The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1874-04-30
MYSTERY AND WOE.

say twenty-five or three-full of a
large assortment of varied enthusiasts,
pos sessed of an unlimited belief in the
goodness of human nature, and abso-
lutely incapable of falsehood.
And yet, curiously enough, he had
passion for mysteries. Although prac-
tically a commonplace Presbyterian, tie
nevertheless affected to believe in the
mysteries of Rosicrucianism. He was
perpetually striving, with conspicuous
want of success, to magnetic his
friends, and although he was too ortho-
dox to believe in spiritualism, he lived
in constant hopes of inducing his wash
stand to move and his writing-table to
rap by the patient contact of his tire
less hands. As for secret societies, they
we're his delight He belonged TO near
ly every ancient and venerable order of
very modern mechanics and grocerymen
in existence, and kept locked up 10 his
trunk more haring gilt badges and
Enthusiastically trimmed aprons and horse
collars than would have sufficed to
purchase the sovereignty of dozen
African kingdoms.
and straightforward little girl tEan
Mary Morris, to whom Smythe was en-
gagged to be married. She was Just out
of boarding school, and her respectable
father-in the Wholesale lard business
and all her thirteen brothers and sis
ters of assorted sexes, were ready to
swear-or affirm, as the case might be
that Mary was as good as gold and
many times as valuable.
The engagement of these two young
persons was with the full appreciation
of the elder Smythes and Morrises.
Young Pennington was expected to
spend three evenings every week with
his betrothed, and they were always
accommodated with a convenient back
| parlor in which to converse after the
manner of their kind. In these circum-
stances Pennington Smythe ought to
have been happy, but he was not. There
was no mystery about his love affair,
and the fact weighed upon his spirits.
He did what he could to convince
himself that the respectable old Mr..
! Norris who used to say when Penning-
/ ton made his appearance ,, CHOW, you
| children keep out of that there back
| parlor and give Mary and her young
man show"-was bitterly opposed to
| the match, and must be kept from per
ceiving that his daughter was beloved
| by her "young man." But the only
| possible way which he could devise to
throw an air of secrecy over the affair
was to write notes to his beloved in O
very cramped hand, and to deliver them
himself. Usually he had to read them
too, since his handwriting was too mys-
tlcal to be readily deciphered, and when
they were read they usually contained
nothing but an amplifcation of the limo
cuous idea that he, Pennington Smythe,
proposed to love her, Mary Morris,
in spite of every obstacle. As there
| n n 81, Il I. -
ment was not one of tremendous mo.
ment but still it gave young Smythe
no little comfort to make it in writing
and deliver it with an air of immense
secrecy.
One day happy thought struck him
How delightful it would be to CORES
pond with his darling in cipher. Tn,
idea filled HIM with n calm and mystica
Joy that was really first-class sensation
So he devised cipher of the kind 81
much In vogue among school girls, anC
which consisted in substituting one let
ter for another, and instantly wrote
brief note to Mary. This he carried t.
her the same evening, together with
key, and attained the seventh HEAVIER
of mystical delight in transmitting it t,
her.
Poor Mary suffered much from thi
| y
to write an Ineligible letter with tn
new alphabet. She continually mad
! mistakes in it, and so kept Penning
ton out of his bed for hours, Will
with locked doors and shaded window
he tried to decipher some such sen
; tence as, 81 do so long to see YOU
; 1t was only when mistakes wer
: made in the use of this cipher that
l became at all difficrlt of comprehen
2 sion to an ordinary reader. Poor Per
nington had not devoted much after
!, ton to the subject of cryptography, G
he would have known that there is notI
D ing more transparent than a cipbe
: which merely consists of the substitr
! ton of one letter for another. He was
L however, soon to learn this fact In
. very unpleasant way.
, One evening Mary dropped not
{ which she had received by mail, and
I, was picked mp by her father. The oil
{ gentleman was wild with horror. Their
Q was his trusted daughter actually col
S responding with some unknown villai
. in cipher. Obviously the cipher mus
a have some shameful secret. He sat ]
his armchair with the open note. in hi
: hand, and serious thoughts of immed
5 ate apoplexy in his mind, when his so
Tom, young fellow Just home froI
o college, entered, and, frightened at hi
' fathers expression of face, asked an
, received an explanation.
Tom was a bright young fellow, an
4 he at once remarked that it was hardl
' worth while to take to apoplexy until
was really apparent that the mysteriou
note contained something wrong. II
suspected that it was written by th
I mystery-loving Smythe, and he did nc
; doubt his ability to read it. The not
ran as follows
a CRsAI PsNIX: Il TBDs xBC sYB sTFsX
I FHTr. osYYHYDUBY NPxULs.
Q In less than ton minutes Tom ha
translated this innocent mystery int
/ the words, "Dear Mary, love yo
D and always will. Pennington Smythe,
j and thus banished his fathers doub
l. and wretchedness. However the oil
n man was angry enough to desire to Civ
the unfortunate Pennington a lesso
which he might remember. So whe
a the young man made his usual evenin
call he was awaited in the parlor by Tia
incensed father and his greatly amuse
s son, and addressed in the followin
! stern and cruel words
{ Mr. Smythe, what do You mean b
e writing to my innocent daughter in sue
Infamous style as this, sir ?n and h
= shook Pennington's letter before hi
5 astonished eyes.
Q "Sir, replied the youth, "it is nc
Q infamous. It is an entirely proper note
! All the world might see it. Z"
Q "Then, why the devil did You writ
= it in this outlandish lingo p. returne
D the father.
"She is not to blame" hastily urge
o Pennington, judiciously Sinking til
5 main question. ''I assure you she neV
] er can read them without my help, an
) when she writes them she makes s
many mistakes that often can't max
head or tail of them"
! "By them 1 suppose You mean tn
+ letters written in cipher" replied MI
Morris. "Well, won't add to You
trouble. Only let me advise you no
! to write any more cipher notes, my boy
Tom here read your note almost as cas-.
, as if it had been written in print
There, go along now, and don't be sill
again-at least any more thar. you ca
help. you know" And the old man
; quite recovered from his anger, wen