lightened views of each other's characters. If in her desire to compete with her richer neighbours in the articles of fine clothes and fashionable furniture, Mrs. Leithbridge found towards the end of a quarter that she had exceeded her income-and in spite of the most wire-drawn economy in other matters, should be obliged to retrieve the arrears of this quarter by taking from the proceeds of the next -there was no breathing her dilemma to him who should have been her director in every difficulty. Conscious that the evil was of her own making, a disingenuous shame prevented such a course, and besides, the separation of purses had led to such a complete division of hearts and interest, that the knowledge of her perplexity would have proved rather a source of taunt (if not of triumph), and at all events have gained neither sympathy nor assistance. She therefore resolved on another move. A careful calculation had convinced her, that her husband's share of the finance, amounting to some ten pounds a quarter, was a disproportionate one, considering the few expenses he had a right to have; and to trench upon this still closer, was the issue at which she aimed. Her first attempts at this, however, only made him hug more firmly the small remainder of his pay, and stand more exactingly than ever to the very letter of their agreement. House and children " did not prove a sufficiently strong cry to move him on the subject, for in the midst of this disunion and anger (I had almost said hate), children came,—pale, low-speaking, meek children, with faces that seemed to deprecate the rancour of their parentis, and to speak sadly of their own need of gentle affection.

Years passed away, and with increasing expenses the evil of separate purses became more and more apparent. Instead of taking sweet counsel together how best to fulfil their relative duties towards their family, and uniting in mutual sacrifices for their happiness, support and education, it was a sharply-contested game of opposed sagacity to shirk some necessary outlay connected with them, and throw it from the one to the other. Thus it would happen, that these miserable children frequently found themselves embroiled in their parents' quarrels, often, in fact, the ostensible cause of them. The expense of their schooling, clothes, and other necessaries, were so many sources of endless dispute, and occasionally of personal recrimination. Sometimes the boy would be kept in doors, and made to wear a shabby suit, that his father might be shamed into purchasing him a new jacket. At others, the girls would have no bonnets to go out in; and if anything was said about the sufficiency of their mother's means to keep them decent, a tor rent of sharp, cold, acrimonious rejoinders, fatal as a hailstone shower in spring, would tear down and destroy every germ of complacency between the ill-assorted couple, and leave their hearth desolate of even the decencies of domestic sociability, for weeks to come. At connubial declamation Leithbridge found himself no match for the lady, but shrouded in imperturbable sullenness, her arrow-headed words fell about his ears with as little effect as the hunter's shafts upon the leathery folds of the hippopotamus. This state of things, as a matter of course, exercised a fearful influence, not only on their own happiness and respectability, but upon the dispositions, conduct and comfort of their children, who learned to recognize the elements of their parents' characters, and to recoil from them. Selfishness, indeed, appeared to be the prevailing quality

of both-in the one a natural blot, in the other an artificial stain contracted by constant association with it.

It would be disgusting to trace the trifles in which this feeling appeared, or the varied forms under which it showed itself. At table, in a hard seat at the worst side of the fire, in the first cup of tea, and the last of coffee, it peeped out in Mrs. Leithbridge's treatment of her husband; while on his side it was limited to the defensive only, or an exhibition of stolid indifference to every requirement, either of his house or offspring, that needed the slightest outlay. Meanwhile, if in the early days of housekeeping Mrs. Leithbridge had limited the expenses of her table to requisites the portion of income that (let who would suffer) she was resolved to pocket for her private share, now not unfrequently mulcted it to a bare sufficiency. And even in the dispensing of this the engrossing self-preference of her nature exhibited itself. It was nothing for her to skim the milk at the breakfast table, and in the presence her children, appropriate every spoonful of cream to her own cup; or at dinner, to find her reserving the under-cut of the oft-recurring shoulder of mutton for her own eating, without reference to his epicurism, or an avowed detestation of the dish wanting this redeeming morsel. Thus the principle of division, once admitted, extended itself from the most important to the meanest incidents of their household, and in time (fortunately for the miserable pair) worked out, as all abuses invariably do, its own overthrow.

of

I said that at their first starting in life the Leithbridges were in debt, but as the liability had been incurred before Mrs. Leithbridge had ceased to be Miss Prin, she could not be made to recognize any right she had to assist in its disbursement. The payment, therefore, of the whole amount (an upholsterer's bill for half the furniture in the house, at the time she had assumed its management), fell on the small means of her then complying husband. In the first instance, the creditor had consented to receive it by instalments; and, in this way, by mutual cooperation, and an undivided purse, the affair might soon have been adjusted, but Mrs. Leithbridge contended quarterly for the full amount of her income, threatening to take a situation, or return to her mother, if her rights were to be invaded, and the means of her children's support torn from them, to cancel debts of which she knew nothing! So that, after a few languid attempts towards striking a balance, the instalment system was abandoned, and the tradesman finding that only by peremptory measures could he hope to obtain his money, insisted either on having the account at once closed, or threatened legal proceedings as the alternative. To prevent a result so prejudicial to his interest, and in the absence of any other means of settling the affair, Leithbridge had taken up a sum of money at interest, and thus became entangled in the annual payment of a debt, which never lessened, for as to liquidating the capital, it was out of the question. In this way the tide of time rolled on, as it will roll, with mocking voices rising from its ebbing waves, to taunt us with the untasted happiness lost beneath them while we were catching at its passing shadow.

