Belford's Magazine.
Vol. II. DECEMBER, 1888. No. 1.
A CHRISTMAS ROUND-ROBIN.
I.
THE MORNING BEFORE CHRISTMAS.
When Malcolm Rutherford entered the library, on the morning of a certain day before Christmas, he was surprised to find his wife in tears. This was all the more vexatious because he knew that she possessed everything to make a reasonable woman happy; but Mrs. Rutherford was not always a reasonable woman, being prone to causeless jealousy and impulsive to rashness. They lived about five miles from Winchester, Va., in which city Rutherford had a fine legal practice.
"What's the matter?" he asked. "Have any of our guests disappointed us?"