The Portland daily press., 1876-11-13
for Wednesday next, when your presence will be in

for Wednesday next when your presence will be in
dispensable.
I gave this composition to the Club COM
missiopaire, an active, intelligent fellow,
whom had often employed, and sent him
off to the nearest telegraph office. l calcu-
lated that it would return to me-in tele-
graphic form-in about quarter of an hour
at furthest. But as it happened, it did not.
| had an engagement for that afternoon at
Nottingham, and was obliged to leave the
Club before the arrival of the expected doc
ument. However, as l knew it must come,
and could place the utmost confidence in the
porter, left my letter with him, instructing
him TO place the telegram inside it as soon
as it came to hand, and then to post it.
The next morning l found upon inquiry
that this had been done, and thought no
more about the matter. The day after a
note, as l had expected, arrived from Slow
come, the contents of which, however, did
not expect:
Sir-I am astonished that you should have the
to send me that telegram from your place
of business. If you imagine because your Secretary
has 'bolted," and the "blessed concern" (as your
friend terms what had understood from you to be
a sound commercial association has "burst up
that shall not be disposed to press for my hundred
pounds, you are very much mistaken. have placed
the matter In the hands Of my solicitor and remain,
Yours obediently,
THOMAS SLowcoMBE.
Had I taken leave of my own senses, or
had Slowcombe taken leave OF his a.? "Bolted,"
'burst up" ''blessed concern?' No such
words, am sure, had ever been contained
in my telegram. What on earth did it all
mean? 1 did thing which had never
done before, except upon the first Monday of
every month L hurriedito our place of bust
ness in the city as fast as hanson could
take me, and found the shutters up. The
office of the G. B. G. was closed-just as
though the company had been defunct. Up
stairs, however, found the chairman look
ing at heap Of bills and gnaWing his NOUS
tache.
"This is a pretty piece of work, Capt.
Martingale," said he, land we have to thank
you for it,"
"To thank mep' cried l. "What do you
meau9 Is everybody gone mad? 1 have
done nothiDg-nothing."
''Perhaps you'didn't send telegram to
our Secretary about 'deialcations?' Here it
| is" And he tossed me over the message l
| had sent from The Secretary to myself-trans-
posed. That respectable and intelligent COM
| missionaire had, it seemed, taken it for
granted that had made a mistake in sending
a telegram TO myself. and substituted the
word ''from' for ''to," and "to" for 'from."
He thought doubtless, he was doing very
! clever thing, and one for which l should be
| much indebted to him.
The secretary really had, it seems, ''defal-
cated'' in a small way, and getting my tele-
gram Onstead of my getting his), he thought
| all was discovered, so laid his hands on every
thing he could, and decamped. 1t was the
chairman himself who had wired the news to
me in that familiar style, which had so in
censed Slowcombe: "Our secretary has
bolted, and the blessed concern has burst
up"
The Great Butter Company, in fact, was
nowhere, thanks to my little device for avoid
ing pheasant-shooting. The secretary would
nrobably never have fed, but only have gone
on defalcating slowly, but for my alarming
message; as it was, everything was precipi-
tated. Including my compulsory payment of
my debt to Slowcombe. 1t was altogether a
miserable fasco; and when / hear fellows
talking about the splendid results of civiliza-
ton, and "Look at the electric telegraph, fol
examplev and ''the corps of commission
ariesp' I say to myself-bu but never mind what
say. have told enough to make it understood
why 1 should not agree with them.-Bet
grdriG.