian," I replied, somewhat
startled by the proposition. " But I'm afraid we
can hardly afford to buy one just yet. Such a
one as I want would cost five hundred dollars."

" A cheaper one will do."

" But it is bad economy to buy a cheap one.
In the course of six months or a year I shall be
able to buy a good one."

"We must have one for this party."

THE SECOND STEP. 197

"I will see what can be done before Friday."

" And, Paley, you furnished the house beauti-
fully, but there is just one thing for the parlor
that you forgot," continued Lilian, bestowing upon
me her most winning smile.

" What is that ? "

" An etagere. It would set off the parlor more
than all the rest of the furniture."

" But it would cost about a hundred dollars."

"I would rather do without many other things
than not have an etagere" replied Lilian, begin-
ning to look very sad.

" Will you go down town and look at some of
them ? " said I, looking as amiable as though I
had not borrowed fifteen hundred dollars of the
bank.

" Dear me ! I can't go this afternoon. I have
everything to do. But your taste is so good,
Paley, that you can buy one just as well without
me."

I left the house for the purpose of obtaining a
piano and an etagere. Buckleton had showed me
the latter article, and insisted that my house
would not be furnished without it. I had posi-
tively refused to buy it, for two reasons. First,
because I could not afford it ; and, second, because

198 LIVING TOO FAST.

no one could pronounce the name of the thing.
I confess that it seemed to be a greater sin to
place such a piece of furniture where plain Yan-
kees would be tempted to utter its name, than it
was to indulge in criminal extravagance. Lilian's
French had been neglected, and she made a bad
botch of the word, but I decided to instruct her
in the difficult task of pronouncing the word.

I went to a piano-forte house. The book-keeper
made his deposits and drew his checks over our
counter. I knew him. He showed me a five
hundred dollar instrument. It suited me — the
piano, not the price. A lower-priced one did not
meet my views. I proposed an arrangement with
the concern, that I would hire the instrument
with the intention of purchasing if it suited me.
One of the firm was consulted. Perhaps he knew
that persons who once indulged in a luxury would
not willingly give it up. He consented to let it
for three months, with the privilege of purchasing
at the end of that time. It was ordered to my
house. The piano was provided for at an expense
of twenty-five dollars, if not bought, for three
months.

The etagere was a more difficult matter. I could
not hire one, and I did not like to pay a hundred

THE SECOND STEP. 199

dollars for such a useless piece of furniture ; but
there was no alternative. Lilian had said she
must have one. I had nearly three hundred dollars
in my pocket, but with this sum I intended to
pay Smith, and get rid of my "floating debt," so
that I should owe no one but Aunt Rachel. But
Smith's bill could not be over a hundred dollars,
at the most extravagant figure, and I thought I
could spare enough for the etagere.

I went to a store near Buckleton's. While I
was looking at the etagere my late creditor came
into the store. I was just closing the bargain at
ninety-five dollars. Buckle ton had heard from his
lawyer, and was glad to meet me. I was glad to
have him see me purchase this piece of furniture.
He spoke to me. I did not answer him. He
attempted to apologize. I did not look at him.
I closed my bargain, and asked for the bill.
Buckleton was evidently vexed, and felt as any
man does when he has lost a customer. I enjoyed
it.

44 1 will sell you that same article for seventy-
five dollars," he whispered in my ear, just before
I closed the bargain.

"I would not take it, if you would give it to
me," I replied.

" I think I made a mistake to-day."

200 LIVING TOO FAST.

" The mistake of your life time,' ' I retorted.
"Don't speak to me again. I despise you."

I stalked out of his reach, paid my bill, and went
home. In the evening Lilian and I made out the
list of invitations. Of course I could not over-
rule Lilian's decisions, and not less than fifty
were invited — all our house would hold. It
included my rich friend's family, and I began to
tremble for the result.

CHAPTER XIV.

THE HOUSE - WARMING-.

H E next day the
piano and the etagere
came, and were duly
disposed of in our
pretty parlor. I could
not help agreeing
with Lilian that both
of them were abso-
lutely necessary to
the proper appoint-
ment of the room.
After she had cov-
ered the etagere with
a variety of articles,
most of which had

to be purchased for the purpose, the effect was

pleasing.

The piano filled a waiting space ; and really

there seemed to be nothing more to wish for in

this world. Lilian played a few tunes on the new

201

202 LIVING TOO FAST.

instrument, and my home seemed to be invested
with a new charm. Beyond the party, I looked
forward to pleasant hours when our friends should
gather in this room on Sunday evening to sing
sacred music, for which Tom Flynn had a decided
partiality.

On Friday morning I went to the bank as usual.
When I returned, Smith had taken possession of
the house, and was making his arrangements for the
grand occasion in the evening. I am bound to say
that he made but little fuss for so great an affair
When the evening came, a colored gentleman in
white cotton gloves was stationed afc the door,
and more waiters were disposed of in other parts
of the house. People came — every body Lilian
had invited, except those she wanted most, viz:
my wealthy friend from Beacon Street, with his
family. They did not come, and I had not sup-
posed they would.

Mrs. Oliphant came, and certainly this was a
triumph. Lilian felt that she had outgeneralled
her mother, and conquered a peace. I am afraid
it required a desperate struggle on the part of
" dear ma " to yield the point, and I could only
guess at the consideration which induced her to
come down from the uhigh horse." But she was

THE HOUSE-WARMING. 203

stiff and magnificent at first. She did not seem
to enjoy the affair, and looked upon me as an
ogre who had defeated all her cherished plans.

Miss Bertha came, and so did Tom ; and early
in the evening I was not a little surprised to hear
the piano giving out the solemn notes of Peterboro
and Hebron, sung by a large portion of the com-
pany. The instrument was pronounced excellent.
Bertha sang like a nightingale, and I am not sure
that the piano did not cement a regard which
ultimately transformed the fair pianist into Mrs.
Tom Flynn.

Everything went well, and at eleven o'clock
Smith's supper was uncovered. When I saw the
stores with which the table was loaded, I was
afraid that the expense would spoil the face of a
hundred dollar bill. A little later, when cham-
pagne, Madeira and sherry were produced*, I was
somewhat troubled. Reading the dates on the
bottles, I was absolutely alarmed.

" I did not think you intended to have wine,
Lilian," I remarked, rather seriously.

" Not have wine ! " exclaimed she, after she had
imbibed a glass of champagne. " Why, it would
be no party at all without wine. I told Smith to
bring the best, and plenty pf it."

204 LIVING TOO FAST.

He had evidently done so, and I groaned in
spirit.

" Tom Flynn don't drink wine," I added.

"L'et him drink coffee, then. We can suit his
taste."

" He thinks it is wicked to furnish wine."

" Well, he can have the full benefit of his
opinion," laughed Lilian, whose tongue flew mer-
rily under the' stimulus of the wine she had drank.

Mrs. Oliphaht took champagne, and warmed up
under its influence. She became quite sociable,
and even forgiving. I was very glad to see that
Miss Bertha, for some reason best known to her-
sell, did not partake of the generous beverage. I
am not sure that it was not the prospect of dis-
posing of another of her incumbrances quite as
much as the influence of the champagne which
melted Mrs. Oliphant. Certainly Miss Bertha's
chances were very flattering. Psalmody seemed
to have done its perfect work.

Tom looked very serious when the wine began
to flow in rivers of profusion. He did not like it,
and he seemed to be out of his element. While
most of the party were eating and drinking
in the hall, dining and 'sitting-rooms, I heard the
voices of Bertha and Tom mingling with the notes

The House Warming. Page 204.

THE HOUSE - WARMING. 205

of the piano in a sacred song. They were alone
in the parlor, preferring to be away from the noisy
revel over the wine cup.

Smith's stores of champagne and Madeira seemed
to be inexhaustible, and when the clock struck one,
some of the party, not excluding a few of the
ladies, were in an exceedingly happy frame of
mind. Then a dance was proposed, and Tom and
Bertha were driven from the parlor. A gentleman
played and called the changes. My good friend
was actually scandalized by the orgies of the rev-
ellers. He never danced ; he did not believe in
it. Bertha appeared to sympathize with him, though
this was not in accordance with her antecedents.

Wine was brought up to the parlor, and the
dance went on, though some of my guests were
slightly unsteady in their movements. I was
shocked to see how wild Lilian was, and I men-
tally decided that no wine should ever be brought
into my house again, for the occasion was now
nothing but a revel. Some of the older of the
party proposed to go home, and Tom joined them.
Miss Bertha was attended to her house by him.
When everybody was worn out, the party broke
up, and all went away. Lilian dropped into her bed
exhausted, and in a measure stupefied. As the

206 LIVING TOO FAST.

hostess, she had been compelled to imbibe oftener
than she desired, and really I was grieved to see
her in this condition. After all was still, I went
through the rooms to see that the windows were
secure and the lights put out. I was shocked
when I saw what damage had been done to the
furniture. The carpets were stained with wine,
ice cream and cake ; the new piano was scratched
and discolored, and the cloth greased. Besides the
cost of this house-warming, whatever it might be,
the damages could not be less than three hundred
dollars.

At daylight I went to bed, sick at heart. I
doubted whether the hundred and fifty dollars in
my pocket would pay the bills, and I was miser-
able. I was in debt at least twenty-five hundred
dollars. Lilian slept heavily after the night's
debauch. But I could not sleep. What if the
bank should discover what I had done ? What
would the world say the next day, when the par-
ticulars of my party were known ? for I was
satisfied they could not be concealed.

At seven o'clock I got up, my head aching
fearfully, for I had not wholly spared the cham-
pagne. I was positively miserable. I intended to
visit Springhaven that day, and secure the loan

THE HO USE - WARMING. 207

from Aunt Rachel. It was not safe to let the
matter stand any longer. I went to the bank,
and with a throbbing brow attended to my duties.
Tom looked very serious, but he did not say any
thing to me. Probably he thought I was going
to ruin rapidly, not because I had appropriated
the funds of the bank, but because I furnished
wine to my guests.

The news of my party had not yet been circu-
lated, and I was spared any allusion to it. When
I went home I found Lilian had not risen from
her bed. She was quite sick. Biddy had done
what she could to restore the house to its wonted
order, but it was still in confusion. I could not
go to Springhaven that day. By Monday morning
Lilian was able to get up, and was herself again.
She was even willing to acknowledge that such
parties " do not pay." I am sure I enjoyed our
little Sunday evening gatherings, when Tom and
Bertha sang sacred music, much better.

When I went to the bank on Monday, I found
Smith's bill enclosed in an envelope. I was afraid
to open it at first, but when I did so my worst
fears were more than confirmed. The total was
three hundred and fifty dollars, of which two-
thirds was for champagne, Madeira and sherry. I

208 LIVING TOO FAST.

was appalled" and terrified. It must be promptly
paid, or Smith would be dunning me. I was
short two hundred dollars.

I read the bill a second time, and I was abso-
lutely in despair. My month's salary, when paid,
would not make up the deficiency ; and I had all
my house bills to provide for, which would take
up the whole sum. I was running blindly before
the wind to destruction. My extravagance would
ruin me in a short time. But it was no use to
cry. I was in the scrape, and I must get out of
it.

My hopeful tendencies came to my aid. With
careful economy I could soon pay my debts, A
bright idea flashed through my excited brain.
Would it not be just as easy to induce Aunt
Rachel to lend me two thousand dollars as fifteen
hundred ? It was a brilliant thought, in my esti-
mation. Five hundred dollars could make no dif-
ference to her, if the interest was punctually paid.
It was a plain case. If the old lady did not
promptly meet my views, I could frighten her into
acquiescence. All right ! The two thousand was
sure enough.

I did not think I should be able to go to
Springhaven before Saturday, and I did not care

THE HO USE - WARMING. 209

to receive a dunning visit from Smith. I might
as well " be hung for an old sheep as a lamb."
I could borrow five hundred more from the bank,
with no greater risk than I had already incurred
— and I did so ! My cash was then two thousand
short; but before another week had pass.ed, I
should get the money from Aunt Rachel, and
make good the deficit.

I called upon Smith, and paid the bill. I did
not venture to suggest that it was more than I
had expected it would be. With so much money
in my pocket I felt rich again, and did not bother
my head to consider how I had obtained it. I
went home in better spirits than for a week.
I talked pleasantly and magnificently to Lilian. I
had even forgotten my good resolution to practise
a rigid economy, for with three hundred dollars
in cash in my pocket, it no longer seemed
necessary.

Lilian, too, was in excellent spirits. She was
very affectionate, and when I sat down on the
sofa after supper, she seated herself beside me, and
told me how happy she was in her new home,
and how glad she was that I had compelled her
to move into it. With my head upon her shoul-
der and her arm around my neck she told me

210 LIVING TOO FAST,

how kind and indulgent, how tender and affec-
tionate I had always been, and then — added that
she had not had a new dress since we were mar-
ried ! Mrs. Gordon Grahame had just come out in
a splendid black silk ; Lilian had never had a
black silk, and she wanted one just like it.

" How much will it cost, Lilian ? " I asked,
rather startled by this ultra-affectionate turn in
the conversation.

"You won't be angry with me, Paley — will
you?"

" Of course I won't be angry with you, Lilian,"
I laughed.

" But I have been very economical with clothes."

" I know you have, my dear ; and I haven't a
word of fault to find. I only asked how much
the black silk would cost."

"I can't tell exactly what it will cost," she
answered, biting her finger nails, as though she
feared even to express an opinion.

"Will it cost fifty dollars?" I asked, thinking
I was placing it high.

" Fifty dollars ! Why, what an ignoramus you
are, Paley ! " tinkled she, in the most silvery of
tones. " You don't think I can buy a black silk
such as a lady would wear for fifty dollars, do
you?"

THE HOUSE - WARNING. 211

" "Well, I don't know any thing abont it," I
replied, abashed at my own ignorance. "Will a
hundred do it ? "

" Hardly. I can't tell precisely what it will
cost, but I think Mrs. Gordon Grahame's did
not cost less than a hundred and twenty. Don't
be angry with me, Paley. Don't look so cold ! "

" I am neither angry nor cold, dearest," I an-
swered, pulling out my portmonnaie, and taking
therefrom one hundred and fifty dollars, which I
handed to her.

It was the half I had left of what I had stolen
that day — for, in the light of after days, I may as
well call the act by its true name. I could not bear
to have her accuse me of being angry, or of being
cold, or of grudging her any thing I had, or any
thing I could get.

" O, thank you, Paley ! How generous you
are ! " she exclaimed, giving me a rapturous kiss.

She was satisfied, and so was I. We talked
and read and played backgammon till ten o'clock.

" Paley, won't you take a glass of wine ? " she
asked. " We had some left the other night."

" I don't care, Lilian. Did I tell you how much
that party cost? "

"No."

I told her.

212 LIVING TOO FAST.

" I think that was quite reasonable, considering
what we had. The champagne was splendid, and
the Madeira had been to India three times — so
Smith said."

She brought a bottle of sherry. It was old and
strong. I was rather startled to see her take two
glasses within a few minutes of each other, and
I wished there was no wine in the house. We
went to bed happy, and no thought of the future
disturbed me.

The following Saturday was the last day of
the montlr, and I was detained at the bank so
late that I could not go to Springhaven. I did
not like to leave while others remained, for I did
not know but Mr. Bristlebach might take it into
his head to overhaul my cash again. The next
Monday I learned that Aunt Rachel was very sick,
had been attacked with paralysis. I went down
to see her that night. She was almost senseless,
and I could not talk with her. But she might die
in a few days, and then her money would all be
mine — I hoped ; for it did not yet appear that
she had made a will.

Two or three days later, my uncle, Captain
Halliard, came into the bank just as we were
closing. He looked particularly grim and savage.

" Paley, your aunt is very sick," said he.

THE HO USE - WARMING. 213

" I know she is, but I hope she will get better,"
I replied, perhaps stretching the truth no more
than many people do under such circumstances.

" I am attending to her affairs, as usual."

I bowed, and wondered what was coming.

" I found among her papers a note for a thou-
sand dollars, signed by you," he added, taking
the document from his pocket.

My heart came up into my throat. What was
he driving at?

" If you can afford to give parties and fill your
guests with champagne, you can afford to pay
this note," he continued, sternly.

My plan was set at naught.

CHAPTER XV.

MY UNCLE IS SAY AGE.

0

APTAIN Hal-
liard was as grim
as an ogre, and evi-
dently intended t o
make me pay the thou-
sand dollars I owed
my Aunt Rachel. Of
course he did not care
half so much about the
money as he did to
bring me to a realiz-
Captain Halliard. ing sense of the peril

of living too fast. He had worked hard for me,
and used his influence in obtaining the situation
I then held. He was fond of power and influence,
and a failure to consult him in regard to any im-
portant movement was a mortal insult.

His views of life and living were different from
mine, and I found it necessary to steer clear of
him. I do not say that this was not a mistake

214

MY UNCLE IS SAVAGE. 215

on my part — it was. If I had followed his pru-
dent counsels, I should have kept out of trouble.
I had sinned against my uncle, and was no more
worthy to be called a 'protege of his. I had mar-
ried, I had taken a house, I had furnished it, I
had given a party, without consulting him, and
even without inviting him to any of the later fes-
tive occasions. I knew that they were not to his
taste, and it was almost a cause of offence to ask
him to attend a merry-making of any kind.*

He had lent me three hundred dollars for my
bridal tour, though he did not know what it was
for — if he had he would not have loaned it to me.
He made me pay him when it was the least con-
venient for me to do so. Now he crossed my'
path again in the same disagreeable manner. Aunt
Rachel was very sick. Probably Captain Halliard
had deemed it his duty to look over her papers
while she lay insensible on her bed. Notes or
interest might fall due. Perhaps it was proper
enough that he should do so, but it was deused
unfortunate for me.

It was equally unfortunate that I had written
this note " On demand, with interest." I had
done so because I did not wish to fix a time when
Aunt Rachel would feel compelled to ask me for

216 LIVING TOO FAST.

the money. In avoiding a dun in this direction,
I had courted one in an other. As sharp people
are apt to do, I had overreached myself.

