Then there were rambles by moonlight, during which soft things were whispered in the ears of the young ladies.  These were the occasions on which Warburton loved most to steal away the fond confidence of Julia; and, by degrees, he succeeded in fixing her regard upon himself.  Consent was asked of the parents, and given; and soon Julia Forrester was Mrs. Warburton.  It was only six months after the marriage that a commercial crisis arrived; one of those reactions from prosperity which occur in this country with singular regularity, every ten or fifteen years, and swept from Julia’s father the whole of his property.  This sudden revulsion so preyed upon his mind, that a serious illness came on, which hurried him in a brief period to the grave.  The mother of Julia soon followed him.  Warburton, ere this, had neglected his wife, and wrung from her many a secret tear.  He had married her for the prospect of worldly gain which the connection held out, and not from any genuine regard.  And when all hope of a fortune was suddenly cut off, he as suddenly appeared in his real character of a heartless and unprincipled man.

He held the situation of clerk, at the time, in the same store where he had been for years.  But immediately upon the death of his father-in-law, a flood of demands for debts due here and there came in upon him, and not having where with to meet them, he was thrown into jail, and obtained his freedom only by availing himself of the law made and provided for the benefit of Insolvent Debtors.

His poor wife knew nothing of the proceedings against him, until he was lodged in the jail.  Hour after hour had passed since the time for his return to dinner, and yet she listened in vain for his well-known footsteps.  She felt strangely oppressed in feeling when the dim twilight came stealing sadly on, and still he came not home.  But when the clock struck nine, ten, eleven,—­her distress of mind became heightened to agony.  The question, so often asked of herself, “Where can he be?” could find no answer.  All night long she sat listening at the window, and sunk into a heavy slumber, just as the grey light of morning stole into the window and paled the expiring lamp.  From this slumber, which had continued for nearly two hours, she was aroused by the entrance of a servant, who handed her a note, addressed in the well-known hand of her husband.  Tremblingly she tore open the seal; at the first words: 

Jail.

DEAR JULIA: 

the note fell from her hand, and she pressed her aching head for a moment, as if she feared that her senses would leave her.  Then snatching up the paper, she read:—­

“Yesterday I was sent here for debt.  I owe more than I can possibly pay, and I see no chance of getting out but by availing myself of the Insolvent Law, which I am determined to do.  Don’t let it trouble you, Julia; I shall not be here long.  To-morrow I shall probably be at liberty.  Good-bye, and keep a brave heart,