When these things were first said by the friend they did not make much impression on the mind of the young artist. But a seed was sown, and in a few days it began to send forth little fibres into the earth, and to shoot up a tender blade. From that time Ellison thought more and more about the suggestion of his friend. Whenever he met Clara he observed her more closely, and her image, when it arose in his mind, associated itself with the idea of a life-companionship. Particularly did his mind dwell upon the happy change that would come over his worldly affairs if Clara, possessing the handsome little property of twenty thousand dollars, were his wife. It did not take a very long time for the young man to be able to look at Clara Deville in a different light from that in which he had previously viewed her. The oftener he met the young lady, the more did he find in her that was attractive. Even her plain features underwent a change, and he could see in her face many points of beauty. In fact, before two months had elapsed, he was, or imagined himself to be, deeply in love with the maiden.
The desire of possession comes next after the passion of love. It proved so in this case, and in a much shorter time than the friend who suggested the alliance had dreamed of such an event taking place, Clara was not only wooed and won, but wedded.
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CHAPTER II.
It was one of the happiest days in Ellison’s life when he pressed upon the lips of the gentle girl whom he had won, the sweet bridal kiss. Over his future course through life hung a cloudless sky. The doubt and difficulty that had been on his way for years were removed—success to the utmost extent of his wishes was before him. Already, in imagination, he was in Italy, among the glorious creations of the old masters, drinking in from their sublime works an inspiration that was to him half immortal in his art.
For a few weeks these bright visions remained. Then his thoughts began to come down into the present, and to consider the real aspect of things around him. In regard to Clara’s fortune, all the knowledge he possessed was that obtained through common report. It was known that her father, while living, was in the enjoyment of a handsome property, and that this on his death had been divided equally among his children. As to the nature or value of his wife’s share, he was entirely ignorant; a certain feeling of delicacy kept him from seeking or even seeming to seek for information on the subject prior to marriage. In fact, he tried at times to persuade himself that the property of Clara had nothing whatever to do with his affection for her.
The mind of Ellison being proud, sensitive and independent, this delicacy remained equally strong after marriage. He took his wife to a good boarding-house, where he had engaged a large, handsomely furnished room at the rate of twelve dollars a week, and here they commenced their matrimonial life. From a friend, a short time previous to marriage, Ellison had borrowed a couple of hundred dollars, and this gave him the means of meeting all the necessary expenses attendant on the important event, besides leaving him with seventy or eighty dollars in possession as a little fund to use until some portion of his wife’s income should begin to find its way into his hands.
Two or three weeks passed, during which time Ellison went daily to paint and draw in his studio, though he did not work with his former earnestness. From some cause he found it impossible to bring his mind down to a present interest in his profession; that is, to an interest in what he was then engaged in doing. His mind was continually wandering away, and his fancy teeming with bright and beautiful images. He saw the pure blue skies of Italy; he felt the fragrant airs of the sunny clime breaking over his forehead; he was a worshiper among her galleries of immortal art; and more than all this, he was panting to be in the land of art and song, and felt his impatience to be away increasing every moment. And yet, his gentle, loving young wife, for whom a profound respect as well as affection had been awakened, said nothing of her property, nor had he permitted her to look deep enough into his mind to see his dream of Italy. He had carefully avoided this lest she should suspect the motive that first drew him to her side; a motive which, could he have done so, he would gladly have concealed even from himself.
Weeks went by, and still Clara said nothing about her little fortune; nor did she place money in the hands of her husband. The small sum he had in possession was daily growing less, and the income from his pencil was far from being sufficient to meet his expenses. To introduce the subject was next to impossible. The young man’s mind shrunk from even the remotest allusion thereto. To dreams of Italy, soon succeeded an anxious desire to turn what ability he possessed to some profitable account in the present, in order that he might retain his independence—something that had always been dear to him. It was barely possible, it occurred to his mind, that Clara had no property in her own right. Were this so, he was indeed in an embarrassed position.
Thus matters continued until nearly the last dollar of the young artist’s money was gone, and he began to be so unhappy that it was next to impossible to hide from his wife the troubled state of his feelings. What was he to do? From the thought of revealing to Clara the true nature of his affairs he shrunk away with exquisite pain. The moment that was done his independence was gone, and to retain his independence he was ready to make all other sacrifices. Daily he met her gentle, love-beaming face, and daily saw more and more of her pure, high-minded character, and all the while he felt guilty in her presence, and struggled to hide from her the wild disturbance of his heart.