Litchfield enquirer., 1868-03-12
w HOLE NO. 4cS4
ing, and saw her leave alone.

Ing, and saw her leave alone.
 Il Was too lncensed to speak to her. I oafed not trust myself to do so; but wri- tins Ter 6 bitter letter, in which I told her what had seen, and accused her of all things base, bade her farewell forever! The same day left New York, and in a week more was on my way to Europe. 1 Il never saw her agaln-I heard 10 mos.s of her until three years after, when I re- turned to America. She was dead The friend who told me this was her mother. and she told me all. She had married Frank q year after had disappeared, and had died in giving birth to her first child. Ihe sick friend whom she had visited was ; a lunatic sister of Franks, and she had died the night watched the house, Mr. Moneypenny stopped here. He at tempted to continue shortly after what I imagine would have been the moral of his story; but he could not bring himself to utter 1t, and l did not need it.
 At length he drew from his breast-pock- ct the sealed package which I shall hand you With thls loug letter. IL Was dIrecte,i , to you uhdef the name you will bear to- morrow-"Mrs. Robert Clurke''
 ''l have wlsheu, he said, as he handed me the package, ito make your wife bri- dal present.. hope you won't refuse to take It, for It will be d great pleasure to me to know that she will accept it.
 lcouId not Say no.
 "l will offer you none, he added eff the story l have told has impressed you it ] Will be ot more value than any thing else I could do or Say. shall be glad to be pres- ent at your wedding, but she must not know 1t, and you must not give her that package until after you are married. When you do so you must tell her this story that l have told you. hope you will make her happy, and God bless you both!'
 He turned aside, got down from his high stool, and hobbled away.
 1t IS easy, my dear, to guess at the con- tents ot the package. It is difficult to dis aulse jewelry in yellow envelopes, and I ! can feel, if l cannot see, the breast-pin, necklace. earrings, and bracelets which form my wife's bridal present from John Moneypenny. And it is not difficult for me, who have known him so long and know how truly he has painted his character, and how he gradually emerged after his love- ve-disappointment into morose old mi ser, to guess at its value. A poor clerks wife cannot afford to wear very costly jew elry-John Moneypen1y has thought of that, my dear, and you need not hope on opening this to find valuable set of dia- ; monds.
 NOTE HRS. CLAGEE.
 After my dear husband had read me the forego- Ing communicati Il as explanatory of the package, | and had expressed his regret at having written tho. .last paragraph for felt more kindly toward poor John Moneypenny, ter reading his unhap- py story in the new light of cur own happiness-I opened, with some little nervousness the large yellow envelope which contained the jewels. They were np. diamonds, but they were nevertheless very rAltlable-a handsome set of pearls that could consistently wear poor clerks wife. And my hhsband declared, whc, I hastily put them on that they certainly became Le vory much, and thought John Moneypenny had displayed a great deal of taste.
 After we had sufficiently admired them turned again to the envelope, in which had noticed & letter, and opening it handed it in some surprise ! to my husband. It was expressed on legal cap paper, and my husband Who is versed in such ] matters at once pronounced it "deed.' And at another glance we found that it was decd of gift of the house in ThItv-fifth Street, which John Moncypenny had only the week before handsome | ly furnished. Our asonishmel 1t at such present was only surpassed by that which possessed us when we read the consideration which had induc- ed John Moneypenny to execute this deed of gift. 1t ran thus,
 'For, and in consideration of, the love and affec
 tion which bore her mother
 We read no further; there was nothing more of
 interest in the long form to us