The Bloomfield times. [volume] (New Bloomfield, Pa.) 1867-187?, 1872-03-19
Gbe Ginres, Netp Bloomfield, 1)a.

let him have five hundred pounds, and saw
him depart with infinite relief--for now the
edifice of his diplomacy was crowned. Com
mssioned to separate young couple, he
had dispatched one to the east, the other to
the west. What success could be more
complete2 He had always estimated his
own accuteness very highly, but now he
felt as If he should "strike the stars with
his sublime top" as school friend of ours
once translated familiar line of Horace.
This state of extreme self-satisfaction last
ed somc months, during which he looked
forward to the letters of thanks and admir-
ing approval which he expected from Mr..
Lobyear tho father.
1t came mail sooner than he expected.
One morning on entering his Office, he found
two foreign letters awaiting him--one from
an unknown correspondent, and the other
in the familiar handwriting of his client in
Japan. He opened this letter eagerly, and
prepared for praise.
"DBAR SIR,-I can't make out the
meaning of this rigmarole you have written
to me about son and a marriage. / had
q son, a lieutenant in the --th, but the
poor boy fell q victim to the climate of
China, ten years ago. You refer to letter
of mine, dated from Hong Kong, and it is
true that / was there about the time you
mention, but certainly never wrote to you
during my stay. II you are in your senses,
you have been grossly imposed upon by
some rogue or another. / wish you would
have the goodness to call npon Pinum of
the British Museum and tell him." &c.
The rest of the letter was all about bugs
and beetles.
Mr.. Fiel staggered to his desk, took out
the letter he had last received, and COM
pared it with the present one: the imitation
of the handwriting was cunningly executed
but a palpable forgery. Had he entertain
ed the ghost Of suspicion at that time,
he could not have mistaken it.
1t was good hour before he partially re-
covered from the effects of this blow, and
then, in a bewidered, mechanical way, he
opened tho second foreign letter. 1t was
dated from New York and ran thus:
"SIR,---When was clerk in your Office.
you tried to get too much out OF me but
managed to turn the tables and pay myself
for time and trouble expended on your be-
half - that was one to me. You caught
me, and got me two years that was one to
you. With the aid of my clever little wife,
l have drawn about fifteen hundred and
eighty pounds out of you, winning two
events out of three. Never mind it was
improbable that l. who alone knew the de-
tails of your buisiness-relations with Mr..
Lobyear, should have CHANGED upon that
gentleman in Hong Kong, and procured
specimen of his handwriting; and in the
walnut-stained young man, with iet-black
hair and moustache, you could hardly be ex-
pected to recognize the fair, ,smoothed- faced
red headed Tom Scott.
"P. S.-Love to Sarah. l regret that
we could not square matters, by matri-
monial alliance, but bigamy is not one of
my little games at present"
Mr.. Fiel threw the letter on the ground,
pounded it with his heel, buried his face in
his hands, and in tone of agony which
might have melted the heart of his bitterest
enemy, exclaimed-"Done y