The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1870-03-31
Advertising Rates per Square.
Lost in The Post Office
BY HEsBA sTRETToN.

large cover which contained it, and
which bore the inscription, "R. Grey
ESQ, Mitre Buildings, The Temple, Lon.
DOM Within it lay Kate's destiny and
mine, Whether we were to be married
or no before our hair was gray was the
secret wrapped up in its folds.
To 60 back to the beginning. Ny
father had been the junior partner III
the old bank of Fletcher and Slaney, o.
Thornbury, which bad come to grief
after an honorable old.fashioned man
ner, paying off all its debts, according
to the custom OF forty years ago, at the
expense of tue firm, who thereupon be-
came poor men. My father bad many
friends, and in those times, whep pollt'
ical influence had its finger In the be-
stowal of all public offices worth hav-
ing, the members for our Tory bOrOugb
had little difficulty in procuring tor
the ex-banker the office of postmaster
then vacant. The bank offices, occupy
ing the ground-foor of our residence
were altered somewhat to suit the new
purposes to which they were put. The
public business room became a sort OF
oHter office, and my fathers private
apartment the stamping and sorting
place for the letters. The upper portion
of the partition wall was thrown down,
but left at q sufficient height to screen
the inner room from the observation OF
any person in the outer one; yet 1t was
open enough to make every word audi
bic in either part, unless Intentionally
spoken in q whisper. In the course OF
few years my father appointed me hs
head clerk, upon the promotion OF the
previous clerk TO an Office Of his own;
and our united salaries then amounted
to f400 O year, besides the numerou;
perquisites which at that time OF day
fell TO the share of the postmaster, such
as private lelter-bags, and the postage
upon local letters. We had two under
clerks, and the duties were light; very
different from what they have since be
come, as l am told. The |, my postage
had only Just come in; postage stamp:
were still an institution of the future
and money. orders had been recOgniz
ed branch of the establishment no more
than two years. Only four years before
the stamp duty on newspapers had been
Sid apiece, aud the widest Wing had
not vet dreamed of penny paper
There were hours in our pCst-office when
our two subOIdlnateS were more THAI
sufficient for all the work of the place,
and my fathers post was little else than
sinecure.
One of the borough-men, who had
been most active in procuring this COM
Portable berth for us, was al old crony
of nv ather's,-both of them were
Masons, and both dabbleIs in chemis
trv.-snd alss the wealthiest man in the
whole neighborhood. He was a bache
lor, and continued to live very much In
the simple and inexpensive style be had
been used to in poorer days. Hlsmoney
had grown by lucky speculatlons and
careful economy. A good many OF his
kindred lived about the town, all mod
erately we'll off, and more or less success
fal in life, except the brother next
eldest to himself, who, having entered
the Church, had gained no higher pre-
motion in il than poor Curacy In his
native town, with an income of tlOl
q wear. Old Lawrence treated him with
a kind of fretful, irritable brotherliuess
which was but poorly plastered over by
q yearly gift, grudgingly given, OF an
other hundred. lneed scarcely say that
all the kindred were specially atfec.
tionate to old Lawrence.
His niece, Kate Lawrence, the curate'S
daughter, was,-well. / shall not try
to describe what she was, except by
saving that was in love with her, and
had been ever since had first seen her
in church, listening, with beaming
and loving face, to her father preaching
ono OF his prosisst sermons. Every
II N Low Lof
made no secret of il; and Katie was
Just as simply and frankly in love with
me, and made no secret of 1t either.
Yet am quite sure had never asked
her, in 30 many words, if she would be
nv wife; but we were tacitly, without
pledge or promise given, engaged to
marry one another as soon as tickle for.
tune would permit it. When that
would be, the most prophetic soul could
not foretell; for our lavish household
expenditure at home, which had not
been materially reduced upon the failure
of the bank, swallowed up the united
income of my father aud myself; while
my three sisters, now portionless, did
not seem in fair way to make eligible
settlements. There was only one chance,
adistant one ,-when old Lawrence died,
would he leave Katie or her father any
portion of his accumulated wealth.
Six OF seven years had passed without
any Frightening of our prospects, when,
quite unexpectedly, one morning old
Lawrence's housekeeper rushed in with
the news that she had found her master
dead in his bed. Only the night before
he and my father had been trying some
chemical experiments, and the shock 10
the latter was so violent that he was
insensible for some time, and continued
speechless after his consciousness had
apparently returned. Of course, my
mother and sisters were in great agita
tion, and it was an hour or two before
could leave them, after assisting 10 ge
my father to bed, and sending for his
doctor. As soon as ] could, however,
FASTENED 10 the poor solitary old mans
house. The streets were all In cemmo'
ton, and the whole town seemed in Q
fever of curiosity concerning the sud
den event, and what might result from
it. In the house itself l found every
one of the relatives who lived in the
town, including two younger brothers
and a married sister Of the deceased:
and by the side of the dead man SAT
Katie's father, genuine tears of sorrow
binding his eyes.
The excitement, once awakened, did
not seem likely to sIumber again till
curiosity was satisfied. 1t was plain
that the old man hadtiied from natural
causes; but as soon as the town was as.
sured of that, the question upon every
tongue was, Has he made will I" OF
"How has he left his money! l was
myself deyoured by anxiety, of which
/ was half ashamed. If he had died
intestate, Katie's father, as heir-at law,