The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1868-12-23

f0r II, found that i had ouly one solitary
sovereign left, and recolleoted with horror that
1t would be quite three weeks before / could
expect the next remittance from my father,
who was 80 good as to eke out my own mar
row income. nice position / was In for
making an offer of marriage Never mind.
Let the world collapse, Emily Simmons must
be mine began to write, but could not
please myself, and several sheets of note
paper were spoiled before l had written the
first page. At length / got thus far, bat the
pen was broad one there was no blotting-
paper and no fire, and the ink took long time
to dry. / had no time to spare IL | wished to
save the post, and while / was waiting, 1t
struck me that might as well write note to
my father, begging him to anticipate my quar-
terly allowance. So l put the halfwritten
| letter to Miss Simmons on one side for the
time, and commenced the other. This l
thought was going to dash off in a moment,
but did not get on with the facility had
expected. Words require to be well chosen
| in making such applications, especially to
such a man as my father; SO 1t was some time
| before the first page Of this letter was ready
for the drying process. Then / took up the
other again, but here the choice of words was
still more difficult, and soon spoiled it, aud
had to commence II afresh. Then / got ner-
| vous and spoiled the other also; and in fact
had consumed large quantity of paper, and
several glasses OF brandy and water, before |
udu COmploLeU tuo TWO l6LL6r5 al All TO my
satisfaction. At length they were finished,
and hurried off and posted them exactly in
time, just two or three seconds before the
stroke Of the clock.
By the next days post | got replies to both
my letters at once-the address of one being in
my mothers writing the other in an elegant
lady-like hand, which was, no doubt, the
autograph of Miss Simmons. How my heart
beat as / opened the letter But fancy my
otto uhaxr I
returned, accompanied by the following short
note:-
"Miss Simmons returns the inclosed letter
with the contempt it merits, and regrets that
she should ever have made the acquaintance
Of aperson at once so mercenary and so
stupid"
Here was a settler to my hopes Wha!
could it mean! $50 mercenary |" / merce
nary l, who had positively regretted that
gracious Was it possible that had put the
letters into the wrong envelopes Such
things had been heard Of I broke open the
inclosure. No. it was all right. 1t was my
my letter to herself, commencing with
Adorable Miss Simmons" In a state of be-
wilderment opened my mothers letter. It
inclosed ten-pound note, and ran as follows:
"MY DEAR ALFRBD:-
"What could be the meaning of that dread
We could make out from the commencement
of 1t that you are in want of money, but |
never read anything so strange and incompre-
hensible as the latter part. Oh, my dear Alfred,
how could you call your father a charmer
He is naturally most deeply mortified at such
term being applied to him. He says You
| must have been tipsy when you wrote it;
but know that my dearest Alfred could never
| be guilty of that dreadful vice. Your father
protested that he would not send you farth-
| ing, but left ten-pound note on his desk, and
enclose it to you, fully believing that he in
| tended me to do so. Take care of yourself
my dearest Alfred, and never call your father
a charmer again. ...#
'sYour loving Mother, ...s.i ....'
... ... "JEMIMA PRPNGToN."
What could my mother mean? l had
| never called my father charmer or anything
of the kind. He was little, short, quiet,
high-dried matter Of fact snuff taking country
attorney; an excellent father, in his uudemon-
strative way, but the last man in the world
one would think of calling charmer. Quite
unable to understand the affair took up my re-
jected offer, and mechanically read it through.
Yes, it was all right. / recollected every
| word as / went on. What was there in this to
make Miss Simmons think me meroenary or
| stupid Nothing. Stay, though-what was
| this There was some mistake. This was
not what | intended to write to the young
| lady. recollect every work of that letter at
the present moment. / shall never forget it.
| 1t ran thus
| 'ADoRABLB MISS SIMMONS
81 can no longer delay the request which
have TO make to you. Again and again you
must have seen it trembling on my lips when
| either some awkward interruption or some
| futtering of my own heart has prevented its
being spoken. Oh, Miss Simmons Oh,
Emily Do not refuse me Oh, mistress OF
my soul, give me by return OF post, il posi-
BILE, FIVE nd-twenty pounds, for l have had
| some heavy expenses of late, and, in word,
| as know that you like people to come at
once to the point, am regularly hard up.
''Youls, very obediently,
"ALFRED PIPPNGToN."
Now ! saw through it In the haste aud
confusion OF writing the letters, and especially
through having changed from one to the other
| while waiting for the ink to dry, had made
| the amazing blunder of commencing one let
ter to the lady and continuing it to my
father; and of beginning another to that re-
spected parent, and finishing it with what was
| intended for the eye of Miss Simmons. Was
ever anything so absurd ! rushed at once
to the lady's house, but was denied admit
tance. wrote to her letter of explanation,
but it was returned unopened. never saw
| her again Soon after this her father took
her away; and before very long ! heard that
| she was Miss Simmons no longer, but had
married q rich man called Potts, old enough
| to be her grandfather. What has become OF
| her now ] don't know. For long time
| felt my disappointment very much, but lately
| have become recOnciled to it, for if had
| married Miss Simmons, what would have be-
| ooma of nv ploriOus bachelor Independence