y.

I had been engaged about a twelvemonth in my new place, a very
pleasant little shop, though the pay was less and the work harder
than I had had with Monsieur C----, when, one morning, standing at the
shop-window, I saw that gentleman pass: very brisk, very spruce, very
plump he looked. Glancing in, (I flatter myself that a show-window
arranged as I could arrange it would attract any one's eye,) he espied
me. A speedy recognition and a long conversation were the result. It
was early morning, and we had the store to ourselves. Monsieur was
very friendly. His business was very good. Poor Madame! he wished
she could have lived to see it; but she was gone, poor soul! out of a
world of trouble. And Monsieur plaintively fixed his eyes on the black
crape upon his hat. The unhappy exit took place a few months after my
departure. The children had gone to one or another relative. Monsieur
was all alone; he had been away since then himself, had been doing as
well as a bereaved man could do, and, having saved a snug little sum,
had returned to buy out the old stand, and reestablish himself in the
old place. No one was with him; he wished he could get a good hand to
superintend the concern, now his own hands were so full. It would be a
good situation for somebody. In short, Monsieur came again and again,
until, as I was poor and lonely, and had almost overworked myself
just to keep soul and body together, whose union, after all, was of
no importance to any one save myself, and as I was quite glad to
find some one else who was interested in the preservation of the
partnership, I consented to be his wife. It was a very sensible and
philosophic arrangement for both of us. We could make more money
together than apart, and were stout and well able to help each other,
if only well taken care of. So we settled the business, and settled
ourselves as partners in the saloon.

Three years had passed, and we were in the old place still. We had
been very busy that day. Many orders to fill, many customers to wait
upon. Monsieur, completely worn out, was sound asleep on the sofa
up-stairs. It was late; I was very much fatigued, as I descended,
according to my usual custom, to see that everything was safe about
the house and shop. The place was all shut and empty; the lights were
all out. A cushioned lounge in one corner of the saloon--_my_ saloon
now--attracted my weary limbs, and I threw myself upon it, setting the
lamp upon a marble table