Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1867-07-12

our calculations, suddenly struck me
with an uncomfortable sensation Of
dOubt.
/ determined to speak to Fred, and
] seized the opportunity that evening /
when Miss Ef6ng had retired, to pro- /
pose a cigar on the terraoe,-a PROPOSE |
tion to which Fred readily consented. |
/ The case was speedily represented, and I
/ Fred's answer, as usual, concise
/ "TOu have been admirable y he as i
/ serted, ''and deserve, I must admit, iul- /
mense credit for so fully carrying out 1
4 our plans /. and feel that TcanrOt con-
1 gratulate myself on you too heartily. 1
i Now, perceive the result: the old fel- I
1 low sWears by YOU, and I have drawn /
/ Miss Efhug's attention to the high Opin-
ion entertained Of you by her uncle. /
/ Of course, to alter your line of conduct,
now, would be to destroy everything. !
You would be accused of a TJLse, Bus-
/ pected Of intentions, and summarily /
/ elected. Consistency, my dear fellow,
/ believe me, unVary11g consistency, 1s 4
your only COurse.-unremlttlng deYO- I
I ton to the ogre (; delicate difidence TO, /
wards the niece and on the morning !
/ of our departure, when the near pros
| pect of losing his cOngenial spirit, as
/ he calls you, has unnerved our friend,
/ a solemn interview in the library, /
! formal proposal. and you return 10
town an engaged man Is IL not as
] clear as daylight = straightforward 4
and inevitable IN every point Deeause
/ so simple. You retain your pedestal,
Il remain consistent, and the result comes
about quite naturally, through aud in
4 consequence of that very consistency. y
i looked at Fred with admiration
eYerything appeared so feasible when
detailed bV him in few simple words;
bis very tones Of semi-indiffeFence had
a wondrous power of conviction and
moreover, my own common sense re-
sUonded to the assertion that a change
Of manner would be fatal. saw my
II ,EsaEHz NIL
easy as an ordinary transaction Of life,
and the horizon grew bright with hope.
Warmly thanking my friend for the
invaluable benefit of his shrewd sense
and convincing advice, / withdrew to
nv. room, nv mind filled with moro
sanguine projects, more tangible hopes,
than / had yet indulged in, since the
beginning of my adventure
".
at length the mOmentous morning
daWued. We had prolonged our few
davs' stay to a week, and our host had
evidently determined not to renew
his invitation, spite of the manifest
pleasure my company gave him so,
almost before I could realize it, the
eventful day arrived.
passed a -sIeepIess and disturbed
night, several times starting from a
confused, dreamy rehearsal of the in
tervieW intended demanding in the
morning. " AhllCB 4 1OdAA Wits BD4ALA
voices and confused sounds about the Z
house, quite impossible at that late
hour. Visions fiOated before me of the
already approaching future the events
of the last few days seemed to spread
back over half nv life, so great was
the importance attached to their issue ;
and now the eliminating point was
reached, I felt already the foreshadow-
ing of my victory for, had 1 not fuI-
filed every condition ?-had L not ac- {
l. sr7T7
other competitor had failed And the /
question of the young lady's. possible c
opposition was merely doubtful enough
to give excitement to the de91OgCeB1e7lt. I
Did not all young Iaoles nfss oppose Z
and ultimately yield, with very little Q
persuasion, to all parents and guard h
ians How much more so then in the
present case, where the circumstances C
were so exceptionally strong in my fa- q
VOr Y
I had not been long awake, and was r
debating in my miud whether or not
to start on an early walk, and by a >
dose of fresh air to brace up my shat !
tered nerves and stimulate them for z
the coming scene, when was startled :
from my cogitation by a tap at the door
and almost Immediately Mr.. MerFick's
valet stood before me- This was most :
unprecede occurrence hitherto a Z
servant had never entered my room +
without being summoned, and this !
man seldom even then.
A vague -presentiment of evil seized i
me, and turned uneaslly to look at =
him. One glance sufHced; he was ghast-
" pale and seemed half insane with
alarm. Utterly unable to conjecture Z
the cause, but certain that something Q
terrible must have happened, I gasped, 4
'sWhat is it % g
80, sir! don't you know2p said he c
care you sure you don't know? They're u
gone, sir-bOlted-Mr. Fred and Miss Y
BeIla-the two of them, and the new :
maid-Of in a pOst-chaise three good s
hours ago; and who's to tell the govern y
or I dOn'tssknovy; dare MT"
The man might have gone on speak q
ing forever-in fact he did go on; but c
beyond those few first words, not a syl- a
liable was intelligible to me. My first Y
impulse was to bound up and strangle q
him then and there, but the effort was c
a miserable failure, and I fell back pow e
erless, paralyzed. v
No suspicion of possible mistake; 0
no crumb of comfort in mOmentaTy d
feeling of incredUlity, sustained me; b
the mans manner bore the stamp of n
truth; his terror was too real, his state "
ment too concise to leave room for P
doubt. It was by no process Of reason g.
ing. by no mental review, by no Teca- q
pitulatiOn of events that the light broke
in on me, but suddenly, in an instant, q
with the violence of a galvanic shock, Il
I realized how completely I had been p
sold, utilized, taken in b
At last, a movement on the part of r
the servant attracted my attention.; he q
was handing me a letter, and had prob s
ably been describing how it came into [
his possession, but of this had not b
heard a word. My sensations can be v
neither imagined or described when, on Ii
looking at it, I recognized the writing t.
of my traitOrOus friend. Had the viper d
left his sting there I hesitated to U
touch the dishOnored paper, At that il
violent ringing OF bells an c
Mr.. Merriell's LeUeej and throw d
ing the note on the table, the distract a
ed valet rushed from the room, mutter- n
ing 81 cannot tell i'll cannot; Thomas v
must go to him." c
Alone with my enemy, 1 screwed uD a
my courage and broke the seal. The J
note was Short and ran as follows: c
DEAR IA AcE:-Pray- accept my best thanks. 4
Bat for your efficient aid could never ~
have successfully hoodwinked old Argus
You are an apt pupil, ana | sincerely wish V
tude. n st. - FRED CLAYTON" "
"P. S.-Bella, insists on apOlOgizingi 50 I 7,
eheIOSe- --s..z=r -.l.-... ~ -
There was then another epistle! I G
looked about; It had fallen on the floor. s
/ opened it mechanically, and read &
tfDEAR Mr.. HARRIs;-I hope you win for e
give Fred. What he did was for my happi- 4
ness. We have long been attached and Sc =
rate and So vigilant that an eIopement was d
our only refuge and, but for your assistance,
could not have been effected. Trusting soon
to receive from your own lips pardon for a y
harmless stFatagem, believe me, yours, (by "
the time you receive this, a
BELLA CLAYTON EFFINGf." d
"Please, sir, Mr. Merrick wishes to il
speak to you" a
The door of nay room was wide open, u
and on its threshold stood the old but N
Ter, grave and severe of aspect. / fol- q
lowed him silently, too full of bitter a
ness for words, but .solRcing myself with
the reelection that in my host I should p
find a thorough sympathizer in my il
anger and Indignation. Il
was ushered into a small sitting p
room, where Mr. Merrick, in a flaming L
red dressing-gOw and absolutely pur- u
pie with fury, was pacing up and down p
ike a wild beast in a cage. Before 4 Sd
could open my lips he turned sharply is
4 . py