The principal of the establishment to which Leithbridge belonged, was one of those striking individuals upon whom the effect of age is rather to bestow a loving grace, than perceptible decay. Majestic, yet venerable, his fine frame appeared so little affected by the weight of between sixty and seventy years of life, that his scarcely perceptible

stoop looked rather like strength acknowledging the presence of time, than oppressed by it. His countenance calm, smiling, and imperturbable, spoke only of the serenity and cheerfulness of most unruffled reflections; and his hair white, and silken as the thistledown, added to his imposing aspect, appealing alike to the veneration of women, and the respect of men. Who could doubt the sanctified benignity that bowed itself at the communion table every sacrament Sunday, and whose name stood prominently forward at the head of subscription lists-the patron of soup-societies, and Sunday schools, or rung out in golden chimes on the offertory plate, on the occasion of charity sermons, or a royal letter in aid of subsidies for the building of churches? Dear Mr. Smily! his very name seemed instinct with the blandness of his individuality, and with every one his reputation was praise. Who would have presumed to attribute the tender rosiness of his complexion to a daily bottle of claret! or impute the benign languor of those large blue heavy-lidded eyes to the subduing effect of bygone passion? Calm in the self-complacency of well-sustained virtuethe great man of a small circle turned on the pivot of elevated position, placidly as a revolving figure, showing at every point of view a well-sitting suit of morals. None penetrated the mask, or lifted the veil of hypocrisy that shrouded this hoary sinner. None did I say? -Yes, one, the pale victim of worldly ambition and womanish vanity. Too late Mrs. Smily had discovered her error, and worse than all, saw through the specious enamelling of her husband's character the withered hideousness it served to hide. Deprived of even the cold sentiment of respect, her connexion with him grew daily more intolerable, and all the glitter with which wealth surrounded her—all the flatteries of sycophantic friends, failed to exorcise from her breast the discontent, and restlessness, that like a fiend and its familiar haunted her. You might trace these feelings in the variety of objects with which she surrounded herself in the daily alteration of their arrangements-in the multiplied means of amusement never enjoyed, and in the ceaseless occupation with which she furnished her head and hands, in the vain hope of excluding these demons from her heart. And yet in the eyes of her fair acquaintance Mrs. Smily seemed an enviable woman;-the splendour of her house-her magnificent establishment --and sumptuous entertainments-her jewels, dress, and equipage, were so many splendid spells to realize human happiness, in which all had faith but their miserable victim. Having no children, this lady had greatly attached herself to the young Leithbridges, especially to the eldest girl, a fine intelligent child between thirteen and fourteen years of age, whose affectionate disposition, quickness, and docility, exceedingly engaged her interest. Besides, a portion of the Leithbridges' circumstances were no secret to the Smilys, (it was from this universal philanthropist that the poor clerk had borrowed the money at five per cent. with which to discharge the upholsterer's bill.) and in the lady's desire to befriend them, it occurred that the best means of doing so would be by assisting in the education of her favourite, and her task was at once commenced. Mrs. Smily was earnest in her self-imposed employment, and her pupil's aptitude and affection fully repaid her toil. Nor was Lucy Leithbridge less apparently fortunate in propitiating the old gentleman's regard, who exhibited quite a paternal interest in her, and shared all his wife's anxiety for her improvement. So that in short

Mrs. Smily's house soon became more familiar to her than her home, and every thing promised prosperity and sunshine. Some two years glided by in this way-every day assisting the development of Lucy's mind and person, and adding to her sense of gratitude and obligation to her kind friends, a feeling that made her relation to them little less endearing than that of a daughter. But in the midst of her happiness Lucy became aware of a sudden disquietude in Mrs. Smily's manneran anxiety that scarcely suffered her to be out of her sight when her husband was not abroad-and a vigilance of eye and ear on every gesture and word when he was present, that distressed her, without a consciousness of why it should have done so.

