The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1870-11-24

form to me.
Then followed d short silence, during
which l could almost hear Winnie's heart
beat. Then said:
tI"Do you mean to say, Winnie, that ut
tho time you promised 10 marry me, you
were enEagedto five other gcntlemen|
"Yes; but | aint now; / am only en-
gagged to one" tH.I
"Besides meY" ag.,
"Yes, besides you. When ! had writ
ten four notes, In different styles, breaking
off four different engagements, | couldn't
think what other form TO use Tor the fifth
one. So l let him go, and haven't writ
ten yet. There p -
And here Winnie give profound sigh,
and looked up TO meas though relieved Of
o heavy burden. % ,Ig.g. .a.
"And Is this characteristic Of the way
in which young ladies Of the South engage
thcmselyes-this polyglot system OF be-
trothal ?" '
II don't know, I'm sure" almost sobbed
Winnie; "il's the way all the girls l ever
knew did" .'"
/ arose, lit the gas, arranged paper, pen
and ink and placed chair Tor Winnie.
Suppose you write to the fifth one
now" said. write the note Us you
think proper. l would rather not know
what you say. Seal 1t; address 1t proper
", and give 1t to me. By the time We
are on the ocean, my fifth rival will have
received it" ,... .,..
Winnie looked at me with comical eX-
preston, but sat down at the desk | had
arranged, wrote the note and handed it to
me to read. Without doing SO, folded
it, enclosed it in an envelope, sealed the
envelope and handed it back to Winnie
for her TO address. She did so, aud in
another moment the name of "Cyrus
Morris, No. - street, New York City"
was cleaning in violet ink upon the deli
cate paper. Then l put the note in my
pocket and went Downstairs to see, as l
said, that it was properly mailed. ID "a"
Tint evening we had an extremely
snug Thanksgiving dinner oil TO ourselves,
and after 1t was over, l took Winnie's
head between my hands, and looking
down to her fresh and tlOwerlike face,
askcd-"Do you think you and l, Golden
beam, will be us happy one year from
now, as we are this nightY f t..r
"And why noty" asked Whine, without
momentary shadow falling over her face.
"And do you trust me so implicitlyg" l
asked. "Me, ofwhom you know nothing
whatever" 4..5 -Ig.s. a. q.
"And what do you know of mcY" she
asked. a.
"Morc, perhaps, than you think" |,
answered. "See here, Goldenbeam, Twill
make a bargain with you. One year from
now-it will be Thanksgiving day, then.
you knOw-you shall tell me whether l
make as good n husband then asyOuthink
now TINT will, and I will tell yUu--"
"Ycs! WhAt| ,.aEt .. Ia4,
"Why married you, and what | knew
Of YOU before l asked you TO be my wife"
ltsraSa bargain, and we sealed 1t with
q kiss. 80
The next day VIC sailed for Europe,
and within year ibid" everything that
could reasonably be done there within
that time. We had been so accurate and
punctual,. in following up the various
routes which we had planned for our
selves, that on the dry preceding the next
Thanksgiving day. we landed In New
York. and repaired to the same hotel
which we had stayed at tho year provi-
ously.
Ii ever there was IN artless and'unat-
tectel little woman, TINT little woman's
name WIS Goldenbeam. There was no
cant in her piety, nothing lAchrymose in
her expression Of religion. But on Thanks.
giving day she took me devoutly to
church, and when We came home and
prepared to have an carly dinner, she
clasped her arms around my neck and
said: "Do you know what is the one
thing that feel thankful for more than for
anything else" .45
SFor the last Sweet things you brought
from Paris, l presume" yt.
"You kn0to it isn't that, It's for y0N.
You know 1t Is, md you Just want me to
say so. lam 70, thapkful7that / broke all
my five engagements, and tied myself
down to q dear old thing like you. There;
/ live kept nay part Of the bargain. Nov
you keep yours. Why did you marry me!
What attracted you toward me tnsucll MI
incredibly short space OF time"
"Haye you never thOught?" / asked.
HNever had the dimmest suspicion New
or imagined TINT, after oil, was not
taking 4 leap in the dark, but in reality
knew all about YOU, and had made up my
mind. that you were. just the little angel
Of wife l ought to have Think for u
moment ~ I : = - = - =
Goldcnbcam did think for moment
and then shook her puzzled head.
II can't make it out" she said. II never
was good iat guessing riddles give It
up"
"ThGn let nc refresh your memory. Do
you remember couple Of years ago, your
visiting friend for Q couple Of weeks in
this clty?" " w.
so certainly. It was" n1an.
"Never mind who It was. That don't