The captain was in bad humor. I had once
been his favorite. If I was so now, I was under
a shadow. But the case was a very simple one.
I had been acting without his advice, and con-
trary to his well known opinions, which was per-
haps very imprudent in me. He was a man of
the world, with no fine feelings to interfere with
what he regarded as his duty. Of course I could
not think of such a thing as paying him. He
looked ugly, and my pride was touched by the
attitude in which he placed himself.

"Paley, you are going too fast ! " said my uncle,
sternly.

"I don't think so, sir."

" I think so ! " he added, in a tone which
was intended to indicate that he regarded the
question as settled, and that it would be useless
for me to attempt to argue the matter with him.

" I don't know what you mean by too fast," I
replied.

" Champagne suppers ! "

" Only one, and probably I shall never have
another as long as I live."

MY UNCLE IS SA VA GE. 217

" You had a party at your house, and the
champagne flowed as free as water. Two or three
hundred dollars for wine in one evening, as I am
informed by one who knows!"

"Who was he?"

" No matter who he was. Deny it if you
dare."

" Well, I dare ! "

" Show me the bill, then ! " said he, fiercely.

I was vexed and indignant at this rude treat-
ment. I forgot that this man had labored to pro-
cure ray situation ; that he was my mother's brother ;
that he had always taken a deep interest in
me. I could not bear to be regarded as a child,
and be taken to task as such by any one. My pride
revolted.

" I don't understand that you are my guardian,"
I answered.

" I'm not your guardian ! If I were, I would
send you a hundred miles from the city, and make
you work on a farm. I'm the guardian of this
note, though ; and it must be paid, or I'll trustee
your salary. When you owe your aunt a thou-
sand dollars, you shall not fool away your money
on champagne suppers. Pay the note ! "

" The note don't belong to you," I added, dog-

218 LIVING TOO FAST.

gedly, as I beat about me for the means of escap-
ing from the uncomfortable dilemma.

" Don't belong to me ! " growled my uncle.
" What do you mean by that ? "

"How did the note come into your possession?"

"None of your business how it came into my
possession, you puppy ! Do you mean to insult
me?"

"No, sir; but I think you mean to insult me."

" Insult you ! " sneered he. " Why, you young
cub, I am your uncle, and old enough to be your
grandfather ! "

" You are not old enough to insult me."

" You have said enough ! Will you pay the
note ? " demanded he, impatiently.

He talked to me as though he were on the
quarter-deck, while I belonged in the forecastle.
He was not in the habit of permitting his posi-
tions to be disputed by those whom he regarded
as his dependents or inferiors.

"Not till you have shown me by what authority
you hold the note."

" As the agent of the promisee ! " snapped he.

"Did she authorize you to collect it?" I in-
quired.

He drew his out pocket-book, and trembling

MT UNCLE IS SAVAGE, 219

with rage and impatience took a document from
it, which he thrust into my face. It was a
general power of attorney, authorizing him to
transact any and all business for my aunt, and
ratifying all his proceedings under it. Of course
it was <}ated before Aunt Rachel's present sick-
ness, but I could not deny his power to act under
it.

" Are you satisfied ? " said he, in a triumphant
tone, and he folded up the paper and restored it
to his pocket-book.

" I am," I answered.

" Pay then ! "

"When do you want the money?" I asked, in
a tone of easy indifference, for I saw that I could
make nothing by attempting to bluff the old
fellow.

"Now!"

" Of course I don't carry a thousand dollars
around with me, in my pocket, and I did not ex-
pect to be called upon to pay this note to-day.
It is not convenient for me to do so."

" I suppose not," sneered my uncle. " But you
seem to have money enough to pay for champagne
suppers, and better furniture than I can afford to
have in my house."

220 LIVING TOO FAST.

Buckleton was the villain who had been talk-
ing to my uncle! ''Better furniture" meant the
etagere. But I must not quarrel with my uncle.
He had the power to throw me out of my situa-
tion in the bank. As my mother's brother he
would not be likely to do that. I was even will-
ing to believe that he was acting for my good,
but certainly he was doing so in a very clumsy
and ungainly manner. He evidently wished to
get me into a tight place, where he could con-
trol me, and thus compel me to forego my habits
of extravagance.

" Uncle, the champagne supper was a mistake.
I did not know there was to be any wine until I
saw it. My wife ordered it without my knowl-
edge. I did not suspect she intended to have it,
or I should have spoken in season to prevent it."

" Very well ; let that pass," said he, considera-
bly mollified. " You have fifteen hundred dollars'
worth of furniture in your house. I will sell you
all mine for half that sum."

" Buckleton cheated me into taking twice as
much as I wanted."

" Humph ! Did he ? "

" He did."

" Did you pay cash for all these things ? "

MY UNCLE IS SAVAGE. 221

" Of course I did ; though I did not intend to
pay Buckleton for a month or two. But he is a
scoundrel, and I was glad to get rid of him, even
at the expense of sacrificing some stocks I had."

" Stocks ? " said my uncle.

" I haven't been so reckless as you think I
have," I replied. " I saved two-thirds of my sal-
ary till I was married, and doubled it by specula-
tion every year."

" What did you borrow a thousand dollars of
your aunt for? "

" Because I didn't wish to sell a thousand dol-
lars' worth of c coppers ' I had, and still have," I
continued, knowing very well what would satisfy
my uncle. " Somebody was ' bearing ' (them then ;
but they are all right now, and I shall make a
pretty thing on them by-and-by."

" That's all very well; but you are living too
fast."

I was afraid he would ask me what " coppers "
I had been dickering in, but he did not, probably
reserving an inquiry into the details of my finan-
cial operations till we were on better terms.

"I don't think I am living beyond my means."

"I do think so. You must give up that house
in Needham Street, and live within your means,"
he added, sternly.

222 LIVING TOO FAST.

I actually began to think that he was in league
with Mrs. Oliphant.

" I think I can live as cheaply there as any-
where else."

"You can board for half the money it will cost
you."

" I differ from you there, uncle, I replied,
mildly. "I paid—"

" You differ from me ! " exclaimed he, angrily.
" Do you think I don't know what I am talking
about. I am older than you, and I have seen
more of the world. I know what it costs a man
to live."

" I think I know something about it."

44 No, you don't ! " replied he, as arbitrarily as
ever. " You can dispose of your lease, and sell
your furniture for all it cost you, for houses are
scarce."

" I don't wish to do so ; the house and furni-
ture are worth as much to me as to any one."

" Paley, you are a fool!" said he, impatiently.

" I came of your stock, then," I retorted, rashly,
for my blood was warm again.

" None of your impudence to me ! "

" None of yours to me ! "

" I am an older man than you are."

MY UNCLE IS SAVAGE. 223

" That gives you no right to call me a fool."

" Will you listen to reason ? "

"I will, but not to abuse."

" Do you know Brentbone ? "

"No, sir."

" He would have taken the house where you
live if you had not. While "he went to consult
his wife you took it."

"I was told that another raan would take the
house in half an hour if I did not."

" Brentbone was the man. He was terribly dis-
appointed, for he had set his heart upon having
the house. He is an old friend of mine, and still
wants it. He is willing to give you a hundred
dollars bonus for the house, and pay all the bills
for the furniture."

" I am much obliged to him for his liberal offer,
but I must decline it," I replied, firmly, for I
could not think of leaving the English basement
house, when I was just beginning to realize the
joys of home.

" Are you mad, Paley ? "

"Not just now."

" You can't afford to live there. Your mother-
in-law will board you at half the rate it will cost
you to live in this house."

224 LIVING TOO FAST.

Upon my word, it looked more and more as if
Captain Halliard was in league with " dear ma."

I hate mysteries, and I may as well explain the
facts as I afterwards discovered them. Mr. Brent-
bone was a man of considerable means, who had
just married a second wife. The house in Need-
ham Street pleased him, and, too late, he found
that it pleased his wife even more. He was
acquainted with Mr. Oliphant and with my uncle.
When he ascertained who had taken the house,
he went to see Mrs. Oliphant, but this was about
the time I moved in, and " dear ma " was too
indignant to mention the subject to me, though I
remembered that she had suggested the idea of
selling out the furniture and giving up the lease.

As we had moved in, Brentbone gave up his
purpose, and tried to find a house elsewhere.
Failing to suit himself, he agaiu turned his atten-
tion to the house in Needham Street, and spoke
to my uncle about it. Captain Halliard was
probably startled to find I was living in a house
which would satisfy a* person of Brentbone's
means. The matter was left in my uncle's hands
for negotiation. He assured the would-be purchaser
that there would be no difficulty in completing
the arrangement. All this Brentbone told me

MY UNCLE IS SA VA GE. 225

himself in self-defence, a few weeks later, when
I made his acquaintance.

As my uncle had in a measure pledged himself
to complete the arrangement, he felt a pride in
doing so. He honestly and sincerely believed that
I was living beyond my means, and here was an
opportunity for me to change my style, and make
something by it at the same time. He might have
succeeded better if he had not begun by attempt-
ing to drive me into compliance.

44 1 have no idea of boarding with my mother-
in-law again, and paying her thirty dollars a week
for accommodations I can procure for ten," I
replied, to my uncle's proposition.

44 Then board somewhere else. I don't care
where you board ; but it will cost you three thou-
sand dollars a year to live in that house."

44 1 think not."

44 1 know it will," responded my uncle, sharply.

44 Time will tell."

44 Leave a fool to his folly," snarled the captain,
out of patience with me.

44 1 will leave you to yours," I replied.

44 Will you pay the note? "

44 When?"

44 Now."
15

226 LIVING TOO FAST.

"No, sir; I will not."

" When will you pay it ? "

" To-morrow," I replied, willing to gain even
a day's' delay.

"Very well; if it isn't paid to-morrow, I'll
trustee your salary, and keep doing it till the note
is paid! " exclaimed he, darting out the ante-room
where we had gone to talk over the matter.

I felt very much like sinking through the floor.
Not only was I cut off from obtaining the two
thousand dollars from Aunt Rachel, but I was
called upon to pay the thousand I already owed
her. The means of making my account good with
the bank were gone, for Aunt Rachel was too
sick even to speak to me. What could I
do?

I went into the banking-room, and balanced my
cash — two thousand short ! No one knew it but
myself. Mr. Bristlebach was a careful man. He
made frequent forays into all the departments of
the institution, and the fact could not long be
concealed from him. It was about time for the
directors to make an examination of the funds.
I should be ruined in a few days, or weeks, at
most. I could only study how to defer rather
than avoid the catastrophe. I put my cash into

MT UNCLE IS SAVAGE. 227

the safe, and left the building. My face was like
a sheet as I saw it in the glass before I left the
bank. " My heart was in my throat. I could not
see any thing or any body as I walked along
State Street.

" Glasswood, how are you ? "

I turned to the speaker. It was Cormorin, pay-
ing-teller of the Forty-third. I was well acquainted
with him, and he lived near my house. He had
been present at our party, and had drank more
champagne than any other five persons present.

"How are you, Cormorin?" I replied.

"In a hurry, Glasswood ? "

"No, not specially."

" Come into Young's with me and drink a bottle
of wine."

That was just what I wanted in my misery —
something to enliven my spirits. I went, and found
that Cormorin had a mission with me.

CHAPTER XVI.

CORMORIN AND I.

CORMORIN was not a man for whom I had ever
entertained any great respect, and I wondered
how he contrived to retain his position in the
bank, for he was rather dissolute and dissipated
in his habits. We went to a private room in the
hotel, and he sent for champagne. He talked
about indifferent matters for a time, but I was
soon satisfied that he had something more than
these to bring forward. I was not mistaken.

We finished the first bottle of champagne before
the plan of my companion began to be developed.
He ordered another ; but I ought to add, in jus-
tice to myself, that he drank three glasses to my
one. His frequent potations, however, seemed to
have but little effect upon him, for he was ac-
customed to drink stronger fluids than champagne.

" Glass wood, what salary do you get now?"
asked Cormorin, after we had begun upon the
second bottle.

" Two thousand," I replied.

228

CORMORIN AND I. 229

/

" The same as mine. But can you live upon
it?"

" I think I can, though I have not had much
experience since I was married."

" I can't live on mine."

" You drink expensive wines."

" ' Pon my soul, I don't ! " he protested. " I
haven't tasted champagne, except at your house-
warming, for a year, until this afternoon. I can't
afford to drink champagne more than once a year ;
and I have to stimulate on cheap whiskey. Well,
even on this camphene, I can't make the ends
meet. I'm as economical as a London Jew. I
don't spend a cent on luxuries. I don't go to the
opera above a dozen times a year. I don't own
a horse. I don't average hiring one more than
once a week. I have been in the same fix these
two years."

" What do you mean — that you run in debt ? "
I inquired, willing to help him reach the point at
which he was evidently aiming.

" Just that ; and nothing less, nothing more.
I've tried every way in the world to eke out my
income ; and, just now, I'm in a fair way to put
about ten thousand dollars into my pocket."

" I congratulate you."

230 LIVING TOO FAST.

" If I had sold my stock to-day, I should have
put five thousand into my exchequer."

"Why didn't you do it, then?"

" Because I would rather have ten thousand
dollars than five," he replied, gulping down a
full glass of the generous fluid before us.

" When a man can make a good thing by sell-
ing, I believe in realizing."

"Isn't it better to wait when a man is sure of
making twice as much a week hence ? "

" Are you sure ? "

" I wish I was as sure of living a week as I
am of making this money, if I can hold on for a
week."

"If I were reasonably certain, I should hold on;
by all means."

" O, I'm dead sure ! I wouldn't give the pres-
ident of our bank sixpence to insure me."

" Of course you will hold on, then," I added.

" That's the trouble," said he, slapping his fist
upon the table, and then swallowing another
potion.

" What's the trouble ? " I inquired, kindly ask-
ing the questions he suggested.

" Why, the holding on."

" But if you are sure of the result, you cannot
be in doubt in regard to your course."

CORMORIN AND I.

231

" Well, I'm in no doubt about that."

" What are you in doubt about? "

He looked at me steadily, and appeared to be
uncertain whether to say anything more or not.
He was struggling to reach some point, though I
could not imagine what it was. I began to sus-
pect that he wanted to borrow some money of
me. If he did, he had come to the wrong man.
He labored heavily, like a ship in a storm, and I
was beginning to be rather impatient at the slow-
ness with which he proceeded.

Cormorin and I.

" Glasswood, give me your hand," said he, after
a long pause, as he extended his own to me across
the table.

I took his hand, for I could not refuse to do

232 LIVING TOO FAST.

as much as that for a man who was paying for
the champagne.

"We are friends — are we not?" he continued.

" Certainly we are."

" Do you mean so?"

" Of course I do. I don't say one thing and
mean another. If you want to say any thing,
Cormorin, say it."

"As a friend, I will," said he, with compressed
lips, as though he had made up his mind to do a
desperate deed. " This is between us, you know ? "

" Certainly," I replied.

The champagne I had drank had somewhat
muddled my brain ; and I was in that reckless
frame of mind which is so often induced by stim-
ulating draughts. If I had drank nothing, I should
have been cautious how I permitted myself to be
dragged into the counsels of such a man as Corm-
orin. As it was, I was becoming rapidly pre-
pared for any desperate step. I was very curious
to know what my companion was driving at.

" I'm in a tight place, then ! " said he, filling
the glass again.

" A tight place ! Why, I thought you were
on the high road to wealth ! " I replied, rather to
help him forward in his statement, than because I

C OR M OR IN AND I. 233

experienced any astonishment at his apparent con-
tradictions.

"Exactly so! Both propositions are equally
true, and equally susceptible of demonstration.
You are dull, Glasswood. You don't drink enough
to sharpen your wits. Don't you see that while
I am waiting for a further rise in my stocks I am
kept out of my capital? "

" Precisely so ; that is not a difficult problem to
comprehend," I replied.

" Well, you don't seem to get along as fast as
I do."

"I understand you now. Go on."

" That's all."

" Let's go home, then," I added, rising from
the table.

" Not yet. Hold on ! Don't you understand
my position? "

"Very clearly; you are short. So am I. If I
could help you, I would do so with the greatest
pleasure."

" You can help me. We are both honest fel-
lows, and don't mean to wrong or injure any
one."

" That's myself for one," I replied, warmly.

He seemed to be using the very arguments

234 LIVING TOO FAST.

which. I had applied to my own case while bor-
rowing the funds of the bank that employed me.
What did he mean by it ? Could it be possible
that he even suspected me of taking the money
of the bank? Had he by any means obtained a
hint of my financial operations ? He was in
another establishment. He could not suspect what
none in our bank suspected. I was excited with
champagne, and I dismissed the fear as prepos-
terous.

" That's myself for another ! " exclaimed he,
with more emphasis than the subject matter seemed
to require. " My coppers have doubled on my
hands."

4 ' What are your coppers?" I inquired.

"The Ballyhack," he answered promptly. "Do
you think I haven't any ? "

He pulled from his breast-pocket a bundle of
papers, and exhibited certificates of shares for a
very large amount of stock. Just at this time
there was a fever of speculation in these copper
stocks. While some were substantial companies,
many were mere fancies, run up to high figures
by unscrupulous and dishonest men. In the par-
ticular one he mentioned, the upward progress of
the stock had been tremendous. Men had made

CORMORIN AND I. 235

five or ten thousand dollars in them as easily as
they could turn their hands. It was patent to
me that the Ballyhack had doubled in a week,
and was gaining rapidly every day.

Cormorin had " gone in for a big thing," for he
exhibited two hundred shares, for which he had
paid twenty-five, and which was now quoted at
fifty. Shrewd men were buying it at this rate,
confident that the stock would touch a hundred
in a week or two. Cormorin' s statements, there-
fore, were reasonable, and I began to be deeply
interested in the operation. If this reckless and
semi-dissipated fellow could make live or ten
thousand dollars in a fortnight, why might not I
do the same. It flashed upon my mind that I
could redeem myself from my own financial diffi-
culties by this exciting process — if I only had the
capital to make the investment. My companion had
gone deeply into the business, and could advise me
in regard to some safe and profitable speculation
in coppers. It would be even less troublesome
than borrowing money of Aunt Rachel.

" You see it now," continued Cormorin, folding
up his papers, and restoring them to his pocket.

"I do ; that's a good operation."

