The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1875-07-01

horrid dream, and the feeling did not
leave me for several hours.
The next morning I slept late, and
having partaken of a light lunch I went
to the Postofice, impelled by l know not
what motive, as my letters were usually
delivered at my place of business.
my steps, and there found a note from
Jennie. She had been suddenly sum-
moned by telegraph to a distant city by
reason of the severe illness of a near re-
lative-so ran the note-but would soon
return. But the strangest part of it was
that she hoped I would not write to her,
stating that she would give a satisfactory
explanation upon her return.
The days wore heavily away, and no
word more came from her. I was de-
pressed and oppressed with a feeling of
anxiety and alarm. A week elapsed
before she returned. The first intima-
ton I had of her arrival was the follow
ing note:
FRIEND HARRY: 1t pains me to write this
note, but it is very necessary, and / cannot
shrink from it. When I told you that / loved
you 1 did not now my own heart and the fu-
ture happiness of both of us compels me to say
that I can never become your wife. Do not
make any effort to see me an interview would
be of no avail, and could only prove painful to
both you N me. JENNIE.
Need L say that this heartless note
completely stunned me for q time. My
brain vas in a whirl. and I was so stupe-
fed that I hardly knew whether I was
dead or alive.
This condition passed after q time,
and 1 looked at the matter as calmly and
coolly as I could. l determined to
leave the scene of this bitter dis
appointment and seek "surcease of
sorrow" in the excitement and change of
travel.
Arranging my affairs did not take me
long, and drawing my funds from the
bank, where they were deposited, I babe
adieu to my friends and started for New
York. My sudden resolution was a sur
prise to all who were intimate with me,
but my explanation was that I had long
meditated a trip to the old world, and a
more opportune period than the present
to crafty this desire would probably
never occur. I had been entirely reti-
cent about my relations with Jennie, and
although some of my boon companions
rallied me about leaving such an attrac-
ton when, to all appearances, I was the
favorite sutton, I passed the matter off
as though it was a capital joke while
suffering unspeakable torture at my
heart.
In a few days q gallant steamer bore
me across the ocean. 1t is unnecessary
to name the route pursued, or speak of
my rambles in England and on the con-
tinent.
A year passed ; then came a longing
for my native land, and homeward I
turned my footsteps. Upon arriving at
New York I went straight to Washing
ton, where I had friends, through
whose influence I obtained a position in
the Postal Department of the govern
m 4nt. My duties were in the Bureau
devoted to "Dead. Letters" Here
another year was spent. Time passes
very swiftly when one is busy, even if
the heart is heavy. My duty was chiefly
opening dead letters, and many a curious
and quaint epistle passed through my
hands.
One day while the room in which Jew
eral clerks beside myself were engaged
was undergoing repairs, several old let
tiers dropped from a desk being removed
from the wall. The carpenter picked
them up and handed them to one of the
employees in the Office.
"Why," said he, "Harry, here is a
letter directed to YOU"
As 1 received it from his hand recog-
nized the handwriting at a glance. 1t
was from Jennie, and had been written
nearly "a year previously. Bysome means
it had not reached me while I was wait
ing for the place I subsequently OBJ
tanned, and had preceded me a few days
in the dead Letter Office" There it
had lain almost a whole year through an
accident, but for which I should never
have received it, and probably never
known the revelation it brought.
With a nervous tremor I opened it
and devoured its contents, which were
these:
DEAR HARRY: To-day was surprised and
pleased to ascertain that you had returned from
your wanderings and are in Washington. /
write at once, because we have both been griev-
ously panied 1 know by a cruel forgery.
When I heard that you had left M could
not believe il, but soon was compelled to do so.
Believing that 1 knew your heart, it was impos-
sible to understand the motive or reason for
your sudden and strange departure. Fate solved
the mystery. You remember the party ON my
eighteenth birthday, and you will recollect that
Richard Price logged our footsteps wherever
we went. He overheard Our conversation in
the garden, and thus learned of our engage
ment. A year previously he had proposed to
me and was rejected, Int in revenge he deter
mined to blast my happiness at all hazards. He
was an expert at initiating the handwriting of
others, and having attended the same school
that 1 did for several years, he was easily ena-
bled to produce a fac SimiLe of my chirography.
A few weeks after your departure he was thrown
from a buggy and fatally injured. Before he died
he sent for me, and l received from his tongue
the secret that he was the author of a letter to
which my name was signed, and had caused
your sudden and strange flight.
In whatever light you have come to look up
on me, it is but right for you toknow the truth.
For myself my heart has never changed.
JENNIE. =.
The first thing 1 did after reading this
letter was to obtain leave of absence for
a few weeks ; the next was to hasten to
my lodgings, pack my trunk andtake the
first train for n
The train was the "Fast Express" but
to me it seemed a "slow coach" Close
connections were made, and at six o'clock
that evening I stepped upon the platform
at N. 1t had been two years since
my feet had touched it. A crowd of re-
collections rushed through my mind,
but nothing stayed me. At once I set
out for the Fisk mansion. It was sum-
mer, and as I followed the walk from the
gate to the door every object seemed as
familiar as if I had seen them only the
day before.
My desire was to find Jennie alone,
and my wish was gratified. The old hall
door was open, and I stepped in unan-
nounced. I turned into the parlor softly
and saw her sitting at a west window
gazing at the glowing sunset sky, but oh
how changed. There were Jennie's eyes
and hair, but the rounded form and glow
ing cheeks were wanting ; in their place
were wan features and an emaciated
form-a wreck of her former self. The
hand of the destroyer was upon her, and
it was evident that her sufferings were
fearful. NV heart sank within me. and