A Modern Instance

was in no mood to consider such mercies as that he had been spared from seriously hurting Bird; and that Squire Gaylord and Doctor Wills had united with Henry's mot

n's reticence, from inquiring into the affair; but he would not have thought Bartley without excuse under the circumstances. In regard to the r

of Marcia and her father; he could, in the light of example and usage, laugh at the notion of harm in his behavior to Hannah Morrison; yet he found himself looking at it as a treachery to Marcia. Certainly, she had no right to question his conduct before his engagement. Yet, if he knew that Marcia loved him, and was waiting with lif

n ostensible acceptance of the theory of a faint as the beginning of Bird's sickness, with such other conjectures as the doctor freely permitted each to form. Bartley found his chief consolation in the work which kept him out of the way of a great deal of question. He worked far into the night, as he must, to make up for the force that was withdrawn from the office. At the same time he wrote more than

that when, on the following Sunday, the young minister who had succeeded to the pulpit of the orthodox church preached a sermon on the beauty of industry from the text "Consider the lilies," there were many who said

her; and going and coming irregularly to his meals, and keeping himself shut up in his room when he was not at work, he left people very little chance to talk with him. But they conjectured that he and Marcia had an understanding; and some of the ladies used suc

s paper on the Tuesday afternoon following, "seems to me from what I hear tell around here,

s folding. "What are you going to do about it?" he demanded of his sympa

lank figure, and of a mighty brown beard. "But I've been around pretty much every

e anti-capital-punishment fellows. Try something else. They're not talking of hanging me yet." He kept o

it's old," he admi

n't pretend that

and slapped Bartley on the shoulder with his ne

ws like me." Bartley kept on writing. "

t you want me

from me t

. "Look here!" he said, "I want you should come out and see our camp. I can't fool away any more t

ances over which I have no control oblige me

with dead advertisements. That's the way they used to do out in Alkali Ci

d Bartley, looking up at him. "H

e goin'; three and a

e you co

in,

go with y

l to-morrow

ning will suit

ney to the girl, "you tell 'em he's sick, and gone a-loggin', and won't be back till

ied Bartley, "j

nney. "To-morro

and packages for the mail. "You can go, now, Marilla," he said to the girl. "I'l

," answere

the lady boarders, and they agreed that he must have had a letter. He returned to his office, and worked till nine o'clock, writing and selecting matter out of his exchanges. He spent most of the time in preparing t

t in. He had not met Squire Gaylord since the morning of his dismissal, and the old man had left him for the

s Bartley, unbidden, took a chair on the opposite side of the s

're going to do about the

than when Bartley saw it last. He waited almost a minute befor

y last day's work on that paper. Do you think," he cried, angrily, "that I'm going to keep on in the dark

r your scare,"

my scare," Ba

any longer, that you're out of danger. I

released me from any obligations to her; and now you may go ahead and do what you like." Each of the men knew how much truth there was in this; but for the moment in his anger, Bartley believed himself sincere, and there is no question but his defiance was so. Squire Gaylord made him no answer, and after a minute of expectation Ba

ary to speaking, which the old man made in his throat. Bartley stopped, hoping

the off

him, and Bartley went out, balked of his purpose in

t was doubtless in the disintegration of the finer qualities of her nature, that, as they grew older together, she threw more and more the burden of acute feeling upon her husband, to whose doctrine of life she had submitted, but had never been reconciled. Marriage is, with all its disparities, a much more equal thing than appears, and the meek little wife, who has all the advantage of public sympathy, knows her power over her oppressor, and at some tender spot in his affections or his nerves can inflict an anguish that will avenge her for years of coarser aggression. Thrown in upon herself in so vita

in their mutual relations, with mildly critical reserves. They spoiled each other, as father and daughter are apt to do when left to themselves. What was good in the child certainly received no harm from his indulgence; and what was naughty was after all not so very

fly because she liked to go, and not because she would have been obliged to it if she had not chosen. When she grew older, she wished to go away to

bought her whatever dresses she fancied. He never came home from a journey without bringing her something; and he liked to take her with him when he went away to other places.

his hat on, and, taking his chin between his

you in so early?