" That's so ! What's the use for a man to be

236 LIVING TOO FAST.

contented with a paltry salary of two thousand
a year, when he can make five times that sum in
a week or two ? That's the question," said he,
vehemently.

"It is all very well for a fellow that has the
capital to go into these operations," I added.

"The capital! Yes; that's so! There's the
rub. But you see I didn't have any capital."

He paused to fill the glasses again, though
mine was not empty. He was laboring with the
next step in his revelation, and, reckless as he
was, he appeared to halt on the verge of further
developments. I could not see how he purchased
his stock, if he had no capital; and I was rather
anxious to have the problem solved.

"Nary red," he added, as I did not ask the
question which would suggest the revelation he
evidently wished to make. " Not a cent — up to
my eyes in debt beside — one, two or three thou-
sand dollars. O, well ! When a man understands
himself, these things are easy enough. By the
way, Glasswood, don't you want to try your hand
in this business? I know of a new company,
which is going to be the cock of the walk on
State Street. You can buy it for twenty to-day.
It will be twenty-five to-morrow, for it is going

CORMORIN AND I. 237

like hot cakes. Everybody is after it. I' have
been tempted to sell rny Ballyhack and invest in
it."

44 What's the company ? "

44 The Bustumup — Indian name, you know. It's
going up like a rocket, now."

44 Perhaps it will come down like one."

44 No fear of that. If I had ten thousand dol-
lars to-day, I would put every cent of it into
Bustumups. If you want two, three or five hun-
dred shares of it, I will get them for you at the
lowest figure. Your name, you know, would help
the thing along."

My name ! Of course I was flattered. If I
could have raised four or five thousand dollars, I
should have been glad to give the company the
benefit of my name !

44 1 should like to go in, but I have no capital,"
I replied, with the modesty of a man without
means.

44 Do as I did!" exclaimed Cormorin, in whom
the champagne had now banished every thing like
caution.

44 How did you do ? "

44 1 used the bank funds ! " he replied, hitting
the table a tremendous rap. 44 But I don't mean

238 LIVING TOO FAST.

that -the bank shall ever lose a single cent by me.
I mean to be honest. I mean to pay every cent
I borrow. I don't see why money should lie idle
in my drawer in the bank, when I can make
something out of it, without wronging, cheating
or defrauding man, woman or child. Glasswood,
give me your hand. I have spoken frankly to
you. If you betray me, of course I shall have to
take the next steamer for foreign parts, and I'm
afraid the bank would then be the loser by the
operation."

" I will never betray you," I replied, clasping
his offered hand.

" Thank you, Glasswood ! You are a noble fel-
low. To-morrow those infernal directors will
examine into the condition of our bank. My cash
is five thousand short — just the sum I paid for
the Ballyhacks. You understand me ? "

I had drank so much champagne that I not
only understood, but sympathized with him. He
had done just what I had, though I was not
stupid enough to betray myself to him.

" I understand you, Cormorin," I replied. "Go
on and tell me what you are driving at just as
though I were your own brother."

"Exactly so; just as though you were my own

C ORMORIN AND I. 23 9

brother. I borrowed five thousand dollars from
the bank. It will be missed to-morrow. Lend
me five one thousand dollar bills, or the same
amount in some other form, for two hours to-
morrow, and I shall be all right. You shall hold
my stock as collateral. It is worth double the
amount ; and I will do the same thing for you
when your cash is counted, if you want to make
something on your own account."

" I'll do it," I replied, without a moment of
reflection.

" You are a good fellow, Glass wood. Your for-
tune is made, and so is mine."

I should not have been so prompt in acceding
to his request without the aid of the champagne.
Though I knew what I was about well enough,
I was reckless. I was fascinated with the idea
of making five or ten thousand dollars in " cop-
pers," and thus discharging my obligation to the
bank.

" We don't always know when our directors
intend to make an examination," I suggested.

" I can always tell by the looks of them. No
matter ; there is time enough after they begin.
Our banks are near enough to each other to
enable us to make a connection," laughed Corm-
orin.

240 LIVING TOO FAST.

We discussed the matter still further, but we
were perfectly agreed. We separated with an
arrangement to meet in the forenoon of the next
day, to carry out the plan we had devised. I did
not deem it prudent to go directly home, and I
spent an hour on the Common, waiting for the
fumes of the wine I had drank to work off. When
I went to Needham Street, I found that Lilian
was still out, probably purchasing her new black
silk dress. She came at last, and we ate a dried-
up dinner at Hive o'clock. She had purchased her
dress, and was in the best of spirits.

The next day, when I went to the bank, I
quietly transferred six thousand dollars from my
drawer to my pocket, with hardly a tithe of the
compunction with which I had appropriated my
first loan. O, I intended to be honest ! The bank
was not to lose a penny by me. For five thou-
sand of the money, Cormorin was to give me col-
lateral worth ten thousand in the market. With
the other thousand I intended to pay my uncle,
and silence his carping for all time.

Cormorin was punctual in his call for his share
of the funds. He handed me the certificates and
I gave him the money. In the course of the fore-
noon Captain Halliard, faithful to his threat, paid

CORMORIN AND I. 211

me a visit. I was not ready for him then, but I
showed him one-half of Cormorin's certificates.
They did not abate his persistency for payment of
the note, and I promised to pay him at three
o'clock in the afternoon, without fail. As I had
the money in my pocket, I could safely make the
promise.

At the appointed time he presented himself
before me.

16

GHAPTEB XVII.

PROVIDING FOR THE WORST.

6 6 f | ^HERE is your money, principal and inter-
1 est," said I to my uncle, carelessly toss-
ing him the bills. " You have compelled me to
sacrifice my coppers, but I am rid of you now."

" Rid of me ! It isn't necessary for you to be
impudent, Paley," replied the Captain.

" I assure you, it is a very great satisfaction
for me to feel that there is now no possible way
in which you can annoy me."

" I don't want to annoy you."

u I thought you did. You have been crowding
irie pretty hard. You have compelled me to pay
this note, for no other purpose than to annoy me.
You have done your worst, and 1 hope you are
satisfied."

" You may have the money again, if you want
it," said he ; for, like other bullies, when he felt
that his power was gone, he was disposed to
make peace.

" I don't want it now. I have sold out my

242

PROVIDING FOR THE WORST. 243

stock at a loss to gratify your malice. If you
can do anything more to crush me, I hope you
will do it."

"I don't want to crush you. What are you
talking about ? " added my uncle, impatiently.

" 1 don't know what you mean by crowding
me so hard, then."

" Paley, you are living too fast. All I have
done has been for your good."

"I don't see it; and I don't exactly know by
what right you purpose to take the management
of my affairs into your own hands. You have an
offer for my house, and you have attempted to
drive me out of it. Let me say that I would go
into bankruptcy, or into the State Prison, before I
would submit to any such dictation. I am of age
and I think I am able to take care of myself. I
hear that Aunt Rachel is better to-day, and is
steadily improving. I shall take the first occa-
sion to tell her how you have used me."

" I}o you want to make trouble in the family ? "
asked he, evidently startled by my threat; for the
handling of the invalid's property was of some
importance even to a gentleman of Captain Hal-
liard's wealth.

" I want justice done, though the heavens fall.

244 LIVING TOO FAST.

Aunt Rachel never intended that I should "be
driven up to pay this thousand dollars, as you
have done the business."

" I did what I thought was best for you and
for her."

"All right; if you are satisfied, I am."

I think my uncle was rather sorry he had
crowded me so hard. He had failed to accom-
plish his purpose of driving me out of my house,
and he knew that I had some influence with
my aunt. He was disposed to back out, but I
was not willing that he should do so. I did not
like the idea of having him around me in the
capacity of a guardian, prying into my affairs, and
listening to every breath of scandal that related
to me.

The sharp words I had spoken produced some
effect upon him. Bat it occurred to me that
his malice would be dangerous, and I did not
deem it prudent to provoke him any farther. He
was intimate with Mr. Bristlebach, and his influ-
ence might imperil my situation. It would be
utter ruin for me to be discharged before I had
replaced the sums I had " borrowed." I moder-
ated my wrath, therefore, and refrained from en-
forcing my threat. My uncle left me, and I was
willing to wait until he made the next move.

PROVIDING FOR THE WORST. 245

I remained at the bank until half-past three
o'clock, at which time I had agreed to meet Cor-
morin, at Young's. He was nearly half an hour
late, but he came, and I saw by his countenance
that every thing had gone well with him. I should
say, in the light of subsequent experience, that
every thing had gone ill with him, for the suc-
cessful concealment of guilt, whatever consequen-
ces might follow its exposure, is the greatest
misfortune that can befall a man, inasmuch as it
leads him farther and deeper into crime.

" Five thousand ; there are the identical bills
you lent me," said Cormorin, as he laid the
money upon the table before me. " I'm all right
now, and I hope I shall not have occasion to
repeat this folly."

" You will make enough by your operation in
Ballyhacks to afford you a sufficient capital for
future operations."

"That's so. I shall be worth ten or fifteen
thousand dollars next week, as sure as I live. I
am* going to pay what I owe the bank, and then
keep square with the world. You have done me
a good turn to-day, Glasswood, and I am not one
of the kind that forget such things."

" Here are your certificates. I am glad to have

246 LIVING TOO FAST.

been able to serve you," I replied, as I handed
him the papers. " You said something about
another company in which a fellow might make a
good thing."

"I did — the Bus'tumup. Its stock's going up
just as that of the Bally hack did."

"What can I have it for?"

" I am interested in this company, and if you
take the stock at once you shall have it for
twenty, though it went at twenty-two to-day."

"I will take two hundred and fifty shares of
it."

" You are sensible," replied Cormorin. " You
have the money in your fist, and you can return
it in a week or two, and put ten thousand dollars
into your pocket."

T had not told Cormorin my secret, and I think
he was anxious to have me invest the five thou-
sand dollars, I had taken from the bank, that we
might stand on an equal footing. He desired to
possess as strong a hold upon me as I had upon
him. I was satisfied of the truth of what he had
told me in regard to his own " coppers." I had
inquired for myself, and I realized that he was
making ten if not fifteen thousand dollars by his
operation.

PROVIDING FOR THE WORST. 247

I felt compelled to take the step he suggested.
I owed my bank three thousand dollars, and while
Aunt Rachel was so feeble, I had no hope of
obtaining the amount from her. I must do some-
thing to save myself from possible exposure. The
brilliant example of Cormorin loomed up before
me. If he had made a large sum in " coppers,"
there was no reason why I should not do the
same. It was necessary that I should make the
effort, and- I gave him the five thousand dollars
he had just returned to me, to be invested in
Bustumups.

"It will be a safe operation, Glass wood," con-
tinued Cormorin. " Bustumups are sure to go
up."

I did not regard this last expression as one to
be taken in the metaphorical sense.

" You have looked into this matter, Cormorin,
and of course you understand it. As things now
stand, you and I must hang together."

" That's so ; count on me for anything you
want."

" Thank you. Now won't you have a bottle of
champagne with me?"

"I am much obliged to you, Glass wood, but I
can't stop any longer now. I must get your stock

248 LIVING TOO FAST.

for you before four, or it will cost you twenty-
five to-morrow."

" You are confident that this is a safe thing for
me — are you not ? "

"Oh, perfectly confident!" exclaimed he. "If
you don't believe in it, don't do it."

" I rely upon your statements, and go in upon
the assurance of what you say."

" Of course you must run your own risk. I can
only advise you to do what I would do myself."

"That's enough."

He left me to procure the certificates of stock
in the Bustumup Company. I was to wait in the
private room I had taken until his return. I was
alone, and when I began to think what I was
doing, I was appalled at the possibility of failure.
I was in debt to the bank in the sum of eight
thousand dollars. If my investment should go
wrong I could not hope to make good the loss.
I should be obliged to flee from my wife and
my home, and end my days in exile, if I should be so
fortunate as to escape without detection. A cold
sweat stood on my forehead as I thought of the
possibility of discovery, of being arrested even
before I supposed any one suspected me, and of
being condemned to the State Prison for ten
years or more.

PROVIDING FOR THE WORST. 249

I rang the bell, and ordered a bottle of cham-
pagne. I drank several glasses of it, and the
fumes went to my brain. I felt better. My
thoughts began to flow in another direction under
the influence of the sparkling fluid. Bustumups
would advance every day. In a week or two
they would go up to a hundred dollars a share.
If they did this, I should make twenty thousand
dollars, besides having my capital returned to me.
I should be able to pay off the bank, and have
seventeen thousand dollars left. My dream of
future success was colored with the pinkiest tint
of the wine I drank.

I intended to be cautious. If, after my stock
had gone up to fifty, there were any signs of a
reaction, I would sell, and still make ten thousand
dollars. Cormorin was sure the stock would be
twenty-five the next day. If it was, I should
clear twelve hundred and fifty dollars. But if it
only went up to thirty-five in a week, it would
enable me to pay off what I owed the bank, and
I should be content even with that.

My new friend brought me the coveted shares,
and helped me finish the bottle of champagne
before me. For some reason or other he declined
to punish a second one with me, and we sepa-

250 LIVING TOO FAST.

rated. I went home with my shares in my pocket.
When the fumes of the champagne passed off, I
was uneasy again. I felt that I stood upon the
brink of a precipice. If Bustumups went down
instead of going up, I was ruined. There was no
possible way for me to redeem myself.

Though my uncle knew I was dealing in stocks
— or rather took my word for it — aod was
plunging into a sea of speculation, he did not
warn me against it. He had not a word of cau-
tion to utter, and probably had no suspicion
that I might be tempted to meddle with the
funds of the bank. If he had been as solicitous
as he pretended to be for my welfare, he would
have warned me of the perils of my course. For
my own part, my uncle was a mystery to me.

Lilian with the black silk in prospect, was as
happy as a queen. In the evening Tom Flynn
called. He was hardly seated before Mrs. Oli-
phant and Bertha made us a call. " Dear ma "
appeared to be cured of her evil propensity, prob-
ably because another daughter, through my indi-
rect agency, was in a fair way of being disposed
of. We had sacred music, and a lively time gen-
erally. I was quite satisfied that Tom would, at
no distant day, make my wife's sister his bride.

PROVIDING FOR THE WORST. 251

This prospect was quite enough to appease Mrs.
Oliphant, and she really looked quite amiable
under the indications of this happy event.

Tom escorted Bertha and her mother home at ten

4

o'clock, and the next day the noble fellow told me
with a blush, that he did not leave the house on
Tremont Street till the clock struck twelve. A
question or two from me brought out the fact that
they were engaged. I envied Tom — he was so
happy. Why should he not be ? He owed the
bank nothing. He had not soiled his soul by
taking what did not belong to him. He was a
strictly moral and religious young man. He would
have gone without his dinner rather than stay
away from the evening prayer-meeting. I say I
envied him. I did; and I would have given all
the world, had it been mine to give, for his peace
of mind.

I could not sleep that night when I went to
bed. I got up and drank nearly half a bottle of
Smith's old sherry, which stupefied my brain, and
gave me the needed rest from the goadings of
conscience and the terrors of the future. My fate
depended upon the success of the Bustumup Com-
pany. If that went down, I might be called at
any time to flee from my wife, and wander in fear

252 LIVING TOO FAST.

and trembling as an exile in some strange land.
If I was in peril of exposure I could not remain
to face the blast of popular condemnation. My
pride would not permit me to live where any
man could look down upon me with either pity
or contempt.

At twelve o'clock, when I run out for a lunch,
I found that Bustumups were quoted at twenty-
five. This fact assured me, for already I had
practically paid off more than one-third of my
debt. The stock went a little higher before two
o'clock, and my courage was correspondingly
increased. I was rather disturbed, however, at
the close of the bank, to see my uncle in close
conversation with Mr. Bristlebach. I fancied that
I was the subject of their remarks, especially as
the president cast frequent glances at me. Cap-
tain Halliard looked ugly.

I had shown him a portion of the certificates
which Cormorin had lent me. He was a shrewd
business man, and though he had not objected to
the statement that I had saved half my salary,
and invested it in stocks, he might well have
doubted the truth of it. Perhaps he had been
thinking over my affairs, and had come to the
conclusion that my assertions were doubtful. On

PROVIDING FOR THE WORST. 253

two occasions lie had driven me up to the pay-
ment of money, and both times I had met the
demand.

Cormorin told me that he always ascertained
when the directors intended to make an examina-
tion. Captain Halliard meant mischief. He
intended, at least, to put me in condition to let
Aunt Rachel alone. I am confident he did not
really believe that I had borrowed any thing of
the bank ; but probably he wanted to satisfy him-
self that I did not obtain my ready money from
the drawer. As the conversation continued I
became alarmed. The President almost invariably
left the bank soon after two o'clock. To-clay he
remained. As he had done once before since I
occupied my position, he might examine the con-
dition of the cash department.

I meant to be on the sure side. I ran into the
bank where Cormorin was, and told him what I
suspected. He promptly offered to help me out,
on the same terms that I had performed a similar
service for him.

" I want eight thousand, I whispered. " I will
return it to-morrow morning."

"Eight thousand!" exclaimed he. "Why, you
are only five thousand short.

254 LIVING TOO FAST.

" Eight," I replied, firmly.

" How's that ? "

" I was three thousand short when I made the
little arrangement."

" Thunder ! " ejaculated he, impatiently. " Then
you are the eagle and I am the lamb."

" We are both honest fellows, and mean to pay
all we owe," I replied. " Do you suppose I would
have accommodated you, the other day, if I had
not been in hot water myself ? Of course if I go
down, you go with me."

" But the security?" he asked.

" Two hundred and fifty shares of Bustumups."

" They are worth only six thousand or so."

"But will be worth more than eight in a few
days; you shall have your bills back to-morrow
morning, without fail."

I gave him my certificates and he handed me the
money ; but he gnashed his teeth as he did so.
If I fell, I should drag him down with me.

" Is everything right in your drawer ? " asked
Heavyside, the cashier, slyly, of me, when I
returned.

" Certainly it is," I replied. " Why do you
ask ? "

" Bristlebach is going to look over our accounts
and cash this afternoon."

PROVIDING FOR THE WORST. 255

" All right," I answered, carelessly.

