Litchfield enquirer., 1872-06-20

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 but had always heard that his property was all to go to nephew, Commodore
 Bottletop, and the old villain had never so much as given me & silver pot Still,
 he was inclined to be friendly; fer, couple of days after my call, I received an invitation to go and have ga week or so's shooting" at Chesyln; and did not
 find my studies so expressing as to make me think it necessary to decline. ''Now," said MT. Bottletop, as we sat together at dessert on the first evening
 of this visit, 'syou can't guess what I've asked you here for?''
 He inspected my face in his deliberate, serious manner, to see if he could detects glmmer of intelligence there; but appar- ently failing, he added, '1 thought not. I'm going to get you married straight
 ''Are you, really?" returned, anything but gratified by the nature of my summa- " execution.
 ''Now, my dear boy, just tell me this much, and I'll engage for the rest. Have you anything of the kind on hand at pres ent, or have you not?"
 ''No," answered, I'm afraid somewhat sayagely. ''No: I've not"
 "An right, then, so far. Now, just lis l great deal worse than marry this poor girl"
 ..Poor girl indeedp' observed, with indignation: ga poor man like myself IS much better without poor girl" ''She has nice little fortune-it's not that, poor thing; and she's so pretty too"- sWhat the deuce is it?'' I was becom- l ing rather annoyed.
 "Tve heard from her mother to-day very good family, my boy; related to all sorts of grandees-and she says-here's the letter; I'll read you what she says about it: Poor girl! she is, hope, rather getting over it now, and is looking forward
 very much to seeing you again so soon. Do, dear MT. Bottletop, if possible, invite some nice, good-looking young man to stay with you while we are at Chesyln. don't mean-coDeprenez7 she will be likely to fall in love with, but just to rather divert her thoughts, and that kind of thing She is such favorite of this" 'But hear of what9" asked with some impatience, as he complacently re-pocket- ed the letter
 ''Oh, about the love affair! She has ] been crossed in love in some wsy-it' not very clear to me how; and, let me tell you, there's not such another such pret- | ty girl in the cOunty,-tall and straight, and a real good girl into the bargain. ''Faith, I said rather hotly, "I don't quite know what you take me for. I as- sure you I don't care about picking up love-lorn young women in this style at a days notice"
 Then MT. Bottletop's queer, grave face gave way, and he laughed very heartily. 70 Lordp' he exclaimed. ''It's the fun niest thing I ever knew. Come, out with it, you young humhug! I know as well as you do that you are head-over-ears in hlove. Why don't you say sop stared at him in surprise.
 'One gets over these things, you know" answered, hesitating.
 'sOhl if one has got over this one is in a position to begin again" ''I don't see it. '
 ''Well, you haUe got story to tell me, crets" e.-. ..-.-
 I would have explained my situation without 8 moments hesitati0n,-reserve and mysteries seldom belong to natures like mine; something much more profound l and solid Is required in those who never tell their love, but the dickens of 1t was my confounded name! How could tell hian the story? But as he again impor- tuned me for ii, more urgently than before, I warned him that he would probably be deeply offended with me when he heard it; then, as nearly as can be, Irelated what have written down here. He listened grave ly as an owl Che was rather like one); but when it came to what thought the thrill l ing and heart-rending part of the nara tive, viz, Mrs. Montague's astounding letter, he went into paroxysm of laugh ter, and, far from being offended, he shook my hand most ahectionately, and said for the future he intended to call me noth- ing but Cecil.
 l could not understand him in the least, and his indecently hilarious reception of l my sorrows rather annoyed me on the l whole. These people were expected the next day; and being decidedly out of hu- nor about them, took my gun as soon as breakfast was over, and set off after the partridges, upceremoniously declining go- ing to meet the visitors in Mr. Bottletop's should do. I had very good days sport, and got back about six o'clock. went in the library window dogs, dirty boots, an,-because by that ronte I could go into and out of the hall without passing the drawing room; butt 1 felt as if was shot, when, with a half stihed cry, my quondam ''angel Geraldine" started from the chair as she saw me- She stood still and silent, and looked quite pale with the unexpected rencontre; and waited for her to take the initiative But as she merely sat down again, coloring up violently, made grave bow, and de- parted in silence, but with all the blood l in my veins tingling like fire.
 should leave the house at once! What l extraordinary coincidence has brought her here? I went straight to Mr. Bottletop's room, and told him was going away i'm mediately, and of course he knew why. I had not concealed any names in neg re- l cital though it now struck me he had nev- CT told me those of his guests.
 'sNonsenser said Mr. Bottletop: s'I won't hear of it. Going to he dinner party tonight, and want you to sit at the foot of the table: a lot of people are coming to stay in the house tomorrow; can't possibly do without you; as for the girl-rubbish!-you need never look at 1 her"' ,,s z.=zzs ezs After much persuasion, agreed to stay | over the evening, and leave early in the morning. While I dressed for dinner, I 1 fortified my mind by recalling all the lit tie incidents could of the fragrant heart lessness of Miss Montague's conduct. She assented to that letter; she cut me in the Park; she had behaved with unbecoming levity at the Dufferkins' dinner; and to- day she stared me in the face, and never even said wordt Two can play at this game, and I did not doubt that could assume supreme Indifference, both to mother and daughter for one evening. On entering the drawing-r room I found my l host, Mrs. Montague, and several other l guests, but not Geraldine: she came into the room last of all just as dinner was an- nounced. I was introduced as Mir. Ogg;
 but Mr. Bottletop did not fail once or twice during dinner to address me most
 audibly from one end. of the table to the other, as Cecil didn't care what he