A Casuist

The circuuistíinoos that led to Ernesl Marsden a withdrawal from London have never beeu properly pxplained. His disappearanoe excited sorae comment. for, although Marsden was by professiou a subordínate, il had beeu bis humor tooccupy positions of direction iu his spare time as relaxation from his more serious toil. He was a woll known political organizer nnd speaker as well as au occasional contributor upon economie questions to tho monthly reviews By day he was employed at au office in Cornhill It was there that I made his acquaiutauce Üur duties brought us a good deal together, and a considerable intimacy sprang up between us. Marsden 's relations were all dead, and he was once good enough to say that I was the only friend he possessed in the whole world. Thingswere in this coudition wben I oalled one night at my eniployer'a private house on a business matter that bad been overlooked. I was shown into the drawing room. From an adjoining apartment I conld hear at intervals the voices of two men in violent altercation. Aft-er a time Mr. Henderson appeared ia the drawing room and asked me to acoompany him iuto tho otherroom. Krnest Marsden, the only oconpant, recoived me with a grateful smile. "I have asked y ou totakepart in thia oonversation, " said my employer, "bocause í believeyou to be a frioud of Mr. Marsden 's and likely to advise hinj helpfuUy at a very critical moment in his oareer. You were away this afternoon from the office and aro therefora ignorant of what has oocurred. I have been robbed, andyour frieud is the oaly possible culprit. At half past 12 today an amount of LG0 waa paid to me perHonally in gold and notes. Before goiug out I locked it up in the safe in my private room, a safe to which you and Mr. Marsden have the only other keys. Mr. Marsden, whom I left at work in my room, went outabout ten minutes later. I ara assured by the clerks in the outer iofflee that no one else entered the room during my absence. I returned in half ,an hour. The safe was locked, but when J opened it I fouud that the gold (L40) had disappoared. I havo told Mr. Mars den thac if he will make a clean breasC of everything aud restore the money he may retire frora my employrnent quietly and without scandal. " TUis statement upset me a good deal. I hoped, of course. that my friend could clear himself of the accusation. My owu position in the matter was nona too pleasanfc. Although I had had leave of absence for the day, I had been obliged to oome back for my pnrse, which, by a strange oversight, I had left in the pocket of my office jacket. Unfortunately I had returned to the office aboufc 12.80 o'clock. Fiuding the door of Mr. Henderson's sanctum ünlocked - the door, I mean, opening directly into the passage - I had slippedin andont without apparently those in the outer office having noticed my return. Marsden, however, had met me upon the stairs. To make things more ugly, I had thai very day come into the possession of a sum of money under circumstances that could not havo baen made public. To tny great relief, Marsden made uo reference to our meeting, although aware, no doubt, of the effeot it would hüve in diverting suspicion from himself. The scène that followed was a very painful one. Marsden insisted upou hia innocence, and bitter speeches passod on both sides. I fancied at one time during a Jn.ll in the storm that I canght the sound of some one weeping in the next room. The conference broke up, having come to no conclusión. Mr. Henderson, whom contradiction always lashed into a fury, followed Marsden into the hall, threatening him with exposure and imprisonment Suddenly the drawing room door burst open, ar.d a tall, proud looking girl swept into the hall. I will uot attempt to repeat verbatim what she 6aid. Some of it has escaped me, and the rest, without her dark eyes and impassioned bearing, seems ordinary onough. Mr.rsden had proposed to her a year previously and had been refused. His constancy in the face of every discourageroeut had touched her deeply, and lately she had come to realizo that her feelings toward him were completely changed. Under ordinary circumstanoes she would have waited for him to address her again. Of his continual devotiou he had given her inany eloquent, if silent, demonstratious, and now that his fortunes were at their lowest she asked as a favor to be allowed to stand byhisside and to fight his battles against all the world. At the end of thia speech, which was delivered with an inoouceivable elevation of manner, the girl would have flung herself upon her lover's brease, but he repulsed her with a strange gesture. "Don't touch me. Lucyl" he cried passionately. "I stole it. " Two honra later 1 went round to Marsden 's lodgings, for, in spite of his confession, I feit sure that my friend was not guilty of this base thing. I fqund him busily eagaged putting his bëlongings together. "I aru glad you have come, " he said af ter an enibarrassing silence. "Other people may thiuk what they like, but I raid not bear that you should consider me a thief. ' ' "Bnt the confession?" I stammered. "Sit down," Marsden replied, "and I will explain everything. " His explanation was briefly this: I Twelve tnonths beforo he had made Miss Henderson an offer of mamase under the irnpression that the girl was madly devoted to hini Whether he laved her he was uot at that time suro. Within a week of his rejection - he had been refused - he knew for certain that he did nor. After that ne had met Lucy Henderson frequently and had fonnd the mixture of friendliness and pity with which she treated liim exactly to bis lancy He knew that the girl thought she had darkened his existenoe forever, and he had encouraged her in this notion. He felt that he was acting the part of a glurífied Major Dobbiu and playing it uucommonly well. On one occasion he had sung "The Devout Lover" in her prcseuoe with so much feeling as to have atïected oven himself. That he was doinga great evil by thisposing he had never reflected. He had uot even dreamed that Miss Heudertiou's feelings tovvard him were undergoing any change Wher. she had proclaimed her love for him that night, lie had been for a second dizzy at the cliasm that had opencd btfore him "And now you know, " he coucluded, "why I confessed to the robbery " "But what the devil has all this to do witb it?" 1 replied augrily "What would you have done in my place?" "I - I" - progross was by no meaus rapid - "I suppose you oouldn't havo told her straight out that you no longer love her?" "Insult her at the moment she was standing up for me so maguificently!" "Well. then, have manied her. " "Quite ont of the question. impossiblel" "As it is, " ha sairl, "tlio connection has boen severed, and her maidenly pride has not been wouuded As for me, I eau go to another town and start afresh. Henderson bas accepted the f 40 I have sent hun, and you, he and his daughter aio all who will know anything of this affüir. " I took np my bat to leave. "You won't let this interfero with our friendship, " said Marsden, holding out his hand. "Ernest Marsden, " I replied, "you are either the greatest saint in creation or the meanest hound. I will write to you when I ascertain which. " Since theu Marsden has written to me once or twice, but 1 have never replied to him. I caunot inake np my mind about his behavior. That he was wrong to have followed Miss Henderson when he knew that be did not love her is beyond question. This being so, it is clear to me sometimes that he ought to have married her, and his subspquent couduct npppars mean beyond credence. To oscape an unpleasant dnty he dishonored his own name. At other times it is equally obvious to me thathe ought not to have married her - a return of her nfToctiou was not to be expected - and ne chose a quixotically heroia method oi -paring her solf pride As I have said, I aai as far from a decisión as ever, and al i this while Alarsden, my oíd chum, is =ufferiug aeutely from my noglect. There is one question that deniands an answor. Uow was it that, iu spito of his confessiou, I at no time belfeved ic my friend's guilt?