The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1862-01-21

The elderly gentleman took the hand
d TIC dark.haircd Alice and placed i Ia
minr.
" Take her he said. with emolion ''and
may God prosper son We viii have lhc
,nssl important thing nrs,, aud dinner
aiiakaaid. 1lc guests are already get
tasg Impatient
gIas e,d al Alicr's ,lrrss. Il was bri-
dal white. and her beautiful hair was
crowned Wi,h wreath Of orange blossoms.
Tie sight gave ms Ifemor. ! felt
weak and faint. Ny pallor must have
alarmed Alice; for She clutrlcd my arm
eilily. aud eazed into my face with pain
ful anxiety.
What is i. Rrhafd; Are you illi-
Mrrciiul heaven Helen, looh at him J
lie is i'll !"
al i nothing --noihing " gasped.--
!" Only | caunot-canuot marry you J
-"
~Oh !" cred Alice, IL iiorriiied li-may !;
md, seeing She wa, about to fall, ] flung
my arm around her for support.
At this moment the hali door was open
cd. and tuning at the sound, ! saw, with
my own eyes, my seeoild self enter the
room. My exact counterpart Richard
Smith, No. 2
Ills fierce eyes took IN the scene NJ one
swoopng elaeec. lie rushed toward me
wlh a wild ,iacl'ation. and, tearing the
Iali-ailaing Allce liom my arms, he plant
cd his grasp on my iliroat. put my
hand on the same locality Of his body.
"What are you dnngF' he Numbered
81 my ear
"What are yoa doing:" thundered,
in Response.
"Yopr lie shall pay the forfeit 7 he ex-
claimed, with mad violence. The man
who has dared to win Alice liereiord's
love shall dic,'
"Gentlemen "--iAte.rupe the sweet
voice OF her whom they had called Helen
be patient; there is some mistake
Which Of you is named Richard Smith I"
Il am I" replied ].
II I'm I" replied my counterpart.
i" But which Of YOU is Richard Smith
the son Of Archibald Smith =
Il am," said my second self.
And | am not, said | my father was
named Robert"
Helen looked'a me a moment, lalf in
doubt, evidently, how 10 treat me after
what had occurred. Finally, ,hc held out
her band,
Il beg your pardon, NJ. Smilh; it was
all a cafcless mistake OF my own. Can
you forgive mc?"
Thought OF the kisses she had given
me, aud wished the same mistake might
bc male over again. tlongh / was wise
enough not to make known my wish.
"Lrt me EXPLAIN size continued, frank
Is. "We we're expecting my brother
Richard home from the South, where he
has been some four or five months past
and were quite sure that he would arrive
on tie train which brought YOU; he has
been some years engaged TO Miss Here
ford, and the marriage ceremony was 10
lake p ace immediately on his arrival
went down 10 the depot to welcome lin.
and bcc ,nse Of the striking simillude in
your respective personal appearance, ]
mistook stranger tor MY brother. That
IS ALL Brother Richard, MIR. Smith is
entirely blameless Of any wrong. We
gave him no time for explanations. Let
me present You TO each oihcr rs friends.
My counterpart shook hands with me,
aud begged my pardon ior dislocaling my
neck-tic. | granted it, and begged his
pardon for committing a depreciation On
his ncck-iic.
And then, at sign fom tie elderly
gcntlcmar, we walked into the drawing
room, where, in brief space Of time, my
counterpart was ma le The husband OF his
blushing Alice.
The acquaintance 50 singularly begun
with The Smith family, socn ripened into
friendship, ana became one Of the most
precious Of life's blessings 10 me.
Helen Smith had kissed me, and she could
not forget it. Ii a man can ct woman
10 think Of hint hardly matters in
what way--he las a claim on her; and
30 it was in my case. believe that !
never met Helen bat she blushed at the
memory which stole oser her.
Three months after our first meeting,
-he kissed me again and called me " Dear
Richard" And this time she was well
aware that she was not addressing her
brother.
Is it fortunate, or an unfortunate
thing, to have counterpart when |
think Of the boa. Iing-hoase-kceper, ! say,
. lNo;" but when look at Helen and re-
call the circumstances OF our Introduction,
Ian accustomed to answer, ~Yes."-Peter-
sOn's Magazine.
~---------------~-----7--*--
@This aniamal," said an itiptrani show
snaa - i tL,.. y,.,,..i Afr,.,. bv..ua faoaeur.