d allurements of company; and many a long
winter evening passed delightfully in the elegant quietude of home, as
they read, and sang, and talked of the past, and dreamed of the future
in each other's society. But, contradictory as it may appear to the
theory of the sentimentalist, it is nevertheless a fact, that two
persons cannot always find sufficient excitement in talking to each
other merely; and this is especially true of those to whom high
excitement has been a necessary of life. After a while, the young
couple, though loving each other none the less, began to respond to the
many calls which invited them again into society, and the pride they
felt in each other added zest to the pleasures of their return.

As the gaze of admiration followed the graceful motions of the beautiful
wife, and the whispered tribute went round the circle whenever she
entered, Edward felt a pride beyond all that flattery, addressed to
himself, had ever excited; and Augusta, when told of the convivial
talents and powers of entertainment which distinguished her husband,
could not resist the temptation of urging him into society even oftener
than his own wishes would have led him.

Alas! neither of them knew the perils of constant excitement, nor
supposed that, in thus alienating themselves from the pure and simple
pleasures of home, they were risking their whole capital of happiness.
It is in indulging the first desire for extra stimulus that the first
and deepest danger to domestic peace lies. Let that stimulus be either
bodily or mental, its effects are alike to be dreaded.

The man or the woman to whom habitual excitement of any kind has become
essential has taken the first step towards ruin. In the case of a woman,
it leads to discontent, fretfulness, and dissatisfaction with the quiet
duties of domestic life; in the case of a man, it leads almost
invariably to animal stimulus, ruinous alike to the powers of body and
mind.

Augusta, fondly trusting to the virtue of her husband, saw no danger in
the constant round of engagements which were gradually drawing his
attention from the graver cares of business, from the pursuit of
self-improvement, and from the love of herself. Already there was in her
horizon the cloud "as big as a man's hand"--the precursor of future
darkness and tempest; but, too confident and buoyant, she saw it not.

It was not until the cares and duties of a mother began to confine her
at home, that she first felt,