explained. After a while he said,

mean 't h

ng about that. He came to

ylord," said his wife, shifting the responsibility

was on his high horse. He kno

t 't he's gone for good?" asked Mrs. Gaylord, with a sort of i

p between 'em that day; but I thought she'd better see, once for all, what sort of man she was going in for, if she married him. It's too

Gaylord, impartially, "that

past your bed-time. You better go. I'll sit up awhile yet. I c

ding to spend the rest of the evening at

offering to act upon his suggestion. "It's plain

o, now," repli

s if she'd slept any great deal since she's been gone. I d' know as I like very much

t been off, and

was here yet. But if he's gon

t would be ridiculous. I don't believe he would come back at all, now, and if he did, he wouldn't come back on any equal terms. He'd want to have everything his own way. M-no!" said the Squire,

terest in the outcome, "if you've made up your mind

made up my mind to

Gaylord shrank back, and then slipped round behind her daughter and vanished. The girl took no notice of her mother, but went and sat down on her father's knee, throwing her arms round his neck, and dropping her haggard face on his shoulder. She had arrived at home a few hours earlier, having driven over from a station ten miles distant,

her in the face with a smile so pitiful that he co

ered huskily. "What do

ve you back aga

ow why

guess

with dry sobs. When she looked up, confronting him with her tearles

han one effort to bring the words. "I guess you better go alo

he said

's a long while since you've been

e could not face the trouble. "I've heard people talk of a heartache," she went on. "I never believed there was really such a thing. But I know there is

ell," said her father "I gue

"He knows that already. Everybody in town does. It's never been any secret. I couldn't hide it, from the first day

tn't to talk that way, Marc

s concerned any creed of his, and he was too honest to make further pretence. "What

t there was a God, Mar

like a crazy person! Do you suppose it was providential, my be

r, "I don't. I think

dential, my finding him o

The fellow has the making of a

a scoundrel now?"

rtunity yet," said the old ma

ght never have found him out. He could have been good to me a year or two, and then, if I died, I should have been safe

at reconciles me to it now. I'm sorry for you, my girl; but you'd hav

t now," said t

. I mean to take you away from here for a while. I mean to take you up to Boston, and on to New York. I shouldn't care if we went

ht she must be pleased at his proposal. "Do

ngry. "No, I don't think so. I know you couldn't. And

him back,-if I could only undo what I did! I was wild; I wasn't reasonable; I wouldn't listen to him. I drove him away witho

ther, with a sort of groan. "He's goi

felt her tremble. "How do you know he's going?" She turn

y, after what's happened, an

ow he's going?

told

p. "He told

-ni

e did you see hi

he of

tell me,-you didn't let me know?" They looked at each o

rrow m

egular gasps. She broke into a low moaning, at last, the expression of abject defeat in the struggle she had waged with herself. Her father watched her with dumb compassion.

-he'll have to see you again bef

ed up with me,"

ther,-yes, yes, you have! You've got to go and tell him. Go and get him to come, for mercy's sake! Tell him that I'm sorry,-that I beg his pardon,-that I didn't thi

haggard smile of sympathy. "You'

eck. "You see, I had just told him the day before that I shouldn't care for anything that happened before we were engaged, and then at the very first thing I went and threw him off! And I had no right to do it. He knows that, and t

w is, and not in any particular thing that he's done? He's a scamp, through and through; and he's al

say one angry word to me. He just pulled me up to him, and wouldn't let me be mad; and he said that night he didn't mind it a bit because it showed how much I liked him. Now, doesn't that prove he's good,-a good deal better than I am, and that he'll forgive me, if you'll go and ask him? I kno

at it was terrible to him to see die out of it as he spoke: "I

he would! I kno

get down in the dust for nothing. He's a bad fel

een in such intimate sympathy, his life had so long had her happiness for its sole pleasure, that the pang

d her father. "You don't

from me,-you're letting me l

eful. You ought to be ashamed. You ought to have some pride about you. I don't know what's come over you since you've been with that fellow. You seem to be out of your senses. But tr

nd ask him to come here, i

an, with a desperate

nt, and while the swoon lasted would be out of her misery. The sight of this had wrung him so that he had a kind of relief in looking at her lifeless face; and he was