ra to herself, about a week after
her act of folly, as she sat, towards the close of day, brooding over
what she had done. "To be forewarned is to be forearmed. In a few days
the carpets will be sent home, and then"--

A slight inward shudder was felt by Cara, as she paused, with the
sentence unfinished.

"But I'm foolish," she added, recovering herself, "very foolish. Why
need I be so afraid of Henry? I have some freedom of action left--some
right of choice. These were not all yielded in our marriage. His will
was not made the imperative law of all my actions. No--no. And here
lies the ground of difference between us. The fact is, he is to blame
for this very thing, for he drove me to it."

But such thoughts did not satisfy the mind of Mrs. Ellis, nor remove
the sense of wrong that oppressed her spirit. So, in a little while,
she came back to her resolution to tell her husband, on that very
evening, all about what she had done. This was her state of mind, when
her friend Mrs. Claxton called in. After the first pleasant greeting,
the lady, assuming a slight gravity of manner, said--

"Do you know, Mrs. Ellis, that I've thought a good deal about the
matter we talked of the last time I saw you?"

"To what do you allude?" asked Cara.

"To running up bills without your husband's knowledge. All men are not
alike, and Mr. Ellis might not take it so easily as Mr. Claxton has
done. The fact is, I have been checked off a little, so to speak,
within a day or two, and it has rather set me to thinking"

"In what way?" inquired Mrs. Ellis.

"I will tell you--but, remember, this is in the strictest confidence.
It might injure my husband's business if it got out. In fact, I don't
think I have any right to tell you; but, as I advised you to follow my
example, I must give you convincing proof that this example is a bad
one. Last evening, when Mr. Claxton came home, he looked unusually
serious. 'Is any thing wrong?' I asked of him, manifesting in my voice
and manner the concern I really felt. 'Yes,' said he, looking me
fixedly in the eyes--'there is something wrong. I came within an ace of
being protested to-day.' 'Indeed! How?' I exclaimed. 'Listen,' said he,
'and you shall hear; and while you hear, believe, for I solemnly
declare that every word I utter is the truth, and nothing but the
truth. I could not spare the cash when your new carpet and upholstery
bill came in, so I gave a note for the amount, which was over two
hundr