At length he was at the door, and lifting slowly the
latch, he entered.
"Henry!" said Ellen, with a look and tone of surprise. Her face was
paler and more care-worn than it was a year before; and its calm
expression had changed into a troubled one. She had a babe upon her
lap, her first and only one. The room in which she sat, so far from
indicating circumstances improved by the passage of a year, was far
less tidy and comfortable; and her own attire, though neat, was
faded and unseasonable. Her husband replied not to her inquiring
look, and surprised ejaculation, but seated himself in a chair, and
burying his face in his hands, remained silent, until, unable to
endure the suspense, Ellen went to him, and taking his hand, asked,
so earnestly, and so tenderly, what it was that troubled him, that
he could not resist her appeal.
"I am discharged!" said he, with bitter emphasis. "And there is no
other establishment in the town, nor within fifty miles!"
"O, Henry! how did that happen?"
"I hardly know myself, Ellen, for it all seems like a dream. When I
left home this morning, I did not go directly to the shop; I wanted
to see a man at the upper end of the town, and when I got back it
was an hour later than usual.
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