to lead such a man as Mr. Keep to offer to lend me
money, of his own accord. It is a considerable comfort to know that I
can get money, whenever I want it, even if I never take it."

"Yes," said Mary Erskine, "so it is."

"And it is all owing to you," said Albert.

"To me?" said Mary Erskine.

"Yes," said he; "to your prudence and economy, and to your contented
and happy disposition. That is one thing that I always liked you
for. It is so easy to make you happy. There is many a wife, in your
situation, who could not have been happy unless their husband would
build them a handsome house and fill it with handsome furniture--even
if he had to go in debt for his land to pay for it."

Mary Erskine did not reply, though it gratified her very much to hear
her husband commend her.

"Well," said she at length, "I am very glad that you have got good
credit. What should you do with the money, if you borrowed it?"

"Why, one thing that I could do," said Albert, "would be to build a
new house."

"No," said Mary Erskine, "I like this house very much. I don't want
any other--certainly not until we can build one with our own money."

"Then," said Albert, "I can buy more stock, and perhaps hire some
help, and get more land cleared this fall, so as to have greater crops
next spring, and then sell the stock when it has grown and increased,
and also the crops, and so get money enough to pay back the debt and
have something over."

"Should you have much over?" asked Mary.

"Why that would depend upon how my business turned out,--and that
would depend upon the weather, and the markets, and other things which
we can not now foresee. I think it probable that we should have a good
deal over."

"Well," said Mary Erskine, "then I would take the money."

"But, then, on the other hand," said Albert, "I should run some risk
of embarrassing myself, if things did not turn out well. If I were
to be sick, so that I could not attend to so much business, or if I
should Jose any of my stock, or if the crops should not do well, then
I might not get enough to pay back the debt."

"And what should you do then?" asked Mary Erskine.

"Why then," replied Albert, "I should have to make up the deficiency
in some other way. I might ask Mr. Keep to put off the payment of the
note, or I might borrow the money of somebody else to pay him, or I
might sell some of my other stock. I could do any of these things well
enough, but it would perhaps cause