Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1875-07-16
THE DOCTOR,s STRANGE. LETTER.

| AHu DA' OAhOAOy OeoiSNS dlulOS
vacantly, at the closely-written shee
he held in his hand. He read:
'DOctor PomeroY, l will not apol
ogise for the unparalleled service
am about to ask of you; suffice it t,
say, that | have heard of your strug
giles to maintain yourself and inEa
lid mother, and realize how hard
task it is for one so young in til,
profession, and without friends il
the great wilderness of houses called
city. Also, permit me to add,
have been informed of the crue
blow you have received from thc
hand of one you loved, who was un
worthy of you; and yet I am not ac
/ quainted with you, nor you with me
Indeed, we have never looked upon
one another's face. Nevertheless,
am about to request You to do me a
great favor. Will you come to South
Street Church tomorrow evening at
eight o'clock? Come privately, unat-
tended, and never reveal what takes
| place there. Will you give a stran
| ger a lawful claim to your name, and
yet not know whom you marry? II
you will do so, ! will make over to
you fifty thousand dollars, payable
to your order at the City Bank, as
soon as heceremony is, over Trust
ing thatthe money will besa tempta-
tiOn to you, l shall anxiously await
! you at the appointed time"
That was all There was no sig
| nature-nothing at all to give any
clue to the writer's, address or abode.
Indeed, it was so terse and unfemi.
niEe in its details that he was tempt
ed.to believe that some of his male
friends were trying to play joke
on him.
! 81 will not go-I viii not be fool
ed" ne said to himself.
| He flung the missive down; then
he picked it up, folded it carefully,
and thrust it into his pocket.
He remembered that he had pa
tient to visit, and went out; but eY-
erywhere the contents of, that
strange letter were ringing in his
ears. He then went to see his moth
er, She was suffering even more than
usual, and amumbeF of dnnning bills
had been left for his earliest c6nsid-
eration-bills winch he had not the
most remote idea how he was to
meet. He threw them down, and
buried his face in his hands. ,,-,.-
poverty is curse, motherp' he
groaned. 81 do not know which way
to turn" ef4rt -
She tried to cheer him, but in vain.
Everywhere he turned, hopeless
chaos seemed to envelope him. "Oh,
if that letter was only real!' he
thought. 'Fifty thousand dollars
would make me rich"
And so he fretted and worried un-
til the appointed hour-one moment
Yowing he would not go near the
place, and the next tempted to see
the farce out.
Eight O'Clock found him stealing
in. He saw two ladies, closely veil
ed, and gentleman standing in the
upper part. of the building, while the
minister sat in the chair.
I There was but one gas-jet lighted,
and he could just distinguish the
forms. As soon as he entered, the
gentleman spoke to- one of the la
dies, and then she advanced to meet
him. care you DR.. Pomeroy?" she
asked in low tone. la--
"I am"
She led him up to where the gen.
tleman stood, and he extended his
hand. .Aslt}-tI
''How do you do, Poneroy?" he
said, and Pomeroy recognized in him
the President of the City Bank. 81
am here by request of this young
lady,oa pointing to,one who had not
moved or spoken, s'to inform you
that if you agree to her propositi on,
1 am authorized to pay to your or
der the sum Of fifty thousand dOl7
lars. - ~ 81 '-lsi- ~ --i- y
Pomeroy tried to speak, but his
voice was choked. 1t was no fraud;
it was reality-he was to bid farewell
to poverty.
He stood motionless for moment,
then advanced and offered his arm
to the silent lady. She took it with
out a culver, and went to where the
minister awaited them.
The ceremony was quickly per-
formed.
Doctor Pomeroy signed his name,
and then looked with considerable
curiosity at the bold signature GEL
len Latour," which his bride wrote
down. The minister hastily filed
out a certificate, which he had
brought with him by request, and
which the maid and banker signed
as witnesses. The bride took it, kiss
ed it, and then thrust it in her bo-
som. One moment more and they
glided away swiftly from sight.
Doctor Pomeroy then wiped the
perspiration from his brow, and ask
ed:
"Who is she?''
/ 81 do not know" said the minis
ter. 81 was requested by letter, and
paid to perform the ceremony, and
keep it a secret. 1t is perfectly law
ful.n
tAnd l." said the banker, "did
not see the lady's face. She depos-
tied the money with me and request
ed my attendance here, to assure
you that her promise should be full
filled" r-- 7r
The three men separated; the gas
was turned out; the curtain fell on
the first act.
The next day Pomeroy triedNto,
realize what heshad done. He had
sold his name to an unknown woman,
but he thought that could not injure
him. nan e sI
'She must have been in deadly
peril" he meditated, "to pay such
an exorbitant price for a simple
name"
He took an Office further up town,
and moved his mother to a nice |
home. Patients. s.came pouring in; a |
different class employed the rich DR.. |
Ppmeroy than those who had en-
ployed the poor one. 81. 2 aTrTrTl