I deposited tlie eight thousand in my drawer,
balanced my cash, and put the trunk into the
safe. Paying no attention to any one, and espe-
cially not to my uncle, 1 sauntered leisurely out of
the bank.

CHAPTER XVIII.

BUSTUMTJPS AT FIFTY.

BY the ruse in which Cormorin had instructed
me, and for which he had furnished the
funds, I had provided against any exposure. By
this time I was fully satisfied that my uncle was
working against me ; not that he intended to ruin
me, but only to maintain his own power and in-
fluence over me. There are men of this stamp in
the world, who will punish their best friends
when they refuse to be guided by them. Cap-
tain Halliard was as jealous of his influence as he
was of his money.

As my account with the bank was now square,
I had no fear of the investigation which was in
progress. Mr. Heavyside, who had never been
suspected of even an irregularity, had been so
kind as to inform me of the proposed examination.
I had in him a good friend, and a mortgage on
his future fidelity to me. I should defeat my
uncle this time, as I had before, but it was
annoying to be subjected to his espionage, though

256

B US TUMUPS A T FIFT T. 257

I could not afford to have a serious quarrel with
him.

I went home at about the usual hour. My
Bustumups had done so well that I was tolerably
light-hearted. Lilian was as joyous as a dream
in June. Bertha had been with her all the fore-
noon, and I heard much in praise of Tom Flynn.
We dined, and then I proposed to Lilian that we
should ride out into the country. She was glad
to go, and we went. On my return home at six
o'clock, Biddy handed me a note from Mr. Bristle-
bach. I recognized his heavy hand-writing, and
my blood ceased to flow in its channels. I tore
open the envolope. It was simply a request to
appear at the bank immediately.

What could it mean ? My cash was all right.
They could not have discovered the truth. That
was simply impossible. If there was any trouble
at the present time, Cormorin, and not myself,
would be the sufferer. If there had been a dis-
covery of the whole truth, Mr. Bristlebach was
not the man to have sent a note to me ; he would
have sent a constable. I decided to go at once
to the bank, for I was satisfied, from the manner
in which the message had come, and by the assur-
ance that my cash was all right, that nothing
IT

258 LIVING TOO FAST.

very serious could be charged upon me. I told
Lilian I was going down town for an hour, and
she did not bother me with any troublesome ques-
tions.

On my arrival at the bank I found the presi-
dent and my uncle in the directors' room. Both
of them looked severe, but Captain Halliard did
not seem to be so much at his ease as usual. I
knew him well enough to be able to read his
thoughts, and whatever mischief was brewing he
was at the bottom of it.

" Mr. Glass wood, of course you are aware that
there is a deficiency in your account? " said Mr.
Bristlebach.

"No, sir, I am not aware of it," I replied;
and as I spoke the literal truth, I answered with
confidence.

"You are not?"

"No, sir."

" Did you balance your cash to-day ? "

"I did, sir; and at half-past two it was all
right."

" You put a bold face on the matter."

" Certainly I do, sir. I am innocent of the
charge, and I can afford to speak the truth."

" Nevertheless, your cash is short."

BUSTUMUPS AT FIFTT. 259

" It was not short at half-past two to-day," I
replied, glancing at nry uncle.

He was uneasy, and did not confront me when
I gazed at him.

" It is not a large deficiency," added Mr. Bris-
tlebach, "but large enough to demand inquiry."

" May I ask how much you found it short," I
inquired.

" Only three hundred dollars."

There may be some mistake — I hope there is,"
suggested my uncle.

"Who counted the cash ? " I asked.

" We counted it together," replied the presi-
dent. "I wish to add that I do not regard you
as a defaulter or any thing of that sort. I sent
for you to enable you to explain the matter."

" I have no further explanation to make. I
left my cash all right to-day," I added, confi-
dently.

" He is so sure, that I rather think some mis-
take has been made," added Captain Halliard.

" Probably there has been. Mr. Glasswood, I
have had the utmost confidence in you. When I
suspected you before, a second examination con-
vinced me of your integrity. I have no doubt it
will be so this time."

260 LIVING TOO FAST.

" I cannot undertake to keep my cash right, if
other persons are allowed to go to my drawer,"
I continued, rather savagely.

"What!" exclaimed my uncle, springing to his
feet.

" I said what I meant to say," I replied.

The remark hit just where I intended it should.
Mr. Bristlebach and my uncle had been counting
my cash. I had left it all right. If the deficiency
was insignificant, it was still enough to ruin me.
I had already made up my mind how my cash
happened to be short. If the president had made
the examination himself there would have been
no deficiency. Of course I mean to say that Cap-
tain Halliard himself had been the author of the
mischief. In other words, he had either taken
three hundred dollars from my cash, or had falsely
reported his count.

Before I ventured to make this violent state-
ment, I put my uncle fairly on trial, and called
up all the circumstances of our present relations
to testify against him. He was determined to
maintain his influence over me, and to prevent
me from saying any thing to Aunt Rachel about
him. I had refused to give up my house at his
bidding, and prevented him from obliging his

BUSTUMUPS AT FIFTY. 261

friend, Mr. Brentbone. I had roundly reproached
him for his conduct to me, and used language
which he could not tolerate in any one. I was
satisfied that he had a strong motive for desiring
to obtain a hold upon me.

A strong motive, however, is not sufficient to
explain so dastardly an act as that in which I had
dared to implicate my uncle. A man of integrity,
simply an honest man, would not be guilty of so
vile a deed. Was my uncle capable of such an
act? He had procured my situation for me by
bringing up a charge against Tom Flynn which
both he and I knew was false — one which he
himself had disproved as soon as his purpose was
accomplished. If he would do one mean thing,
he would not halt at another.

He had compelled me to pay the thousand dol-
lars I owed Aunt Rachel, out of sheer malice, and
only to put me in a position where he could con-
trol me. The mild speech of the president of the
bank assured me that I was not to be harshly
dealt with; and my uncle gently suggested that
there might be a mistake.

"Be careful what you sa}^, Mr. Glass wood,"
said the president. " Now I'm going out to get
a cup of tea ; when I come back we will ascer-
tain whether there is a mistake or not.

262 LIVING TOO FAST.

Mr. Bristlebach left the room. My uncle looked
embarrassed, thrust ., his fingers into his vest
pockets, and seemed to be feeling for something.
I was tempted to spring upon him, and throw
out the contents of those pockets, for I was satis-
fied that the deficiency in my cash could be
accounted for only in that way.

" Paley, you have been speculating in coppers,"
said he.

" I have ; but that is my business," I replied,
roughly.

"I propose to pay the bank the amount your
cash is short, and to hush the matter up where
it is."

"I don't ask you to do any thing of the sort."

" I am on your bond, and I must do it. No
matter about that. I( expected, after you told me
what you were doing in coppers, to find a deficit
of thousands. I was prepared to pay even that,
for you are of my own flesh and blood."

" You are very affectionate!"

" I have succeeded in quieting Mr. Bristle-
bach."

" I see you have."

" You talk to me as though I had done you an
injury instead of a kindness," added he, reproach-
fully"

BUSTUMUPS AT FIFTT. 263

" That is what you have clone."

" Your cash is three hundred short," said he,
putting his hands into his vest pockets again.

Perhaps I was insane under the pressure of his
implied charge ; at any rate, under the impulse of
the moment, without consciously determining to
do it, I sprung upon him like a tiger ; and hav-
ing no warning of my purpose myself, I gave him
none. I thrust my hands into his vest pockets,
and drew from them whatever they contained. I
retreated into the farther corner of the room to
examine my capture. The deed was done so quick
that Captain Halliard had no time to resist, though
he seized me by the shoulders. I was furious,
and shook him off like a child.

" What do you mean, you villain ? " gasped he.

I paid no attention to him, but proceeded to
examine my prize. Among other things I found
three bills, of one hundred dollars each.

" Do you mean to rob me, Paley ? " demanded
he ; but, like Hamlet's ghost, he appeared to be
"more in sorrow than in anger;" and more in
fear than in sorrow.

" Do you carry your money in your vest pockets,
sir?" I demanded.

" Sometimes I do."

264 LIVING TOO FAST.

" You took these bills from my trunk when you
counted my cash."

"Nonsense, Paley!"

"I can swear to one of them, at least," I re-
plied, holding up one of the bills, on the face of
which some clown had written a -sentence about
depreciated currency, that had attracted my atten-
tion. " I left this bill in my trunk in the vault
at half-past two to-day ; at half-past six I find it
in your pocket."

" Do. you think—"

" I know ! " I interrupted, him, in the most
savage manner. "If I can find a policeman, I
will put you on the track to the State Prison."

" Don't be absurd, Paley," interposed my uncle ;
but I saw that there was no heart in the remark.
" There must have been a mistake in the count-
ing."

" You stole this money from my trunk to get
me into trouble."

" Didn't *I tell the president that I would pay
the deficit ? " asked my uncle. " Hush up ! There
comes Mr. Bristlebach! Not a word of this to
him."

" You confess, then, that you took this money
from my trunk ? "

BUSTUMUPS AT FIFTT. 265

" By-and-by we will talk about it," he replied,
with much agitation.

I had proved my case. . My uncle was a villain.
He had taken three hundred dollars from my
cash — not enough to make me look like a de-
faulter— for the purpose of maintaining his influ-
ence over me, and to keep me from telling bad
stories about him to Aunt Rachel. Guilty as I
was, I made myself believe that I was an inno-
cent man, because I was not guilty in the direc-
tion he accused me. Mr. Bristlebach returned to
the room.

" I am satisfied, from what Mr. Glasswood says,
that there must have been a mistake in our
count," said my uncle. " As I told you, I was
confident my nephew was honest, but I was fear-
ful, when I learned that he had been speculating
in coppers. I thought, as I was on his bond, we
had better look into the matter. I am perfectly
satisfied now."

This very consistent statement was assented to
by the president, but my cash was counted again,
at the request of Captain Halliard. I was in
doubt whether to restore the three hundred I had
wrested from the conspirator, but I concluded
that I could not afford to expose him. We counted

266 LIVING TOO FAST.

the cash, which was mostly in large bills, and of
course I was fully vindicated. The president was
profuse in his apologies, and my uncle was kind
enough to take the burden of the blunder on
himself. He could even see where he had made
the mistake. I left the bank with him, and we
walked up the street together.

" That was an awkward mistake of mine," said
he.

"Very," I replied, with a sneer.

"But I think I can explain it."

" I don't think you can."

" You seem to have taken it into your head
that I mean to injure you."

'•I have."

" You are mistaken. I am on your bond.
Money is so plenty with you, that I was afraid I
might be called upon to pay the bond. Bristle-
bach is so intimate with me that I could satisfy
myself without doing you any harm. That was
all I intended."

" And that's the reason why you took three
hundred dollars out of my trunk, I suppose ? "

" Mr. Bristlebach handed me that money him-
self. I wanted to pay out that amount to-night,
and I drew a check for it. I entirely forgot it

BUSTUMUPS AT FIFTY. 267

when we counted the cash, and that was the
deficit. Here is the check ; as you put the money
back, I took the check from your drawer. That's
the whole story."

" Why didn't you explain it to Mr. Bristlebach,
then ? " I asked, believing not a word he said.

u Because it was so stupid of me to forget that
the check had been paid out of your cash."

44 Very stupid, indeed ! "

"I will tell him about it to-morrow," added
my uncle.

As I have said before, a man in my situation
could not afford to quarrel with one so powerful
as Captain Halliard. I kept my own counsel, not
wholly certain that he would not yet be called
upon to pay the amount of his bond on my ac-
count. We parted in peace, and I was abun-
dantly pleased that I had been able to fight off
the charge.

The next morning, when I went to the bank,
I took the eight thousand from the cash, which
Cormorin had lent me, and returned it to him.
He was a happy man then. I doubt whether
he slept a wink the night before, for the idea of
being responsible for my deficit, as well as his
own, could not have been very comforting to
him.

268 LIVING TOO FAST.

I was all right at the bank, and my uncle
treated me with " distinguished consideration.' ■
On several occasions he assured me he should use
his influence in my favor with Aunt Rachel. If
I wished for the money he had compelled me to
pay — solely for my own good — he would let me
have it again. Indeed, if I was short at any time,
he would lend me a thousand dollars. I thought
I might have occasion to avail myself of his offer,
and I was pleasant and pliable. I said nothing
more about the three hundred dollars.

For a week all was well with me. Bally hacks
went up to seventy-five ; but Bustumups were
slower, and had only touched forty in the same
time. This figure satisfied me, inasmuch as it
enabled me to pay my debt at the bank. Yet I
believed, with the utmost confidence, that there
was five or ten thousand more in the stock for
me, and as long as things were easy at the bank,
I did not think of realizing.

Then I was sick for ten days, and was obliged
to stay in the house, but even while my brain was
on fire with fever I went down town one day.
I dared not leave my deficit to be discovered by
my substitute. I compelled poor Cormorin to lend
me the eight thousand again, on the security of

BUSTUMUPS AT FIFTY. 269

my Bustumups. They were worth nearly this sum
in the market by this time, and he did not object
very strenuously.

As soon as I was able to get out, I hastened
back to the bank, and took my place at the coun-
ter. Cormorin had sold his stock at eighty. Bus-
tumups were quoted at fifty, with a prospect of
a further advance. My friend had made thirteen
thousand dollars. When I had made him whole, he
nstantly resigned his place, fearful, I think, of
getting into trouble through my agency. He went
to New York, to go into business there. I did
not care. My stocks at fifty paid my debt, and
left me forty-five hundred surplus. I was excited
over the prospect. I should be a rich man in a
few weeks.

But everything did not turn out just as I anti-
cipated.

CHAPTER XIX.
A CRASH IN COPPERS.

I WAS worth forty-five hundred dollars while
Bustumups were quoted at fifty. Every day,
while they hung at about this figure, I debated
with myself the policy of selling, paying my debt,
and investing my surplus in some other concern.
Perhaps I should have done so, if I had known
of a company in which I could place entire con-
fidence. I missed Cormorin very much, for I
needed his advice ; and I had come to regard him
as an oracle in the matter of coppers.

It looked like madness to sacrifice a stock
which might go up to eighty or a hundred, as the
Ballyhack had, and though my debt worried me,
I could not make up my mind to let it go. If I
could put ten thousand dollars in my pocket, my
fortune would be made, for with this sum I could
operate on a large scale. There was no danger
of another examination of my cash at present, and
I was secure. But Bustumups did not advance
as rapidly as I wished. They hung at about fifty.

270

A CRASH IN COPPERS. 271

I was told that parties were investigating the
condition of the mine, and that as soon as
they reported, the stock would go up as rapidly
as Bally hack had done. I was willing to wait
patiently for a week or two, while the stock about
held its own. Its trifling fluctuations up and
down troubled me, but the parties who worked it
convinced me that these were only accidental
changes.

Though I saw my uncle every day, he did not
allude to his own villainy, and I was prudent
enough to wait until I was out of the woods before
I did so. In the course of a couple of weeks,
when I had made my ten thousand dollars, I
intended to resign my position, and then I could
afford to express my mind very freely to Captain
Halliard. With ten thousand dollars in my ex-
chequer, I could go into any business that suited
me, and make money enough to support me in
a style becoming my abilities.

I still had strong hopes that the fortune of
Aunt Rachel would be mine. She was now appar-
ently rapidly regaining her health, and I deter-
mined to improve my chances as soon as I could.
On the following Saturday afternoon I took Lilian
down to Springhaven with me, and we both used

272 LIVING TOO FAST.

our best efforts to win her regard. I took her
out to ride, I read to her, and the old lady seemed
as fond of me as when I was a boy. I was her
only nephew, and it had been often reported that
I was to be her heir, though on what authority
I did not know. I invited her to spend a week
or a month at my house in Boston, and she prom-
ised to do so as soon as she was able.

A rumor that the parties who were investigat-
ing the condition of the mine intended to make a
favorable report sent Bustumups to fifty-five, and
I was very happy. I was worth nearly six thou-
sand dollars. At the end of another week the
stock went up to sixty, and the balance of worldly
wealth in my favor was seven thousand dollars.
The game was becoming intensely exciting. Another
week or so would realize all my hopes. I should
be free and safe.

While every thing was in this cheerful condi-
tion Aunt Rachel sent for me, and I hastened to
Springhaven, for I could not afford to neglect her
summons. She was ready to go home with me,
and she accompanied me to my house in Need-
ham street. The old lady was a little surprised
to find that I lived in elegant style, as she was
pleased to express it ; but then she regarded the

A CRASH IN COPPERS. 273

salary I received, which was double what her
minister had, as princely in itself. Simple as
were her views of social economy, she did not
accuse me of extravagance. Lilian understood
the matter perfectly, and was all tenderness and
devotion.

One morning, after she had been at our house
three days, Aunt Rachel asked me if I knew a
certain Squire Townsend, a lawyer, whom the old
lady had been acquainted with in the early years
of her life. I had heard of him. He was an
attorney of the old school, and I hoped she in-
tended to make her will while she was thus
kindly disposed towards me. She begged me to
see the old gentleman, and ask him to call upon
her during the forenoon.

" Do you see much of Captain Halliard, Paley ? "
asked my aunt, as I was going out.

" I see him nearly every day."

" I wonder he has not been up to see me yet,"
added the old lady.

I did not wonder. I had not taken the trouble
to tell him that Aunt Rachel was at my house.

" Do you wish to see him? " I asked.

"Not particularly. He has^ done considerable
business for me."
18

274 . LIVING TOO FAST.

44 I know it. He did some for you while you
were sick."

"Did he?"

" He made me pay the thousand dollars I bor-
rowed of you."

" What, Captain Halliard ! " exclaimed the old
lady.

44 He did."

"Why, I didn't tell him to do that."

"I know you didn't, but he showed me a power
of attorney from you, and I couldn't have helped
myself if I had wished to do so ; but I paid it,
and it's of no consequence now."

" I didn't mean you should pay that money.
I shouldn't have cried if you had never paid it.
I'll talk with Squire Townsend about it. Couldn't
you take care of my property for me just as well
as your ancle? "

44 Well, I suppose I could," I replied, rather
indifferently.

44 1 never liked your uncle very well. He is
too sharp for me. I'll see what can be done."