When one day Mr. Smily called on Mrs. Leithbridge, and while enlarging on her daughter's cleverness, amiability, and good looks, he insinuated a fear that the state of Mrs. Smily's health would prevent her from continuing much longer the lessons she had felt so much pleasure in imparting to her; but he added that he hoped the talents Lucy undoubtedly possessed—her fine ear-splendid touch-genius for drawing, &c., any of which, if persevered in, might hereafter make her fortune, would not be suffered to fall into desuetude. The issue of this circumlocution was a proposal to send Lucy to finish her education at Ivy House Establishment for Young Ladies-an arrangement to which Mrs. Leithbridge gratefully consented.

Once removed from his own house and the keen perceptions of his lady, Mr. Smily deemed it an easier task to practice on the credulity and innocence of his neighbour's child; his age and reputation left his attentions unsuspected, and every few days some trifle for her toilet, or ornament for her person, added to the debt of gratitude the girl treasured in her heart towards him. Fortunately, however, her guilelessness proved the countercharm of craft, for all that passed between her and her patron was repeated to her mother, who at length heard these recitals with lowered eyelids and a heightened colour. Could it be, that beneath that bosom, full of lawn and cambric, that, with his white hair and benign countenance, made up so immaculate an exterior, there lurked thoughts less pure? Fie! fie! it was impossible; and yet there were parts of Lucy's rehearsals that stirred all the mother in her heart, and made her dubious of her faith in him.—nor was it long before his conduct fully proved the baseness of his designs, and showed to the fullest sense of conviction the selfmade misery of Mrs. Leithbridge's position.

Yet some

Overwhelmed with shame at her own conduct, and indignation at that of her pretended friend, neither sympathy nor redress were left her. How could she, who had allowed her husband to suppose that the expense of Lucy's schooling had been defrayed from her own share of the divided purse, own to him that she had compromised his independence and honour by the acceptance of so questionable a good as one offered at the cost of domestic confidence. thing must be done; it was impossible to permit any further accumulation of obligations from one who had so heartlessly cancelled them and a fresh quarter of Lucy's tuition had just commenced ;— the question at the moment was, how was it to be met? Now she determined (for the first time these many years) to make her husband the depositary of all her grief and difficulty,-and then a poignant sense of her own duplicity and implication in the affair sealed up her lips, and stifled for the time the healthful impulse.

THE SEPARATE PURSE.

Meanwhile-forgetful that her conduct to her friend had been as culpable as to her husband-with a truly womanly desire of revenge, she resolved that Mrs. Smily should be acquainted with her husband's perfidious intentions, and full of this determination, was angrily about to put it into execution, when, instead of finding herself téte-à-tête with the lady, she was confronted by the white-headed hypocrite she came to denounce. Consciousness of guilt perhaps had helped him to divine her intention, and self-defence prompted a method of frustrating it. Finding that Mrs. Leithbridge was not to be trifled with, he grew bold, and insolently upbraided her with the deceit she had practised on her husband, and his own power of enthralling her, by refusing to pay the amount of the school-bill already contracted, a threat which Mrs. Leithbridge indignantly spurned, by expressing her determination not to accept it from him. Foiled in this means of buying her silence, he produced her husband's note of hand for monies lent to him, and menaced her with demanding its immediate repayment, -aware that such a step if a word was breathed to his disadvantage,must prove the ruin of her husband and family, for a gaol would be the only alternative.

Mrs. Leithbridge had no option but to swallow to the very dregs the bitter draught her own imprudence and the besetting selfishness Yet ultimately this self-imposed of her nature had filled for her. mortification worked out a good effect:-the want of sympathy which she so sadly felt opened her eyes to the wrong she had committed, in throwing off the soft tie of mutual confidence, which is the strongest and purest safeguard of wedded faith and affection. The consciousness of her misconduct, too, helped to humiliate her; and though for awhile she laboured with self-conviction, without sufficient moral strength to give birth to the expression of it, in process of time, when the subduing influence of these hidden feelings had spread themselves to her tone and manner-when with a newly-formed interest in her husband's likings and dislikes, she silently studied them to the frequent subjection of her own prejudices,—and with a gentle courteousness, as graceful as it was unexpected, took counsel of his judgment in all her more important affairs,-when by these silent indications of compunction, and a renewal of regard for him, poor Leithbridge suddenly found the bonds of Hymen becoming more and more of the texture the poets feign them, the natural ductility of his own disposition returned; and, to be brief, Mrs. Leithbridge only paused till she was sure of his forgiveness, and then, confessing all her weakness, credulity, and selfishness, and the bitter consequences to which it had nearly betrayed their child, voluntarily proposed that the separate purse, which had led to the chief evils of their mutual conduct, should henceforth be a general fund, in the laying out of which their mutual interest should be studied.

Need I say that, with this determination, it was not long before the debt to their pretended benefactor was paid, and Leithbridge having in the mean time made interest to be removed, quitted a place which was rendered hateful to him by the perfidiousness of a false friend, and the past discordant jingling of a Separate Purse.