The Works of George W. M. Reynolds — page 170: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

THE GATHERING STORM 153 him from communicating to his wife the state of his finances and the necessity that existed for economy. Yes, pride, because he could not bring himself to give utterance to the humiliating words which should enforce the necessity of retrenchment, and alarm, because he felt that if he were to show any outward sign of his embarrassments, all his credit- ors would become clamorous at once, his credit would be stopped, and his destruction accelerated. ‘Thus, the extrava- gances at home had gone on increasing while his means of supporting them were diminishing, and although his wife and daughter observed at times that he became thoughtful and sombre, and though they even detected an expression of perfect agony occasionally sweeping over his countenance, yet they quieted their own fears with the thought that too close an application to business was the cause of Hmmer- son’s altering looks, and not for a moment did they choose to suspect that any trouble was being introduced into his finances. : In addition to the above-mentioned causes of pecuniary embarrassment, Emmerson had recently stood an expensive contest for the aldermanic gown of one of the City wards. Here again did the pride of a man who was so strong in oppressing all whom his usurious practices brought within his scope become his weakness, and though at the very first moment, when a deputation of his friends waited upon him and asked him to stand as a candidate, he was frightened at the enormous expense into which it would lead him, he nevertheless had not the courage to breathe the word “ no.’’ The canvass therefore took place, and judging by the prom- ises received, Emmerson’s success appeared certain. But when the day of election came, many of those who had pledged themselves to support him, stopped away, while others actually went to the polling place and recorded their votes against him. Vain had been all his expenditure to ensure his election, equally vain and futile had proved his frothy vapourings relative to “our blessed Constitution ”’ and “ glorious laws.’”’ It was evident that some mysterious agency had been at work to undermine him, and that to such dark and insidious manceuvrings was his defeat to be attrib- uted. While still smarting under the galling sense of a failure which, prominent as he had made himself as a common CORNICLOOL CS (C(O)