44 I wouldn't say anything about meddling with
Captain Halliard, at present," I suggested, for I
was somewhat afraid of him myself.

44 I'll see about it ; but I didn't mean he should

A CRASH IN COPPERS. 275

trouble you about that money. He'd no business
to do it, and I shall tell him so when I see him."

I did not intend she should see him at present.
I went to the office of Squire Townsend, on my
way down town, and left a message for him to
call upon my aunt. I was fully persuaded in my
own mind that she intended to make a will, and
that she had come up to Boston in order to have
the instrument drawn up by her old friend. Every
thing looked rosy to me, for the old lady would
certainly leave me the larger portion, if not the
whole, of her worldly wealth.

When I went home in the afternoon I learned
that Squire Townsend had spent a couple of
hours with Aunt Rachel, but Lilian had not
heard a word that passed between them. Then
the squire had called a carriage, and they had
gone off together. I was not very anxious to
know where they had gone, though I concluded
that it was only to the office of her old friend for
the purpose of having the will properly signed
and witnessed. Now, as always before, Aunt
Rachel kept her own counsel. She never told
how much she was worth, or what she intended
to do with her property. She was true to her
antecedents, and during the remainder of her stay

276 LIVING TOO FAST.

she never mentioned the nature of her business
with Squire Townsend, as she invariably called
him. She said a good deal about the worthy law-
yer's history, and told stories about him at school.
She was glad to meet him once more before she
left the world, but she did not hint that she had
special business with him.

The old lady staid her week out, and then said
she must go home. She did not think the city
agreed with her. She did not sleep as well nights
as at Springhaven. Both Lilian and I pressed
her to remain longer, and promised to do every
thing we could to make her happy, but she was
resolute, and I attended her home, a week to a
day- from the time she arrived.

I never saw her again.

During the week that Aunt Rachel was with
me, Bustumups began to look a little shaky. From
sixty the stock went down to fifty-five in one day,
but it immediately rallied, and those who managed
it assured me it was only because money was a
little tight, and a considerable portion of the stock
had been forced upon the market. I proposed to
sell, as I had promised myself that I would on
the first appearance of a decline.

"Don't do it," said the operator. " Wait three

A CRASH IN COPPERS. 277

days, and you can take sixty, if not sixty-five,
for your stock. If you crowd it upon the market
at once, you will drive it down, and cheat your-
self out of twelve hundred dollars."

"But it looks shaky," I pleaded.

" The best stocks on the street go up and down
by turns. Wait till day after to-morrow, at least."

I did wait, because I did not like to have
twenty-five hundred dollars taken out of my pocket
at one swoop. Two days after, I was in a fever
of anxiety about my Bustumups. They had gone
up and down under the influence of various
rumors, good and bad, and no one could foresee the
end. At noon Tom Flynn went out for his lunch.

"The coppers are in a bad way," said he, tak-
ing his place at the counter on his return.

" What is the matter with them ? " I inquired,
with my heart in my throat, for my very reputa-
tion rested upon the prosperity of the coppers.

" Bally hacks have dropped down from eighty
to fifty," added Tom.

"What?" I exclaimed.

"That's what they say. Did you own any?"

"No no; no Ballyhacks," I replied, struggling
to conceal my emotion.

I had not told Tom I was speculating in cop-

278 LIVING TOO FAST.

pers, and I think he knew nothing about it,
though he might have heard something of the
kind.

" Did you own any coppers ? " he inquired, with
a tone and look that indicated the sympathy he
felt for me.

" None of any consequence," I replied.

I dared not talk with him about the matter lest
I should expose my emotion. With the stunning
intelligence he had communicated to me on my
mind, it was simply impossible for me to discharge
my duties in the bank. I could hardly tell a
hundred-dollar bill from a thousand. I told the
cashier that I was sick, and was fearful that I
should faint again if I did not get out in the air.
He took my place, and I staggered out into the
street. There were people on the sidewalk, but I
could not see them. Every thing seemed to be
without form or shape. I was in a fearful agony
of mind, and dreaded lest I should drop senseless
upon the pavement.

I went into a saloon and drank a glass of brandy.
I sat down at one of the little tables to gather
up my shattered senses. Ruin stared me in the
face. If Ballyhacks had fallen from eighty to fifty,
what hope could there be for Bustumups ? After

A CRASH IN COPPERS. 279

all, the mischief might be confined to this partic-
ular stock, and mine might be still on the top of
the wave. The brandy I had drank seemed to
have no effect upon me. I took another glass,
and my courage began to rise a little. The
saloon was nearly filled with people, and there
was a confused jabber of tongues all around me.
Men spoke to me, and called me by name. I
replied mechanically, but I could not have told a
minute later who had spoken to me.

44 But they are a fraud," said a gentleman,
seating himself at the table next to mine.

" Certainly they are," replied the other. " The
Ballyhack mine has produced some copper ; but
they say there is not a particle of metal on the
Bustumup track — not an ounce ! The managers of
this affair ought to be indicted and sent to the
State Prison."

" Merciful Heavens ! " I ejaculated to myself,
" I am ruined ! "

" Ballyhack has gone down to forty within half
an hour," added one of the gentlemen.

" I heard a man offer Bustumups just now for
twenty, and people laughed at him," added the
other. " I don't believe they will bring ten."

" Probably not. There is not a dollar of value

280 LIVING TOO FAST.

in them. The thing is an unmitigated swindle."
The whole of the savage truth was poured into
my ears. A moment later, I heard some one say
that the managers of the Bustumup Company had
found it convenient to disappear. I was almost a
maniac. I cursed my folly because I had not sold
my stock when it began to look shaky. The vil-
lains who had comforted me and made promises
that I should sell at sixty were simply designing
knaves, who had fraudulently worked this stock
up to sixty, while there was not a penny of real
value in it.

The first shock bore heavily upon me, but I
soon recovered in some measure from its effect.
I went into the street, and inquired for myself, in
regard to the coppers. There were two or three
substantial companies which were actually produc-
ing metal and paying handsome dividends. The
other companies were swindles ; and Bustumup
was the most egregious humbug of the whole. I
tried to get an offer for my stock, and found it
would not bring a dollar a share. Indeed, it could
not be sold at any price. In a word, the five
thousand dollars I had borrowed from the bank
was a total loss.

I will not attempt to describe the misery into

A CRASH IN COPPERS. 281

which I was so suddenly plunged. If I had sold
my stock a week before, I might have paid my
debt and had five thousand dollars left. Now I
was a defaulter in the sum of eight thousand dol-
lars. It was horrible to think of. There was no
possible way, that I could see, to escape the con-
sequences. What should I do ?

I went back to the bank and told Mr. Heavy-
side that I was better. I resumed my place at
the counter, and did my work till the bank closed,
sustained by the brandy I had drank. I tried to
devise some plan by which I could conceal my
deficit for a time. I could think of nothing sat-
isfactory. An examination of the affairs of the
bank was sure to betray me. I was tempted to
commit suicide, as others have done under the
same pressure of guilt.

I thought of my wife, and my eyes filled with
tears, as I pictured the fall to which she would
be subjected. It was ruin to her as well as to
me. What would she do, while I was thinking of
her in my narrow cell in the State Prison ? The
thought was madness to me. I swore that this
should never be. She should not be the widow
of a living man, who could not support her,
who could give her nothing but a legacy of dis-
grace.

282 LIVING TOO FAST,

My pride rebelled as I thought of being con-
fined in the prisoners' dock, with all my former
friends and enemies staring at me. I thought of
facing my uncle after he. had been called upon to
pay the bond ; of meeting Buckleton, Shaytop,
and others to whom I had talked so magnificently.
I could not survive the crash. I could not live in
dread of the calamity that impended. While I
was thinking what to do, my uncle came into the
bank. He was a cold-blooded wretch, but he was
afraid of me.

He began to talk of coppers, as, of course, I
expected he would.

CHAPTER XX.

THE LAST STEP.

' 6 T HOPE you are not in very deep, Paley,"
I said Captain Halliard, after he had stated
the question in regard to the copper stocks.

" Not very, but I am bitten somewhat," I re-
plied, trying to look cheerful, for I could not
think of exhibiting to the enemy the state of my
affairs. " Did you own any coppers, uncle ? "

44 No ; not a copper. I had some, but I got rid
of them," replied the wily man of the world, rubbing
his hands to indicate that he was too shrewd to
be involved in any speculation that could possibly
miscarry.

44 You are fortunate."

44 Speculation is just as much a trade as any
other branch of human industry. It requires
brains, forethought, coolness. Novices should be
cautious how they venture beyond their depth, for
they are almost sure to be bitten. I am sorry you
have been trapped, Paley."

44 I'm not badly hurt, though of course the small

283

284 • LIVING TOO FAST.

loss I have experienced must make some difference
in my future arrangements. And, by the way, I
should like to avail myself of your kind offer."

" What was that ? " he asked, rather blankly.

" You offered to lend me money if I was short."

" Just so."

'* I want a thousand dollars."

" Of course you mean of your aunt's money ? "

" It won't make much difference to me whose
money it is, if I only get it."

"You shall have the thousand you paid me on
her account."

" Very well, sir."

He gave me his check for the amount, and I
wrote a note for it, payable to my aunt. The
captain wished to ascertain how much I had lost
by the copper explosion, but I evaded a definite
answer, and intimated that I was bitten to the
extent of only a few hundred dollars. I had now a
thousand dollars in my pocket, besides about a
hundred in my possession before. I felt a little
easier, though the terrible pressure of my load
still rested heavily upon me. I am not disposed to
moralize in this place upon the guilt of my con-
duct, for really the guilt at that time did not
trouble me half so much as the fear of detection.

THE LAST STEP. 285

I owed the bank eight thousand dollars. I had
" tinkered " the books- so as to account for the
deficiency, but the record would not bear a very
close examination. The fact that I was mixed up
in these miserable copper stock speculations was
quite enough to excite suspicion, for I could not
hope that the fact was unknown to the directors,
as long as my uncle knew it. I felt as though I
was living on a powder magazine which 'might
explode at any instant. The slightest accident
might reveal the whole truth to Mr. Bristlebach.

If I should happen to be sick a day, so that I
could not go to the bank, my false entries might
be detected. Even while I was in the daily dis-
charge of my duties, the president or the cashier
might be tempted to examine my accounts. On
the other hand, I might go a year or more with-
out discovery, though the chances were apparently
all against me. If I ran the risk of the future,
I should live in constant terror of an explosion.
The death of Aunt Rachel, I confidently believed,
would .enable me to pay off my debt ; and the
question was whether or not I should take the
chances of detection until the possession of her
money enabled me to set myself right with the
bank.

286 LIVING TOO FAST.

My aunt's health was so much improved that I
could not reasonably expect to have her money
for some time. In a week, a month, a year — but
be it sooner or later, it was sure to come — my
deficit would be exposed. It might be discovered
while I was at home, or at least before I had any
suspicion that I was in peril. I should have no
time to provide for my own safety. I was liable
to be arrested in my own house, without any
warning, and then nothing could save me from a
term in the State Prison.

The cold sweat dropped from my brow as I
thought of this fearful contingency. I should not
have a moment for preparation ; an opportunity to
take the first train departing from the city ; or
even to hide myself in the dark places of the
city. Cold irons on my wrists, a gloomy dun-
geon for, my resting-place, with the loathing
and contempt of my fellow-men, were all that
would be left to me then. Lilian, whom I loved
with all my soul, would be reduced to despair.
My savage mother-in-law would not cease to
reproach her, as long as my wife was a burden in
the maternal home.

I could not face the emergency. I was deter-
mined to place myself beyond the possibility of

THE LAST STEP. 287

such an awful crash. I was resolved that Lilian,
whatever she might think of me, should never be
compelled to look in upon her husband through
the bars of a prison cell. Before the discovery of
the deficit, I could make such arrangements as I
pleased. Afterwards, I could do nothing. It
seemed to me then that I had not a day or an
hour to spare. I had decided to save myself from
the consequences of one tremendous error, by
plunging into another. Of course I could not flee
from Boston with only a thousand dollars in my
pocket. I am surprised now when I consider how
easy it was for me to think of taking from the
bank no less a sum than thirty thousand dollars.
I did not now flatter myself that 1 intended only
to borrow the. money, though it did occur to me
that Aunt Rachel's fortune would in part pay my
debt. Before I left the bank that day,. I put in
my pocket ten thousand dollars, so that if my
errors were immediately discovered, I should not
be wholly unprovided for.

T went to a broker where I was not known,
and bought a thousand pounds in gold, which I
carried home in a small valise I purchased for
future use. I concealed the gold in my chamber
ready for the final move when I should be required

288 LIVING TOO FAST.

to make it. I was intensely excited by the reso-
lution I had taken, and my thoughts seemed to
move with tremendous rapidity. I had decided
upon the precise plan I intended to follow ; but
of course it was necessary for me to move with
the utmost circumspection.

I had only a day to spare, for we must leave
Boston the next evening. I must prepare Lilian
for a great change in her future. I must lay
my plans so as not to excite a breath of suspicion
in any one, especially at the bank. I had hardly
twenty-four hours left to complete my arrange-
ments. I composed myself as well as I could,
and went down to dinner. Lilian was as cheerful
as she always was when I came into the house,
and it almost started the tears in my eyes when
I thought what she would be if the world knew
the whole truth in regard to my affairs.

" Lilian, I have been unfortunate to-day," I
began, as a suitable introduction to the plan I
had to propose.

" Unfortunate ! Dear me ! What has happened ? "
she asked, dropping her pretty chin and her knife
and fork at the same time.

"I have lost a good deal of money. "

" Lost a good deal of money ? "

THE LAST STEP. 289

44 Yes, a large amount."

"Why, Paley!"

44 Don't look so sad, Lilian. It won't kill me ;
and while I have you, I need not complain."

" But how did you lose it, Paley ? "

44 By the fall of stocks."

" I showed her one of the evening papers, in
which the bursting of the copper bubble was fully
detailed. She looked at the article, but she could
not understand it, and I explained the matter to
her.

" You haven't lost all — have you, Paley?"

" No, not all, my dear. But I have something
else to tell you. How would you like to live in
Paris for a year or two ? "

" In Paris ! " exclaimed she, her face lighting
up with pleasure.

" In Paris, Lilian ; and perhaps we may go to
other parts of Europe."

44 O, I should like it above all things ! I have
always thought if I could ever go to Europe, I
should be the happiest woman in the world. But
what do you mean, Paley ? You surely do not
intend to go to Paris?

44 1 am thinking of it."

44 Are you, really ?" she continued, opening her
19

290 LIVING TOO FAST.

bright eyes so wide that her whole soul seemed
to shine out through them.

" I am, truly ; but I was thinking you would
not be able to go so soon as I should be obliged
to leave."

" O, I would go to-night, if I could only go ! "
she replied, with enthusiasm.

" I have an offer, or a partial offer, from a con-
cern in New York to act as its financial agent in
Paris."

" Accept it, Paley — do accept it. I shall be
so happy if I can only go to Paris !"

" I don't know certainly that I can have the
position, but I am pretty confident that I can."

" Don't refuse it, Paley. As you love me,
don't ! "

"But there are a great many difficulties in the
way," I suggested.

" O, never mind the difficulties ! "

"But we must mind them."

" Well, what are they ? "

" In the first place we must go to New York
to-morrow night."

" We can do that well enough. I am ready to
go to-night."

" I can't go and leave this house, and all the

THE LAST STEP. 291

furniture, paying the rent while I am gone."

" Leave it in the hands of Tom Flynn. He will
sell the furniture and let the house. There are
enough who will want it."

" That is not even the principal trouble. The
bank will not let me off without my giving some
notice, so that the officers can get another person
in my place."

" It would be mean in them to keep you when
you have a good chance to better your condi-
tion."

" I think I can manage it somehow, Lilian ; and
I feel almost sure that we shall go."

" O, I am so glad ! "

" But, Lilian, you must not tell a single soul
where you are going, or, indeed, that you are
going at all."

4 'Not tell any one! Why not?" she asked, as
if it would be a great hardship to deprive herself
of the pleasure of telling her friends that she was
going to Paris.

" I will tell you why, Lilian. It is difficult and
dangerous business. I am not sure of the posi-
tion yet. Suppose I should go to New York, and
then, after I had thrown up my situation in the
bank, find that the firm who made the partial

292 LIVING TOO FAST.

offer did not want me ? I should have lost my
present place without having obtained another."

44 That's very true. I understand you, per-
fectly."

44 If I find in New York that I can have the
position, it will be time enough for me to resign
my place in the bank. If I am disappointed, I
have only to return to my present place. If it
should get to the ears of Mr. Bristlebach that I
am doing anything of this kind, he might fill my
place in my absence — don't you see?"

"I do ; it is plain enough."

44 You can tell your mother that you are going
away to-morrow night, and that possibly I may
accept a position in New Orleans."

44 In New Orleans ? "

44 Yes ; it won't do to say any thing about
Paris yet."

44 1 am sorry we have to go off in this way ;
but I would rather do it than not go at all."

I am willing to confess that my conscience
reproached me for thus deceiving my loving wife ;
but I believed that I was doing it for her good
— to save her from a fate so terrible that
neither of us could comprehend it. We discussed
the details of the plan in full, and she promised

THE LAST STEP. 293

to be as circumspect as I could desire. We had
two traveling trunks which we had used upon
our bridal tour, and these were immediately brought
into requisition. Leaving Lilian to commence
packing, I left the house with the intention of
seeing Mr. Brentbone, who had so long been
anxious to have my house. I found him at his
lodgings. I stated my business, and inquired if
he still wished to obtain the dwelling.

" I am still open to a trade. I offered your
uncle three hundred bonus for the house," said
he.

u But I wish to sell my furniture."

"Very well; if it suits my wife, I will buy
it."

"I lost a good deal of money to-day by the
coppers, and I must change my plans."

"Ah! I am sorry for you; but I see you are
a prudent young man."

"I am in a hurry to dispose of the matter, for
I have a good chance to board now. If you and
Mrs. Brentbone will walk over to the house, we
can show you what there is in it."

