in debt. The debt, and not the drummer, was supposed to be the cause of

the hegira; she had concealed her liabilities, they were on the point of

bursting forth, she was weary of Bellairs; and she took the drummer as

she might have taken a cab. The blow disabled her husband, his partner

was dead; he was now alone in the business, for which he was no longer

fit; the debts hampered him; bankruptcy followed; and he fled from city

to city, falling daily into lower practice. It is to be considered that

he had been taught, and had learned as a delightful duty, a kind of

business whose highest merit is to escape the commentaries of the bench:

that of the usurious lawyer in a county town. With this training, he was

now shot, a penniless stranger, into the deeper gulfs of cities; and the

result is scarce a thing to be surprised at.

"Have you heard of your wife again?" I asked.

He displayed a pitiful agitation. "I am afraid you will think ill of

me," he said.

"Have you taken her back?" I asked.

"No, sir. I trust I have too much self-respect," he answered, "and, at

least, I was never tempted. She won't come, she dislikes, she seems to

have conceived a positive distaste for me, and yet I was considered an

indulgent husband."

"You are still in relations, then?" I asked.

"I place myself in your hands, Mr. Dodd," he replied. "The world is very

hard; I have found it bitter hard myself--bitter hard to live. How

much worse for a woman, and one who has placed herself (by her own

misconduct, I am far from denying that) in so unfortunate a position!"

"In short, you support her?" I suggested.

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