The ebullition subsided, in due time, and then
the really good-hearted spinster gave her whole thought and active
energy to the new work that was before them.
After the fierce conflict endured by Mr. Markland, ending wellnigh
fatally, a calmness of spirit succeeded. With him, the worst was
over; and now, he bowed himself, almost humbly, amid the ruins of
his shattered fortunes, and, with a heavy heart, began to
reconstruct a home, into which his beloved ones might find shelter.
Any time within the preceding five or six years, an intimation on
his part that he wished to enter business again would have opened
the most advantageous connections. It was different now. There had
been a season of overtrading. Large balances in England and France
were draining the Atlantic cities of specie, and short crops made it
impossible for western and southern merchants to meet their heavy
payments at the east. Money ruled high, in consequence; weak houses
were giving way, and a general uneasiness was beginning to prevail.
But, even if these causes had not operated against the prospects of
Mr.
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