The gentleman and the lady were willing, and I
accompanied them to Needham Street. Mrs.
Brentbone found some fault with the furniture,

294 LIVING TOO FAST.

and rather objected to purchasing it. I intimated
that I should riofc dispose of my lease unless I
could sell the furniture.

4 ' What do you ask for the furniture?'' he
inquired.

" Twenty-two hundred dollars, including the
piano, or seventeen hundred with >ut. I can show
you bills for fifteen hundred ; and a hundred
small things not included in them."

" You ask too much. I must pay twenty-five
hundred to get possession, at this rate," said Mr.
Brentbone. He made me various offers, but I was
satisfied that he would give my price, and I did
not abate a dollar. The trade was closed, and he
agreed to see me at the bank the next day, where
we were to pass the papers. My landlord con-
sented to endorse the lease over to the new ten-
ant. Mrs. Brentbone had a talk with Bridget,
and engaged her to remain in the place. Every-
thing was going as well as I could expect. Lilian
and I staid up till midnight packing our clothes,
and preparing for our abrupt departure.

I went to the bank as usual, the next morning.
On my way I stopped at the pianoforte ware-
rooms, and bought the piano in my house which
I had only hired, for however guilty I had been,

THE LAST STEP. 295

and intended to be, I still had a certain sense of
worldly honor, which would not permit me to do
what I regarded as a mean action, though I
acknowledge that I did not discriminate very
nicely in some portions of my conduct. But I
settled the bill for four hundred dollars.

Mr. Brentbone came according to his promise.
I gave him the lease, and the bill of sale of the
furniture for his check. My uncle happened to
come in while we were doing the business. I told
him that my losses the day before had induced
me to accept Mr. Brentbone 's offer for my house.
He commended me for my prudence. Mr. Bris-
tlebach also expressed his approbation of the
economical step I had taken, and declared that
he had more confidence in me than before. He
liked to see a young man take counsel of pru-
dence.

I took advantage of his good-nature to put in
my request for leave of absence for a single day,
to enable me to visit a friend in Albany who was
sick. The permission was promptly granted. I
balanced my cash for the last time, leaving it
thirty-eight thousand dollars short, to account for
which I altered various charges and credits, and
made several fictitious entries. The account was

296 LIVING TOO FAST.

left square, and if no particular investigation was
instituted, my deficit might remain concealed for
some time. With the twenty thousand dollars
which I had just appropriated I left the bank —
for the last time.

CHAPTER XXL

AN EXILE FROM HOME.

I WAS astonished to find that I could commit
a crime of such magnitude with so little
remorse. It is true, the sin had become, in a
measure, necessary to my salvation, and that of my
wife ; but I was only excited, not burdened with
guilt, when I did the deed. I had been traveling
very rapidly on the downward road, and in a few
weeks I had acquired a facility in crime which
enabled me to rob the bank of thirty thousand
dollars without considering any thing but the
peril of being discovered. Fatal facility, which
can only be avoided by those who refrain from
taking the first step !

I had deluded myself into the belief that
principle was only a worldly sense of honor.
Tom Flynn was a man of genuine principle, for
his actions were based upon a religious foundation,
which alone can vitalize principle. A man may
be honest because it is safer or more reputable
to be so ; but then he would steal if it were not

297

298 LIVING TOO FAST.

for being found out, and will be as dishonest as
fashion or custom will tolerate. When I had leisure
to think of the matter, I marvelled that I had
fallen so easily; and this was the explanation I
made to myself.

Tom Flynn had said as much as this to me, in
the way of argument, assuring me it was quite
impossible for a man without the love of God and
the love of man in his heart — which is the epitome
of the whole gospel — to have any genuine prin-
ciple in his soul. Any thing short of this is mere
sentiment, which is blown aside by the rude blast
of temptation. The hymn he used to sing so
much seemed to tell the whole story: —

*' I want a principle within
Of jealous, godly fear;
A sensibility to sin,

A pain to find it near."

Worldly honor, the fear of discovery, the bubble
of reputation, are not enough to keep a man in
the path of rectitude. But I will not anticipate
the reflections which were forced upon me after-
wards. I did not believe I was much worse than
the majority of young men. I certainly did not
mean to steal when I began to take money from
the bank; and even when I found it necessary to

AN EXILE FROM HOME. 299

flee from the anticipated consequences of my
errors, I had a certain undefined expectation of
being able to restore all I had taken. The for-
tune of Aunt Rachel still flitted through my mind
as the solution of the difficult problem.

I left the bank struggling to look cool and in-
different. I bowed and spoke to my acquaintan-
ces as naturally as possible. In two or three
hours more I should be out of the city, perhaps
never to see it again. I could not even go down
t<* Springhaven to see my mother — probably I
had seen her for the last time on earth. My
blood seemed like ice as the thought came to my
mind. I reflected upon all she had been to me,
all she had done for me. The prayers and the
hymns she had taught me in my childhood came
back to me as though I had learned them but
yesterday. I was amazed at my own folly and
wickedness. What a blow I was dealing to that
mother ! When she heard that her only son had
fled from his home, steeped in crime, and covered
with shame how she would weep ! For days
months and years she would groan in bitterness
of spirit.

What a wretch, what a villain, what an ingrate
I was to strike her in this cruel manner ! My

300 LIVING TOO FAST.

sense of worldly honor would have revolted at
the thought of giving her even the slightest blow
with my hand ; but how inconceivably more cruel
was the blow I was giving her by my conduct !
Could I have sooner realized the anguish which
the thought of my. mother would cause me, I
think it might have saved me.

I could not make up my mind to doom her
who had given me being, who had watched over
me in my childhood, who had loved me as none
else but God could love me, to such awful agony
as the revelation of my crime would cause her.
Was there no way to escape ? I could restore
the thirty thousand dollars. With the proceeds
of my house and furniture I could make up three
thousand more. I was really, then, only five
thousand dollars in debt — the sum which I had
lost in copper stocks. The case seemed not so
desperate, after all. I could go to Aunt Rachel,
tell her, with the genuine penitence I then felt
what a wicked deed I had done. She would lend
me five thousand dollars, and I could pay all I
owed.

My heart leaped with delight as I thought of
this remedy. But then there might be some delay
Lilian was all ready to start for New York.

AN EXILE FROM HOME. 301

It was possible that the deficit might be discovered
before I had raised the money. If it were, I was
lost. Still farther, if I paid the three thousand
dollars in my possession into the bank, I should
not have any thing to furnish another house. I
should be compelled to board, and very likely the
circumstances would drive me back to Mrs. Oli-
phant's. I shuddered as I considered it.

I thought of my mother again, and had almost
resolved to adopt the suggestion of my better
nature, when I was tempted to enter a bar-room.
I drank a glass of whiskey. The effect of strong
drink upon me was to stupefy my faculties and
make me reckless. I drank a second and then a
third glass, in as many different saloons. I for-
got my mother then. I was excited, and pictured
to myself the delights of foreign travel.

I am almost sure now, so strong was the ten-
dency upon me, that I should have carried out
the suggestion of my higher impulses, if I had
not entered the bar-room. The devil of whiskey
drove the good resolution, still in its formative
state, out of my mind. If the thought of my
mother came back to me, I drove it from me. In
this frame of mind, I could not think of humiliat-
ing myself by confessing my errors even to Aunt
Rachel, the most indulgent of women.

302 LIVING TOO FAST.

I walked up Tremont Street, thinking of the
future. The die was cast, and I refused to avail
myself of the means of escape which were open
to me. It was a sorry day for me when I turned
from the road which might have restored me to
honor and integrity. As the events proved, it
would have been better, and I should have real-
ized more than I anticipated. I had long dreamed
of seeing the wonders of the old world, and the
prospect of doing so at once had a powerful influ-
ence upon me. Within twenty-four hours I should
be on board of a steamer bound to Europe ;
but at the same time I should be an exile from
home, from honor and integrity, leaving a ruined
name and a blasted reputation behind me.

"How are you, Paley?"

It was Tom Flynn. His voice startled me. I
would rather have met any other one than him,
for his very looks seemed to reproach me.

"Ah, how do you do, Tom?" I replied, in
some confusion.

" So you are going to Albany to-night ? " he
added.

" Yes; poor Whiting is quite sick?"

"Who?"

" Whiting ; don't you know him ? "

"No; who is he?"

AN EXILE FROM HOME. 303

" I knew him in the city here, and we were
cronies."

Whiting was a myth, but I had a facility for
lying which helped me through in an emergency.

" I hope you will find him better."

44 I'm afraid, it's all up with him ; he is probably
in consumption."

44 1 am sorry for him."

44 1 suppose you knew I had sold my furniture
and lease? "

44 No ! " exclaimed he, opening his eyes.

44 Yes. Brentbone takes possession to-night."

44 1 am sorry for that, for I liked to go there."

44 The fact is, I lost heavily for me in coppers,
and I can't afford to keep that house any longer."

4i One must be prudent," said he, musing. 44 1
was afraid you were going a little too fast. Did
you lose much ? "

44 Considerable, for me."

44 If I can do any thing to help you out, Paley,
I will, with the greatest pleasure. I never had
anything to do with fancy stocks."

44 Thank you, Tom. You are fortunate. But I
must go along."

44 1 suppose you are in a hurry, so I will walk
along with you. I don't know but you will think

304 LIVING TOO FAST.

me impertinent, Paley, but I don't want to meddle
with your business, in a bad sense. I have been
thinking that something was going wrong with
you."

"With me?" I demanded, not a little startled
by this candid revelation. " Going wrong ? "

" I had an idea that you were losing money, or
that something serious troubled you."

" What makes you think so ? " I asked.

" I hardly know ; but you seem to act strangely ;
to be excited or absent-minded. Perhaps you have
lost more on coppers than you care to acknowl-
edge?"

"Well, I have lost more than I ought to lose."

"And — excuse me, Paley — but you have been
drinking."

" Only a nipper or two for a pain which often
vexes me."

"It's a dangerous practice — don't doit, Paley.
Better suffer the pain than fall into a bad habit.
I'm impudent, I know, but I can't help it. X
wouldn't have things go wrong with you for all
the world. Are you in debt ? "

" Somewhat."

" Let me help you out. With what I have saved
myself, and with what came to me from my father's

AN EXILE FROM HOME. 305

estate, I have about eight thousand dollars. Prom-
ise me that you won't drink any more, and I will
let you have money enough to help you out of
debt."

" What has the drinking to do with it ? " I
asked, rather vexed at the manner in which he
put the question.

" I am always afraid that any man who drinks
will become a drunkard. Perhaps it is a supersti-
tion ; but I can't help it, and you know that the
theory is backed up by common experience."

" I don*t think I'm in any danger ; but I am
not exactly willing to be bought up to total absti-
nence."

" I didn't mean that, Paley. You know how
much wine was drank at your party. Never mind
that now ; we will talk of it at another time.
How much do you owe ? "

44 Five or six thousand."

" So much ! " exclaimed he.

" All of that. 1 lost just five thousand on
Bustumups," I replied, desperately.

"I had no idea you were in so deep as that,"
he added, looking very serious. " But I will not
go back on myself. I will lejid you every dol-
lar I have rather than permit the world to go
20

306 LIVING TOO FAST.

wrong with you. We will talk it over when you
return from Albany."

We parted at the corner of Needham Street,
for he was going to the Oliphants to see Miss
Bertha. What could Tom mean? He had observed
that something was wrong with me. I was troubled.
If he had noticed it, perhaps others had, and it
was time for me to be gone. He was a noble
fellow, and I knew that he was deeply con-
cerned about me. From his standpoint, 1 had
been gambling in fancy stocks, had lost, and was
in imminent peril of becoming a drunkard under
the influence of my financial troubles. He wanted
to be a brother to me, but I felt humiliated by
the view he took of my case. Why should he
think I was in danger of becoming a drunkard?
It was fanaticism.

He offered to lend me money enough to pay
my debts. I could not borrow it of him. I could
not place myself under so great an obligation to
him. He tendered me the means of making myself
square with the bank ; but then I should be a
beggar, five thousand in debt, instead of travelling
like a lord in Europe, with over thirty thousand
dollars at my disposal. My pride resented his offer
and I did not give it another thought.

AN EXIL E FR OM HOME. 307

Dinner was ready when I went into the house.
Lilian had almost worn herself out in getting
ready for her departure. She told me she had
been at her mother's, and that the whole family
were astonished when she told them I had sold
out the English basement house. She had informed
them that I had an offer in New Orleans, as I had
directed her to do ; in a word, she had been faith-
ful to my instructions. Before the carriage came
for us, Mrs. Oliphant and her two daughters appeared
to bid us good-by. I must say that "dear ma"
behaved with great propriety on this trying occa-
sion, for it must be remembered that she expected
to see no more of Lilian for months, if not for
years.

We drove to the railroad station with our two
heavy trunks. It was fortunate that neither Tom
Flynn nor any one but the Oliphants took it into
his head to " see us off," or the quantity of bag-
gage we carried might have provoked inquiry.
The train, moved out of the station-house, and I
felt that I had bade farewell to Boston forever.
I had my wife, but I had sundered all ties with
every body else.

" I hope we shall not have to come back here
again next week," said Lilian, as the train began
to increase its speed.

308 LIVING TOO FAST.

" There is little danger of that," I replied.

I was obliged to admit to myself that I might
possibly be brought back by an officer, with irons
on my wrists, within a week. I had committed a
crime which would condemn me to the State Prison
for a long term of years, if discovered — and it
could not be long concealed.

" Do you really think we shall go to Europe,
Paley?"

" I have hardly a doubt of it."

" Then why didn't you let me tell mother, and
not make her think I was going to New Orleans ? "

" I told you the reasons, my dear, and I hope
you will be satisfied with them," I answered, rather
petulantly.

" Don't be cross, Paley."

" I'm not cross."

But the fumes of the whiskey I had drank
were nearly evaporated, and I did not feel right.
I could not help dreading something which I tried
to define. If Tom Flynn had suspected that
something was going wrong with me, it was
not impossible that Mr. Bristlebach, or Mr. Heavy-
side, had been equally penetrating in their obser-
vations. It was possible that, at this moment, the
bank officers were engaged in examining mv accounts

AN EXILE FROM HOME. 309

and my cash. Any attempt to verify some of my
entries must infallibly expose me.

Even without any suspicions of me, they might,
in looking over my accounts, discover the altered
figures, or the fictitious items. An accident might
betray me. Perhaps the detectives were already
on my track. Telegraphic dispatches to New
York might place officers at the station in that
city ready to arrest me when I arrived. If my
deficit was exposed, it would be impossible for me
to take a foreign-bound steamer. My photograph,
or at least my description, would be in the hands
of all the detectives.

All these reflections, all these fears and misgiv-
ings, are the penalty of crime. I was called to
endure them, as thousands of others have been ;
and those who commit crimes must remember that
these things are " nominated in the bond." But
no telegram preceded me ; no detectives dogged
my steps ; and the bank had no suspicion that
anything was wrong with me. We went to the
Fifth Avenue Hotel on our arrival in the city.

I hastened down town after breakfast, engaged
a state-room in the steamer which sailed at one
o'clock, and procured a letter of 'credit on London
for three thousand five hundred pounds, payable

310 LIVING TOO FAST.

•
to Charles Gaspiller, whose signature I left to be
forwarded to the banker. I then went to a barber,
and had my beard, except the moustache, shaved
off. "When I entered the parlor of the hotel,
Lilian did not at first recognize me. She was
talking to a lady and gentleman — a young mar-
ried couple — whose acquaintance we had made at
breakfast. They intended to sail in the afternoon
for Havana. The husband was about my size, and
not unlike me. He wore only a moustache, and
for this reason I had sacrificed my beard. If any
detectives, after a few days, should be disposed to
ascertain what had become of me, they would be
as likely to follow him to Havana as me to Liv-
erpool. It was well to be prudent and take advan-
tage of circumstances.

CHAPTER XXII.

CHARLES GASPILLER.

I HAD avoided writing my name in the register
of tile hotel, for I did not wish to leave any
recorded traces of my presence in the city. It
occurred to me that perhaps Lilian had told her
name to her new-made friends, but they would
soon be in the tropics, and out of the reach of
detectives. I regarded myself as very shrewd, and
I could not exactly see how it was possible for
any one to obtain a trace of me, after the steamer
had departed.

I had given my name at the steamer office as
Charles Gaspiller, and the money for my bill of ex-
change was to be drawn in London under this appel-
lation. I don't know how I happened to select this
name. It was a French word which probably came
back to my memory from my studies at the high
school ; but I had forgotten its meaning, though I
could read French tolerably well. When I came to
ascertain its signification, I was not a little surprised
to find that it exactly fitted my case, for it means

311

312 LIVING TOO FAST.

" to waste, to squander, to lavish." It was entirely
by accident that I chose this word, and I certainly
should not have done so had I been aware that it
covered my case so exactly.

But if I succeeded in concealing my identity
from others, I could not hide it from my wife.
If I was Mr. Gaspiller, she must of necessity be
Mrs. Gaspiller. We were not at all fitted to pass
ourselves off as French people, for my pronuncia-
tion had been so neglected at school, that I could
hardly speak a word of the language with which
I was tolerably familiar by the eye. Lilian knew
still less of it. I knew that double I in French
had a liquid sound, and I called the word Gas-
pee-ay. It would be singular that I should have
a French name, pronounced with a French accent,
and yet not be able to speak the language. I
was afraid I had made an unpleasant bed for
myself. But I determined as soon as I reached
Paris to master the language.

How could I have the assurance to tell Lilian
that her name was Gaspiller, and not Glasswood.
I might convince her that the latter was too com-
monplace to travel in Europe upon — indeed she
was already convinced of that, for she often, in
her lively manner, made fun of the cognomen. I

CHARLES GASPILLER. 313

could assure her that, while I was not to blame
for my name, the word was so inconsistent, absurd
and contradictory, that it would subject me to
ridicule. It was no part of my purpose to tell
her I was a defaulter, an exile from home, a fugi-
tive from justice. It would break her gentle heart.
Yet I was not sure that it would not come to
this.

