She screamed as if a blow had been struck-" Oh, don't say so!-he does love me! he must love me—”

"Love you!" he repeated, scornfully-" would he act so? would he make your life a misery if he loved. you? Could I treat you so, think you ? Answer me, dear one, do you believe it?"

66

Oh, it's the drink, sir; indeed Tom was always good and kind till he took to the drink: and he's never unkind in it all!"

Cary, you cannot deceive me. Not one night, not two, but many; aye every night, when you have little dreamed of it, I have been near you. I have seen him come home; I have heard his coarse, hard blustering, and abuse. My hands have trembled to give him the punishment he so richly deserves. Unkind! Why when his brain is on fire he does not scruple what he does he will murder you one day, my poor girl!”

:

"No, no! he never struck me in his life-he never could-"

The young man ground his teeth, as he said— "Could! no, not unless he was the devil he is. Oh Cary, love, dear girl, if not for your own sake, for mine

22

But she had drawn her hand away, and was closing the door almost upon him, sobbing, as she did so— 66 Please go, sir, and don't come again, for I must not speak to you; indeed I must not!"

The young man turned away, with an impatient gesture; but he remained in the little garden under cover of the shrubs.

A shadow upon the blind crossed the window; it dropped into a chair, and the head sank forward into the hands. But the despair that spoke in the attitude

was nothing to the desolation in the poor girl's heart which those words," he does not care for you," had caused. They were but the utterance of a conviction, which, alas, she had slowly and fearfully admitted to herself; but now the truth seemed thrust so terribly upon her, and that so coolly, so undeniably, in the words of another.

Her very spirit was crushed. It seemed a thing too horrible to be true, and still she knew in her innermost soul it was so: and that her gentleness, her love, her winning kindness, had been all in vain.

"No one to love her"-The words forced themselves upon her, rang in her brain, and caused an agony which I should in vain attempt to describe to those who have not themselves experienced it; and these will know too well how vain are words to express the suffering.

Oh, poor dear Tom, that I have loved so, and cared for so dearly-poor Tom, poor Tom!"

Loving him more in remembering her own care of him, forgetting herself in pitying him, she scarce knew why?

"When he was ill, and all, I nursed him. Oh! he might love me! Oh, Tom, dear poor Tom!"

The bird, whom her voice never failed to arouse, was answering her sobs with a low chirrupping song; she rose, went to its cage, and opened it. The little creature hopped upon her finger, and trilled out sweet consolation there, while she leaned her cheek against its smooth breast. It was something to have the

affection even of a bird.

The treacherous shadow on the blind showed this, an eloquent tableau to one who lingered without.

Her eye fell on the seed plants which adorned the cage, and carried her thoughts to those who brought them. "I wish I could dare go and see Mrs. Steyne," she said to herself, "she has often asked me; I'm sure she is a good woman, so different to the rest, that only think of abusing him."

A heavy foot sounded on the path outside. In an instant the pet was in its cage, and she at the door. Some one at the same moment leaped the fence into the waste on the opposite side.

Hinton walked quite steadily in, and his young wife looked in his face with a gleam of hope; but it died out again when she saw the scowl and heard the muttered curses.

"What's thee up for this time o'night ?"

"I was waiting for you, Tom. Will you have some supper ?"

"Curse thee, and the supper too!" And he bumped himself into a chair, and leaned his elbows on the table. " him, I'll let him see, I will so!-I'll let

him know what it is to cross my path!"

Cary trembled.

"What dost stand gawping there for? Hast nothing to do? a lazy wench as thee is," he growled. She turned away, the tears coming fast to her eyes. Tom sat muttering to himself for a few minutes, then with an oath he started up, and with one blow of his fist cracked the little table across the middle; then kicked the chair into a corner, smashing the back— "I'll murder him! I will!-I'll knock his cursed head off!"

He rushed to the door-Cary, with a scream, flew after him, and caught him by his blouse.

"What do thee mean? the devil take thee!"-he turned fiercely upon her. "And thee's thick with the scamp, too; his brats was here a bit since."

Her hand fell, the blood came back to her heart"Do you mean the Steynes ?" she said.

"And who should I mean else? A sneaking upstart, as comes to take a honest man's bread out of 's mouth, and set up over them as is his masters. If ever I catches any of the brood inside my door it'll be the worse for them and thee too. I know thee's thick wi'm, but thee'd best keep clear, so I tell thee."

"It was only the children, Tom, brought me some stuff for my bird, and Mrs. Steyne-"

"Hang the whole lot I tell thee! I'll not have 'em here; I warrant I'll let 'em see if they're to rule the roast. What dost stand gawping there for? Go to bed, I say."

Shuddering she crept upstairs to her unblessed chamber, her lord and master remaining below to nurse his wrath; dread kept her from closing her eyes, though she was fain to pretend she slept when she heard him lumbering up, certain otherwise of his abuse should she dare to be awake.

"I flee the crowded town!

I cannot breathe shut up within its gates !
Air-I want air, and sunshine, and blue sky :
The feeling of the breeze upon my face,
And no walls but the far-off mountain tops;
Then I am free and strong-once more myself."

LONGFELLOW.

I IMAGINE there are not many whose experience could allow them largely to endorse the heading of this chapter. No day in all the calendar, as a rule, less calculated to conjure up

Pleasant images, than "quarter-day,"
Whichever side we take.

The confiding in coming payments; the putting faith in promises; the anticipation of cash long due, up to the last moment, as certain all to fail; the frantic recourse, at the eleventh hour, to expedients which but twenty-four hours ago would have been deemed simply impracticable; the final failure; the humiliating necessity of tendering, accompanied with apologies, something considerably under the lawful offering; the freezing reminder that less than the sum is useless the cash at the same time ruthlessly pocketed; your ignoble exit, with a mentally registered vow that never will you so play the honest fool again as to leave yourself penniless for as little thanks No. 2.