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must have been made upon the minds of certain individuals who were in his thoughts. A sigh escaped him as he turned away and hurriedly left the house. It was nine o'clock when he reached the store. Two or three

that

notes had arrived before him. One requested the return, on that day, of a hundred pounds, borrowed money, he had not expected to be called on for in a week. The man who made this request had not been invited, with his wife, to the house-warming.

"But he has, no doubt, heard of it already," Mr Riston said, mentally.

He opened another note. It contained the confectioner's bill. The amount was sixty pounds! Crushing this bill in his hand, he thrust it into his pocket, with a muttered execration against his wife, and turned to his desk to examine into his affairs for the day. A few hurried calculations made all plain. To his mind the aspect of things was appalling.

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"If a breath of suspicion is whispered against me, I am gone!" he mentally said. Nothing can save me. In a few weeks, if I can retain the confidence of every one, I shall be safely past the crisis of my affairs, and on smooth water again. But can I retain it? Alas! I fear not. Confound this housekeeping folly, and this party! They will prove my ruin !!"

But idle fears and vain regrets would accomplish nothing. There must be action, and prompt action. As early as half-past ten o'clock the merchant was on foot.

"Good morning, Riston!" said the first man on whom he called, extending his hand as the money-seeker entered his store. "Really! that was a magnificent

affair of yours last night. I have never in my life been present at a more splendid entertainment. And what a lovely house you have got. What rent do you pay?" "Eighty guineas."

The other shrugged his shoulders.

"Rather high, I must confess," Riston said.

"But

we have no children, and my wife must have something to see after. We can live in handsome style, and not be at a very heavy expense."

"True, that does make a difference. Children, especially half-grown daughters, are a great expense. Mine, I know, are terrible hard on money. But that party must have cost you three hundred pounds, Riston." It didn't cost one-fourth of it."

"Nonsense!

Riston was far from suspecting how near the bill 'would amount to the sum mentioned.

"If you get off with less than three hundred pounds, you may think yourself a fortunate man.

Why, your

confectioner's bill will be sixty pounds, at least.”

"How do you know?" asked Riston, with surprise. "I heard it, somewhere, yesterday. I believe it came from your wife."

"My wife, to speak the truth, is a little too fond of making a display. To please her, I consented to give a party, and as I had enough of business matters to occupy my time, I left all the arrangements with her. I must own that she astonished me with the result of her preparations. Sixty pounds for confectionery! That will

never, never do."

"I heard, also, and I believe it came from as authentic a source, that your wines cost nearly as much."

"Impossible! They did not cost one half of that

sum."

"My wife saw Mrs Riston only the day before yester. day, and had it from her own lips."

Riston was confounded. not only indulged the most actually blazoned it about.

It seemed that his wife had

lavish expenditure, but had It was impossible for him He could not have

to ask this man to lend him money. looked him steadily in the face while he made such a request. As quickly as he could, he withdrew, and called upon another business friend. Here he was met by remarks of a similar kind, though made with rather more delicacy. Before leaving, he ventured to put the ques tion

"Can you spare me anything to แ Nothing at all," was replied. amount ourselves to pay."

day ?"

"We have a large

party he had given

He found it al

The same allusions to the splendid met poor Riston, go where he would. most impossible to borrow money: everybody would have been happy to accommodate him, but no body had anything to spare. At one o'clock he returned to his warehouse, without having accomplished, comparatively, anything at all. He had gone the entire round and could get no adequate assistance. Every one congratulated him on his brilliant entertainment and splendid house, but few had any money to lend him. Even those who had been most willing before to assist him, were now reserved, and, professedly, unable to do anything.

"I am a ruined man!" he said to himself, bitterly, as

he sat down to collect his thoughts.

last act of folly has decided my fate."

"As I feared, this

In the hope of sustaining himself by a heavy sacrifice, until he could get over his accumulated difficulties, Riston went, as a last resort, to a money broker, and offered him three per cent. a month, besides a liberal commission, if he would get him the amount he wanted, on his own note of hand, at four months. The broker promised to do his best, but was not sanguine. nothing had yet been done. broker was not in his office. pose himself sufficiently to sit down and wait for him,— he walked the floor with agitated steps for ten minutes.

Three o'clock came; Half-past three-the Riston was unable to com

"All is lost!" he ejaculated, stopping suddenly and looking up at the clock-the time had passed on until it lacked but a quarter to four.

"Even if I had the money now, there would scarcely be time to lift the notes. Fool! fool that I was, not to have gone to the holders of them, and endeavoured to make some arrangement. It would have been less dis

astrous than to have my paper dishonoured."

While thinking thus the broker entered quickly. Riston looked eagerly in his face. Hope died instantly.

"I can do nothing for you," said the agent in a voice of regret; 66 money is very tight."

Without a reply, Riston took the note he had placed in the broker's hands, put it into his pocket, and thanking him for the trouble he had taken, retired. He felt, to his own surprise, perfectly calm. The great struggle had ceased the end had come. He yielded passively to the current, and let it bear him down. Returning to

his warehouse, he informed his principal clerk, in a few words, of the state of his affairs; and then gave direc tions to have all the books settled up with the utmost despatch, previous to a meeting of creditors, which he should call at the earliest possible day, that a full exhibit of his business could be made. He then took his way homeward. As he walked along, with his eyes upon the ground, he thought of his wife-not with anger, but with pity. It was his intention to inform her fully of what had occurred, and to make her see clearly that her extravagance had been the cause of his ruin. He knew that this must produce acute pain; but it would, he trusted, be salutary.

CHAPTER XIII.-TAKING A LOWER PLACE IN SOCIETY.

FOR Some time after her husband went out, Mrs Riston suffered great distress of mind. The thought of having to give up her splendid house was almost as terrible as the thought of death. If her husband should really fail in business, she felt that she could not survive the mortification.

"But I don't believe a word of it," she roused herself by saying. "This is only a bug-bear that he has con

jured up to frighten me."

In spite of her effort to believe this she could not help feeling uneasy. About twelve o'clock visiters began to drop in. Mrs Riston was occupied with these for two or three hours. All with flattering words ministered to her vanity, and caused her to feel how intimately blended

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