After I had completed all my preparations, I
was in her presence with my bill of exchange and
my passage receipt in my pocket. She was talk-
ing with the lady who was going to Havana when
I entered. She looked at me, and as soon as she
recognized me, she commented merrily upon the
change which the loss of my whiskers made in
my appearance. She rose from her chair, but her
friend talked so fast that she could not at once
leave her. I knew how anxious she was to know
the final answer of the great banking-house to
which I had alluded. Upon that depended the
voyage to Europe. As soon as she could decently
do so, she tore herself away from her companion,
and sat down on the sofa at my side.

" Are you going, Paley, or not ? " she asked,
with breathless eagerness.

In answer to this inquiry I inadvertently pulled

314 LIVING TOO FAST.

out the receipt for the passage money, which
constituted the ticket. I did not at the moment
think that it ran in favor of " Charles Gaspiller,"
for I was not quite ready to tell her that I had
changed my name.

" What is this, Paley ? " she asked, blankly. " I
don't understand it."

" Don't you, my dear ? Why, it is our ticket
for a passage in the steamer to Liverpool," I
replied, cheerfully.

" This ? 'Eeceived of Charles Gas-pill-er ! ' " said
she, reading just what the letters of my new
name spelled.

How stupid I was ! Why had I not told her
in so many words, that we were to go, instead of
doing the thing in this sensational way ?

" Precisely so ; that is the French for Glass-
wood," I replied, laughing as gaily as my confusion
would permit. "I don't want Frenchmen in Paris
to call me Bois de Verre, which means wood made
of glass, or anything of that sort. The name is
Gas-pee -ay, and not Gas-pill-er."

"But how does it happen that the receipt is
given to you under this name ? "

" Because I don't want to be called Glass wood
in Europe. But, my dear, we have no time to

CHARLES GASPILLER. 315

spare now, and we shall have ten days of idle-
ness as soon as the steamer sails. So we must
not stop to discuss this matter at the present time.
We must be on board at half-past twelve, and it
is after eleven now," I continued, with sufficient
excitement in my manner to change the current
of her thoughts.

" Then we are really going!" exclaimed she,
opening her bright eyes.

" Certainly we are ; and going immediately."

" Why, I wanted to go shopping in New York,
if we were really going."

" Shopping! That's absurd! Ladies never go
shopping in New York, when they are on their way
to Paris."

" But I must write a letter to mother."

" Certainly ; you have time to do that while I
speak for a carriage and pay the bill."

I procured note paper and envelopes for her,
and went down to settle my account at the office.
The polite book-keeper asked me to indicate the
name on the register. I told him I had not written
it. I had wound my handkerchief around my right
hand, which I held up to him, and declared that
I was unable to use a pen. He was kind enough
to offer to render me the service himself.

316 LIVING TOO FAST.

" C. Gaspiller," I added, when he was ready to
write.

" What is it, sir ? "

" C. Gaspiller."

He wrote " C. Caspeare," and I was entirely
satisfied.

" Three dollars, Mr. Caspeare," said he ; and I
gave him the amount, though it was one dollar
more than the regular charge.

I was confident that I was leaving no trace of
myself here. A carriage was ordered for me, and
my trunks were loaded. I went up for Lilian,
and found that she had finished her letter. She
gave it to me to be stamped and mailed. I took
a stamp from my porte-monnaie, carefully adjusted
it upon the envelope, and put the letter in my
pocket. Of course I was not stupid enough to
mail it, since it would betray my secret to those
who could not see the necessity of keeping it.

" This is very sudden, Paley," said. Lilian, as
the carriage drove off.

" Sudden ? Why, I told you this was the way
it would have to be done, if it was done at all,"
I replied.

" I know you did. Won't dear ma be aston-
ished when she reads my letter ? "

CHARLES GASPILLER. 317

" Probably she will be," I answered ; but I
thought she would be astonished, long before she
read it.

I confess that my conscience reproached me
when I thought of the letter in my pocket, and
of the deception towards my wife, of which I was
guilty. Her father, mother and sisters would
wonder, and be permitted to wonder, for weeks if
not for months, that they did not hear from her.
It was cruel for me to deceive Lilian, and to sub-
ject her family to all the anxiety to which I thus
doomed them, but I believed that it was a stern
necessity, and I silenced the upbraid ings of the
inward monitor. With thirty thousand dollars of
stolen money in my pocket, it may be supposed
that I did not trouble myself much upon such an
insignificant matter as the peace of my wife's
friends.

We went on board of the steamer and I found
our state-room. Being one of the last engaged, it
was not the best on board, though it was a very
comfortable one. Lilian was delighted with it,
and declared that she should be as happy as a
queen in it. I was afraid she was mistaken. She
had never traveled any except on our bridal tour,
and I expected she would be sea-sick all the way.

318 LIVING TOO FAST.

But now she was excited by the prospect before
her, and by the busy scene which surrounded us.
The steamer was crowded with those who were
going, and with their friends who had come to
see them off. There was no one to say adieu to
Lilian or to me.

If, of the multitude on the wharf, there was
any one who felt an interest in me, it could only
be a detective. I was a fugitive, and I felt like
one. While Lilian was full of life and animated
by the scene, I could not help feeling depressed.
I was bidding farewell to my native land, perhaps
forever. It might never be safe for me to return.
I could not get rid of a certain sense of insecurity.
It seemed to me, after I saw the men casting off
the huge hawsers that held the ship to the pier,
that those infernal detectives must come on board
and hurry me back to a prison cell in the city
from which I had fled.

Any flurry in the crowd, the arrival of a belated
passenger, gave me a pang of anxiety which I
cannot describe. It was only when the huge
steamer was clear of the dock, and the great
wheels began to turn, that I dared to breathe in
a natural manner. Even then I was thrown into
a fresh agony, when a steam-tug came out to us

CHARLES GASPILLER. 319

to put the mails on board. I was sure, until it
was alongside, that it had been specially chartered
by the detectives to arrest me. I was determined
to jump overboard and perish in the waves, in
sight of my wife, rather than be borne back
to a long term of imprisonment in a dungeon. It
was better to die than confront my friends in
Boston.

I asked one of the officers what the tug was,
as she came alongside, that I need not be tempted
to do a deed for which there was no real neces-
sity. He assured me it contained only the mails,
and I breathed easier ; but I was not entirely sat-
isfied that the officers had not availed themselves
of this last opportunity to arrest their victim,
until the tug had cast off, and the steamer started
on*her long voyage. I was safe then. My throb-
bing heart returned to its natural pulsations.

But I could not forget the ruin and disgrace
which would vsoon cover my name and fame in
Boston. I could not shut out from my view the
horror of my mother when she learned that I
was a fugitive from justice, and that I had mocked
her fondest hopes. I was miserable for the time,
and Lilian rallied me upon my gloomy appearance.
There was a remedy which I had tried before for

320 LIVING TOO FAST.

this mental suffering. Leaving my wife for a
moment, I went down to the steward's room, and
drank a glass of whiskey. I found that lunch
was on the table, and I conducted Lilian to the
saloon. I ordered a bottle of sherry, and a few
glasses of this, in addition to what I had already
taken, soon gave my reproaches of conscience to
the winds for the time.

I do not intend to describe our voyage. It was
an unusually pleasant one, and Lilian suffered but
very little from sea-sickness. In a few days, as
the distance from my native land increased, I felt
tolerably secure from the consequences of my
crime ; but I found it impossible to get rid of the
thought of my mother and other friends at home.
Even whiskey and wine soon failed to stupefy me
unless I partook of them in inordinate quantities.
Lilian told me I drank too much, and begged me
not to do so any more. She was so gentle and
so tender that I could not refuse, for I had not
acquired a decided appetite for the intoxicating
cup. I only drank it for the solace it afforded
me, and I was fully convinced that the severe head-
aches and the disordered stomach which troubled
me were the effects of this excess. I would gladly
refrain, but there was " no peace for the
wicked.'*

CHARLES GASPILLER. 321

I will not attempt to describe my sufferings,
though I appeared cheerful and happy to my
wife. I could not wholly conceal them from her,
and she worried me with her questions, anxious
to know what ailed me. We arrived at Liverpool
and hastened on to London, for I wished to cash
my bill before it was possible for anything to go
wrong. I had no trouble in doing so. My signa-
ture had already reached the bankers, having
come out in the same steamer with me. With
the gold which I had brought, I had four thou-
sand five hundred pounds. To prevent any trace
being had of me, I went to another backer and
purchased a circular letter of credit for a thousand
pounds, investing the rest in securities which paid
me about five per cent.

We spent a month in London, seeing the sights,
and Lilian was as happy as a woman could be,
I had satisfied her that the change of name was
purely a matter of convenience^ and she soon
became accustomed to it. She wrote letters to
her mother and other friends, and gave them to
me to be mailed. I lighted my cigar with them.
We had rooms at Morley's, but we saw no one,
knew no one in the Jipusjs, except the servants.
One day, after dinner, I went out to obtain some
21

322 LIVING TOO FAST.

tickets to visit Windsor castle, leaving Lilian in the
room. When I came back I found her in terrible
excitement. She had a Boston newspaper in her
hand, which the landlord, as a special favor, had
sent up to our apartments.

"O Charles — Paley I " said she; and I saw
that she had been weeping. " What does this
mean ? "

" What, my dear ? " I asked, appalled at the
tempest which was rising.

" This paper says there is a rumor of a defal-
cation in the Forty-Ninth National Bank, and
that the paying teller has disappeared. Were not
you the paying teller, Paley ? "

She suddenly ceased to call me Charles, as I
had instructed her to do. Evidently she knew
more than I wished her to know. I took the
newspaper. It was dated about a week after our
departure from Boston. The paragraph said it
was rumored that there was a heavy defalcation
in the Forty-Ninth. The paying teller had been
missing for a week. That was all. It was mere-
ly an item which some industrious reporter had
picked up ; and the particulars had not yet been
published. Doubtless the detectives were looking
for me.

CHARLES GASP1LLER. 323

With tears in her eyes Lilian again demanded
an explanation of the paragraph. What could I
say?

CHAPTER XXIIL

MY CONFESSION.

I HAD apparently deceived my wife as far as
it was possible for me to do so. If I told
her the truth, would she not spurn me, cast me
out and despise me ? How could she do less ?
She was innocent, she was true, she was beauti-
ful; and I was afraid of her. Many and many a
time had I cursed my folly and wickedness in
departing, even for a moment, from the straight
path of rectitude. I wondered that I had been
able to delude myself into the belief that taking
even a few hundred dollars for a brief period was
not a crime.

Be warned, O young man, against the first
wrong step. While you cheat others, you are the
greatest dupe yourself.

In the excitement of seeing the wonders of
London I had found some relief from the goad-
ings of conscience, and from the terrors of the
future. Almost every day I met some Americans,
seeing the sights which attracted strangers. I
324

MT CONFESSION. 325

avoided them, for I feared that I should be recog-
nized by some one from Boston. Lilian desired
to see these Americans, but I was obliged to lead
her away from them. I was not only an exile
from home, but I felt like a leper among my own
countrymen.

I was now to face a genuine trial, not a fear,
but a reality. After reading the paragraph in the
newspaper, my wife had evidently measured my
conduct by the suspicions she entertained. By
this time she was satisfied that I had not resorted
to so much concealment in leaving Boston for the
reasons I had alleged. My course was inconsistent
from beginning to end. I could easily imagine
what had passed through her mind since she read
that paragraph.

Possibly I might succeed in lulling her suspi-
cions for the time. I might even argue her out
of them. She was innocence and simplicity, like
her father, rather than her mother, and would try
to believe what I told her. But what was the
use to attempt to deceive her any longer ? The
truth would soon dawn upon her. Yet I had not
the courage to be candid with her.

"Why don't you tell me about it, Paley?"
repeated she, anxiously, as I turned over the
newspaper.

326 LIVING TOO FAST.

"What shall I tell you, Lilian?"

" Tell me that you are not a defaulter."

" Well, I'm not, then," I replied, with a smile,
which I am sure was a very grim one.

She looked at me, and I saw her eyes fill with
tears after she had gazed at me in silence for a
moment. I think that my tone and my looks
belied my speech, and without heeding the value
of the words I used, they conveyed to her the
impression that I was guilty.

" Why do you cry, Lilian ? " I asked, moved by
her tears.

" I don't know. I can't help it. I feel just as
though something was going wrong," she replied,
covering her face with her handkerchief.

" Why, what do you mean, Lilian ? "

" Every thing looks very strange to me."

"What looks strange?"

" That we should have left so suddenly ; that I
could not even tell dear ma where we were going ;
that you were in such a hurry to reach your new
place in Paris, though we have stopped a whole
month in London. What is the reason I have
no letters from home ? "

" Because none have come, I suppose. I have
not received any," I answered, struggling to be
funny.

Mr confession. 327

" Paley, you told me, if you left for Paris, that
you should write to the bank officers, and resign
your situation. You did not do so. This paper
says you have been missing for a week, and there
is a suspicion that your accounts are not all right.
Tell me the worst, Paley. I will try to bear it,"
she continued, wiping away the tears which filled
her eyes.

I was tempted to do so. She had been worry-
ing for weeks about her letters, and she would
continue to do so as long as we remained in
Europe. No letters would come ; none could come.
Her parents and her sisters were as anxious about

her as she was about them. I could never make

«

peace on the plan which I had laid out at home.
My wife would become more and more unhappy,
and after the facts of my defalcation had been
fully published, I should be still more in dread of
meeting some American who would recognize me.
As a teller in the bank I was well known to
many of the wealthiest men of Boston. Under
existing treaties, I could be arrested in most of the
European nations, and sent back to the scene of
my crime. There was no place of safety for me.
I could not flee from the wrath to come.

" What do you suspect, Lilian ? " I inquired.

328 LIVING TOO FAST.

u I should not suspect anything, if this paper
did not say that your accounts were supposed to
be wrong. I don't know any thing about such
things, but this paragraph set me to thinking how
strange your movements were when you left Bos-
ton.' I wish I could believe it is all right. Why
don't you go to your place in Paris ? We had
to leave home at twenty-four hours' notice, be-
cause there must be no delay."

" We are going next week."

" But you have laid your plans to travel in
Europe for the next year, at least:"

What was the use for me to attempt to explain ?
It was worse than folly. I had told Lilian so many
stories, without regard to their consistency, that
she knew not what to believe. I was disgusted
with myself.

" I don't see where you got so much money,
either, Paley," she added.

" Do you think I stole it ? " I asked, somewhat
severely.

" I'm afraid you did," she answered, with a
shudder.

" You are ? "

" When I think of it, I am really afraid you
did. Here we are in London under an assumed

MT CONFESSION. 329

name. All your papers call you Charles Gaspiller.
You told me you had over thirty thousand dollars
too."

" I should have had more if I had not lost any,"
I replied, in rather a surly tone.

" Tell me the whole truth, Paley. Let me
know the worst. If my husband is a — "

" A what ? "

" A defaulter, a thief. Let me know it," said
she, with a burst of agony.

" A thief!" I exclaimed, springing to my feet.

"Don't be angry, Paley."

" When my wife calls me a thief, we have been
together long enough," I added, sternly.

I took my hat, and rushed out of the room. I
was angry, but my wrath was of only a moment's
duration. I went out into the Strand, and walked
at a furious pace till I reached the American
Agency. I wished to know the worst. If I had
been published as a defaulter in Boston, I was no
longer safe in London. I wished to see a file of
Boston papers. I had not thought of looking at
them before, because I desired to banish my native
land from my mind.

I turned the folios till I came to the one which
Lilian had seen. I read the paragraph again. It

330 LIVING TOO FAST.

was very vague. It did not say that the missing
teller was a defaulter ; it only hinted at something
of the kind, for the inference always is, when a
bank officer disappears, that his cash is short.
I turned over the sheet to find something more
about the matter. There was nothing else about
me or the bank ; but as I examined the paper, my
eyes rested for a moment on the list of deaths.
- " In Springhaven, 15th inst., Miss Rachel Glass-
wood, 67 years."

My aunt had passed away on the very day that
I sailed from New York ! How I cursed myself
again and again ! If I had not fled I should cer-
tainly have been able to pay my debt to the bank
in a short time, for I was confident she had left
me enough for this. I had banished myself from
home for nothing. I had suffered tortures which
no innocent man can understand or conceive of,
and years of misery were still before me. I had
made up my mind long before, that honesty was
the best policy; and I even had a glimmering
conception of something higher than this. I was
sure I should have been happier with poverty and
hard labor for my lot, if I could only have been
honest.

How I envied Tom Flynn ! His piety, which I

MT CONFESSION. 331

had derided, seemed to me now to be the sum
total of earthly joy. I do not believe in cant of
any kind, but if ever a man was convicted of sin,
I was, though I had not yet the courage to
attempt to retrace my steps. My wife virtually
called me a thief. It was only the truth ; I
deserved the epithet, and more than that.

I turned to the next paper. There was noth-
ing about me or the bank in it, and I continued
my search till, in a subsequent issue, I found
another paragraph. The writer was happy to
assure the public that the bank would not lose a
dollar by the missing teller. I was surprised at
this announcement, for I was indebted to the bank
in the sum of thirty-eight thousand dollars. I
could not understand it. I turned to the stock
lists in the several papers. The shares in the
Forty-Ninth had been affected by the first para-
graph, but the quotations showed that they had
been restored by the information contained in the
second.

I concluded that the bank had determined to
conceal my deficit to avoid the loss of public con-
fidence. But while I was trying to satisfy myself
with this theory, a better one was suggested to
me. My aunt died on the day of my departure.

332 LIVING TOO FAST.

Within the week the substance of her will was
known to Captain Halliard. She had left her
whole fortune to me, and it was to be used in
making good the deficiency in my cash. Of
course I had no idea how much she had left, but
I supposed it was enough to satisfy the bank, or
to pay the loss with the sums for which my bonds-
men were liable. One thing was plain, that, if
the bank acknowledged no loss, it would not pro-
ceed against me ; and I realized that I was safe
from arrest while in Europe.

I could find no further allusion to the missing
teller in any of the papers. If the deficit was
made good, doubtless my friends would labor to
cover up my errors. As the matter now stood,
the money in my possession belonged to me. I
tried to make myself believe that it was Aunt
Rachel's fortune. But I could not wink out of
sight my blasted reputation, for, whatever the
papers said, or failed to say, people would have
their own opinions about my sudden departure.
I was far from satisfied. If my financial record
were explained away, I could not get rid of the
consciousness of my own guilt, which was positive
suffering to me. I was convicted of my sin, and
I had even prayed to God for mercy under my
misery.

MT CONFESSION. 333

Poor Lilian was suffering quite as severely. I
had left her in anger, and the tears came to my
eyes when I thought of her. I hastened back to
the hotel. I found her lying upon the sofa, sob-
bing like a child. I raised her in my arms, kissed
her tenderly, and begged her to forgive my harsh
conduct.

" O, Paley ! how miserable I am ! Only tell
me that you are not guilty, and I shall be happy,"
she said.

" You would hate and despise me if I told you
the truth, Lilian, " I replied.

44 Then it is the truth ! " she exclaimed, spring-
ing up, and looking at me with something like
horror in her expression.

I did not know what had come over me, unless
it was the conscious conviction of my sin, but
without definitely resolving to tell the truth, I
found it impossible to utter any more lies. Life
seemed to me a more solemn thing than ever
before.

" I deserve the worst you can say of me,
Lilian."

"Then you are a defaulter, Paley?"

" I, am ; but no one knows it."

44 Yes, I know it."

334 LIVING TOO FAST.

" I wish I could hide it from myself. You shall
know all, Lilian."

" But give back the money. I would rather be
a beggar and sweep the crossings of the streets,
than live in luxury on stolen money."

" Do not be too severe, Lilian. The bank will
not lose a dollar by me. On the very day that
we sailed from New York, Aunt Rachel died. I
have no doubt that she left most of her property
to me ; and the bank has by this time been paid
every dollar I owed it."

" That is some comfort, but not much. You
have ruined your reputation. Poor Aunt Rachel !
I wish I had seen more of her. What could
tempt you to go astray, Paley ? " continued my
wife, the tears coming to her eyes again.

" I was extravagant, and lived beyond my
means. I borrowed the money to furnish our
house, and I was otherwise in debt."

"Why didn't you tell me, Paley? We all
thought you were made of money."

" I had not the courage to tell you."

" I know I am giddy, and fond of dress and
show, but I would rather have lived in an attic,
and dressed in calico, than had you run in debt.
You always said you had plenty of money, and

MT CONFESSION. 335

your salary seemed to be more than enough, to
supply all our wants."

" I was weak and foolish, Lilian. I can see it
now; I could not see it then."

I told her the whole story from the beginning
to the end — how I had been thorned by my uncle
and by other creditors, and how I had been
tempted to take the money from the bank. I
told the truth, as I understood it at the time,
when I declared that I had not, at first, intended
to rob my employers. She listened to me with
the deepest interest, occasionally interrupting me
with questions. I told her the whole truth. I
did not even conceal from her the fact that I had
destroyed her letters. She wept bitterly as she
rehearsed the sufferings of her parents and
sisters.

" Let us go home, Paley," said she, when I had
finished the loathsome confession. " I don't want
to see Europe till you have atoned for your
fault."

" I may be thrown into prison if I go to Bos-
ton again," I suggested.

She clasped me in her arms and wept upon my
neck. If her heart was bursting, mine was hardly
less affected. The afternoon, the evening, the

336 LIVING TOO FAST.

night passed away, and still we wept and groaned
in bitterness of spirit in each other's arms. The
clock struck four in the morning ^before we could
decide what to do. She could not advise me to
go home if a prison cell awaited me. I never
realized the pressure of guilt so heavily before. I
never knew my wife till then. Guilty as I was
she still clung to me, and was willing to share
my lot of shame and disgrace.

In the morning hours I told her what I would
do. I would write to Tom Flynn. I would con-
fess my error to him, assure him of the sincere
penitence I felt, and be governed by his advice.
I did write, page after page, and. sheet after sheet,
till I had told the whole story. I assured him
every penny the bank or my bondsmen had lost
should be paid. I would give up everything I
had.

I sent my long letter, with another from Lilian
to her friends, by the next mail, and anxiously
waited a reply, which could not reach me under
three weeks.

CHAPTER XXIV.
AUNT EACHEL'S WILL.

BOTH Lilian and myself were miserable while
we waited for an answer from Tom Flynn.
I pictured to myself the surprise of the noble fel-
low when he read my letter. I was not worthy
of the disinterested friendship he had extended to
me, but I did not believe that he would spurn
me, as I deserved, in my guilt and shame.

We were tired of London, and rather to seek
relief from the misery that preyed upon us than
to see the sights, we went over to Paris. There
was no peace for me in the gay capital, any more
than in England, and at the end of a fortnight
we returned to London. I had written to Tom
that his answer would find me there. I wished
him to inform me whether I could safely return to
Boston, for I wished to go there, settle up my
business, and then begin life anew in some part
of the country where I was not known. The
future, therefore, was still a problem to me. My
first duty was to pay all that I owed the bank.
(22) 33T

338 LIVING TOO FAST.

With the ill-gotten wealth I had with me, and
with what Aunt Rachel had left me, if she had
left me anything, I should be able to discharge
all my obligations.

I felt that I deserved a term in the State Prison,
but I was not willing to endure the penalty of
my crime. I hoped that I might be permitted to
escape if I saved the bank from loss. This set-
tlement was now the question above all others with
me, and I looked more earnestly for an opportu-
nity to restore my stolen plunder than I ever had
to obtain it. Perhaps if Lilian had not been pos-
sessed of my secret I should have felt differently.
As it was, she suffered not so much from the fear
of what the world would say, as from actual con-
sciousness of my guilt. She had vastly more of
real principle than I ever gave her credit for. I
had measured her by the standard of her mother,
rather than her father. I could not persist in a
crime which she so sincerely condemned.

My wife saved me.

The misery which I had suffered before she
knew of my guilt was the fear of consequences,
the fear of discovery. Her anguish rebuked me.
She loved me, even while she despised me for my
sin. Day after day we talked of the matter, and

AUNT RACHEL'S WILL. 3^9

I was more and more impressed with the folly
and wickedness of my past conduct. A man is a
fool to commit a crime.

The three weeks expired, and I looked for my
letter from Tom Flynn. It did not come, but I
was willing to believe that there was some una-
voidable delay. Tom would certainly write.
Another week elapsed. I saw by the morning
paper that the steamer had passed Cape Clear,
and I waited with intense anxiety for the arrival
of the mail, which was due in the evening. Lil-
ian and I sat in the parlor awaiting the postman.
There was a knock at the door. The letter had
come at. last, and I hastened to open the door.

Instead of a servant with the letter, at the
door "stood Tom Flynn !

" Paley, how are you ? " exclaimed he, grasping
both my hands.

The tears stood in my eyes, for it seemed like
the days of innocence to be thus warmly greeted
by him. I could not speak. I threw myself on
the sofa and wept like a child.

" Lilian, how do you do ? " cried Tom, entering
the room, and grasping the hand of my wife.

Poor Lilian ! It was more than she could bear.
She had no burden of guilt on her pure soul, but

340 LIVING TOO FAST.

she bore mine as though it had been her own.
She burst into tears, dropped into her chair, and
covered her face with her hands. She sobbed like
an infant.

" Come, Paley, don't take it too hardly," said
the generous Tom, clapping .me on the shoulder.
" I received your letter, and of course I know all
about it."

" Tom, I'm the most miserable fellow in the
world," I said, venturing to look up at him.

" To be candid, Paley, I don't wonder at it.
You deserve it. But I rejoice to know that you
have come to take a right view of your past con-
duct," replied he, with the candor which always
distinguished him.

" I deserve all the reproaches you can heap
upon me. You need not spare me, Tom."

"It is not for me to reproach you, Paley ; and
I will not. I know how much you must have
suffered since you came to yourself."

" You are pure-minded and innocent, Tom ; and
you can form no idea of it."

" If you repent of your error, Paley — "

"I do repent, and I have asked my God to
forgive me."

" Give me your hand, Paley. Let us not say

AUNT RACHEL'S WILL. 341

another word about it. All shall yet be well with
you, if you have made your peace with God,"
said Tom, as he took my hand and pressed it
warmly.

" You are too kind, Tom."

" But I am talking here while my wife is wait-
ing for me," added he.

" Your wife ! "

" Yes," replied he, with a smile which expressed
the pleasure he felt at being able to use the
endearing term.

" Where is she ? " asked Lilian.

" Down stairs ; I will bring her up at once."

"But stop, Tom," interposed Lilian, with no
little embarrassment in her manner.

" What, Lilian ? "

" Who is she ? " asked my wife, timidly.

" Who is she ? " exclaimed Tom, opening his
eyes, and then laughing merrily.

"It seems like an age since I left Boston, and
I did not know but you had changed your mind."

" An age ! Why, it is only three months. My
wife, of course, is no other than Bertha. We
were talking seriously of marriage before you came
away. We had fixed the time when I received
your letter, but we made it two weeks earlier, so

342 LIVING TOO FAST.

that we could take our bridal tour across the
Atlantic. I desired to see you because I could
not write you what I wanted to say."

" You are more than a brother to me."

44 Wait till I bring Bertha up, before you say
anything more* O, by the way, she knows noth-
ing at all about this affair with the bank. Don't
say anything to her about it. It would only make
her miserable for nothing. Besides, everything is
all right with you, Paley. It is, upon my word."

" How can we^ conceal it from her ? " asked
Lilian, as Tom left the room.

44 We must do it, since he desires it," I replied.
44 He says it is all right with me, and if Bertha
don't know any thing about my conduct, I sup-
pose others do not."

In a moment Tom appeared with his wife, who
rushed into Lilian's arms. They kissed each other,
and I think Bertha was the happiest being I ever
saw. My wife had not written anything about
my crime to her friends, because she feared to
compromise me.

44 Why didn't you write to us before, Lilian?"
demanded Bertha.

44 1 did, but my letters did not reach you, it
seems," replied my wife ; and I saw that she

AUNT RACHEL'S WILL. 343

shuddered at the deception she was compelled to
use.

" We thought you had gone to New Orleans."

" No, we did not ; but how is dear ma, and
father and Ellen?"

" All very well ; and very happy, after they had
heard from you. You are a rich man's wife now,
Lilian, and I hope — "

" Come, Paley, I must look after my luggage,"
interposed Tom, who evidently did not care to
have me hear what his wife had to say.

I was somewhat astonished to hear Bertha call
Lilian a rich man's wife. I could not fully com-
prehend it. I suppose from this that Aunt Rachel
had actually left me her property, as I had antic-
ipated she would, but the most that I had ever
heard her rated at was thirty thousand dollars,
and according to the city standard, this would not
make a very rich man. I was willing to wait for
an explanation, however, and I followed Tom
out of the room. We went down to the office,
where rooms for the newly married couple were
secured near mine. The baggage was sent up, and
Tom and I took the parlor for a conference.

" I suppose you are anxious to know how your
affairs stand in Boston, Paley," said my friend.

344 LIVING TOO FAST.

44 1 am only anxious to make my peace with
God and man," I replied, earnestly. " I have sinned
against God and man. I am a wretch."

44 That's a fact, Paley ; I can't deny it. But
repent and sin no more."

44 Tom, if it were not for my wife, I feel that I
should be willing to serve out my term in the
State Prison. I feel that I have no right to be
exempted from the consequences of my crime ; but
Lilian would suffer more than I should, if the law
were to take its course."

" Never mind the law. You must suffer the
penalty of God's law — you need not fear man's.
When you left, Paley, I took your place. I soon
discovered what you had done to your books. I
had nearly fainted away when I found what you
had been doing. There was a deficit of some-
thing like twenty thousand dollars."

"Just thirty-eight thousand, Tom," I interposed.

44 Then you were more ingenious than I took
you to be," added he, with evident disgust.

44 I am going to tell the truth."

44 Well, no one has investigated the matter very
closely. Indeed, no one knows anything about it
but your uncle, Mr. Bristlebach, and myself ; not
even the cashier."

AUNT RACHEL'S WILL. 345

" That's very strange," I replied, wondering at
the secrecy with which the affair had been managed.

" I don't know that it is. You wrote me that
you had learned of your aunt's death. She died
on the day after you left home. Your uncle tel-
egraphed to you in Albany, but was unable to
ascertain where you were. The funeral was deferred
as long as possible for you, but you did not return.
Before your aunt was buried, I discovered what
you had been doing, and realized that you did not
intend to return. I told your uncle, and the presi-
dent what I had ascertained, and we examined the
books. Captain Halliard cursed and swore like a
madman, but after a while he cooled off, and
declared that the news would kill your mother.

" Mr. Bristlebach only added that the news would
injure the bank, and it would take a year to con-
vince the public that it had lost only twenty
thousand dollars; for that was what the deficit
appeared to be then, though the rest of it would
have soon become apparent, as the foreign accounts
were settled. It was therefore decided to say
nothing about it. After your aunt's funeral, Squire
— an old lawyer in Court Street, I forget his
name — "

" Squire Townsend."

346 LIVING TOO FAST.

" Squire Townsend came to the bank and told
jour uncle he had your aunt's will, and that, after
paying out a few small legacies, her property was
all left to you. This information settled the matter.
If you had property enough, the bank would lose
nothing by you. Your disappearance called forth
a paragraph or two in the papers, but Mr. Bristle-
bach caused others to be inserted to the effect
that the bank would not lose a dollar by your
absence. "

"I saw all these items."

" So you wrote me. Now, Paley, how much do
you suppose your aunt left ? "

" I don't know. People used to say she was
worth about twenty thousand dollars, but finally
the sum got up to thirty thousand," I replied.

" Both were below the fact. Her inventory
amounts to over fifty thousand. They say she had
twenty thousand more than fifteen years ago. She
has never spent much of anything, and her stocks
paid her from six to twenty per cent. In a word,
Paley, you are a rich man."

I was astonished at this information, and more
than ever conscious of the folly of my past con-
duct.

" You can return to Boston, and if any body

AUNT RACHEL'S WILL. 347

ever suspected that you were a defaulter, your
money will cover up the error."

" I don't deserve this good fortune, Tom."

" That's very true," replied Tom, drily. " If you
are honest and true, you may enjoy it. I hope it
will not undo your reformation."

" It will not, Tom," I added, solemnly. " I am
grateful to God for His mercy in sparing me from
the consequences of my errors; and I promise you
that I will try to be faithful to Him and to
my fellow-creatures."

Before I could fully comprehend his purpose,
Tom had gently drawn me upon my knees at his
side, on the floor, and there he prayed for me more
earnestly than I could have uttered the petition for
myself. I felt better. The prayer did me good.
We talked for half an hoar of the religious aspect
of my case, and I came to believe that I was a
true convert.

"How did they explain my absence? " I asked,
as we rose to join our wives.

" Your wife's mother said you had gone to
New Orleans to take a situation in a banking
office. Your uncle sent a messenger there to find
you. * We all supposed you were there till I
received your letter. I showed it to Captain Hal-

348 LIVING TOO FAST.

Hard, and explained my plan to him. He approved
it, for the executor is waiting for you to claim
your aunt's property."

" I must return immediately,"

" No ; I am going to stay over here two or
three months, for I have given up my place in
the bank."

"What is that for?"

" I have a chance to go into business in the
spring. My old employer in the dry goods busi-
ness wants to sell out to me for forty thousand
dollars. If you will go in with me, with a part
of your capital, we can make a good thing of it."

"Will you trust me, Tom?" I inquired, won-
dering at the confidence he proposed to give me,
after what I had done.

" Paley, I believe your repentance is sincere ;
and believing so, I think you are not so likely to
go astray as you would be if you had had no
bitter experience to remind you that the way of
the transgressor is hard."

" I hope to prove worthy of your confidence
and regard, Tom." I replied, clasping his hand.
"I shall be glad to go into business with you."

" In the spring, then, we will do so. Now I
am over here, I mean to see something of Europe.

AUNT RACHEL'S WILL. 349

You must write to your uncle, stating the amount
of the deficit Give him a draft on Mr. Townsend,
who is your aunt's executor, for the whole sum.
Write to the executor yourself, also, directing him
to take care of the balance till your return."

"I have about the value of thirty thousand
dollars with me," I added, with a blush, as I
thought of the means by which I had obtained it.

After this conference I felt more cheerful than
for months before. I realized that Tom's earnest
prayer for me had been heard, and that God had
forgiven my great sin. I pledged myself anew to
be faithful. I trembled when I thought that, if
my aunt's dying bounty had not been interposed
to save me, I might have spent a portion of my
life in prison. Truly, I had every thing to be
grateful for. When, after Tom and Bertha had
retired, I told Lilian what had passed between
my friend and myself, she wept tears of joy and
gratitude.

My story is told. We travelled in Europe till
the end of February, and then sailed from Cadiz
to Havana, and thence proceeded to New Orleans.
I wrote to my uncle, and sent him the requisite
papers to adjust my accounts. He replied to me
in a very good-natured strain, for to him crime

350 LIVING TOO FAST.

undiscovered was no crime at all. I wrote to my
mother, also. I could not wound her with the
terrible truth, and therefore did not allude to the
reasons for my leaving Boston.

When we got home, we were warmly welcomed
by all our friends. I was regarded as a rich man,
for a young one, and people were not disposed to
ask hard questions. I do not think my mother
was ever fully satisfied as to the reason of my
leaving Boston so suddenly, but she did not press
me for an explanation.

Tom and I went into business in the spring.
After paying every dollar I owed, I had about
forty thousand dollars. My partner put in twenty
thousand dollars, and I the same. We are doing
well, and both of us stand well in the community.
Mr. Bristlebach is dead, and my uncle still keeps
my secret.

I bought a house similar to the one I had occu-
pied for so brief a period in Needham Street, and
our home was all that peace, plenty and grateful
hearts could make it.

I do not yet feel like an innocent man ; I can
never feel so. I shall regret and repent my sin
to the end of my life. But I appreciate all my
blessings, not the least of which is my wife, who

AUNT RACHEL'S WILL. 351

has been my guardian angel since the day that
her horror of my crime assured me of the reality
of truth and goodness.

I am trying, by every means in my power, to
atone for my error, for which a lifetime is no
more than sufficient. I was not inclined to evil
by nature or by education, and, I still feel that
my crime was the legitimate result of Living too
Fast.

SPBH

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