The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1876-07-20

4 day. All his trouble rushed over him,
| but in moment all his will to repel ii
rose too. He dressed himself leisurely
he meant to call that night on Miss
Mercier, restore her handkerchief that
he had forgotten to give back after the
dance, and in some indirect way let her
know that he intended never to marry,
and so seal his doom beyond hope. He
went into the next room when he had
completed his toilet, and, after attending
to one or two other affairs, looked for
the handkerchief that he remembered
to have taken from his pocket and to
have tossed upon the table there. 1t
was not on the table; it was nowhere in
the room. In a panic, he rang the bell !;
and when it was answered, instituted
an inqui,y y concerning the thing. Yes,
indeed, Susan had seen it, and thought
1t so yellow and soiled she would take
it down and wash it. "Lors, sir, it was
the dirtiest little rag" she said. "Just
straw-color. And | thought I'd give it
run through the tub and the bluing
and make it fit to be seen. -
"GoOd heavensi" he cried, with a
Mortified flash of remembrance of hav-
ing somewhere heard that the yellower
lace was, the more precious was it, and
that twas never washed on any account
except by people who did nothing else.
Z" Let me have it at once" And in five
minutes afterward Susan stood before
him holding up the little limp rag, and
with pang as from a blow of some
thing unknown and dreadful, the con-
yer alton that he had heard over the
transom of the hoteldoor, ayear or two
ago, swept back upon his recollection.
Five hundred dollars And gone to
grief in moment! And he could no
more replace it than he could fly, with
out what was the same to him as abso-
lutte ruin. OF course he must replace
it; he could not be indebted, through
the stupidity of his servant, or through
any other means, to Miss Mercier in
that sum. Without any doubt she val
ued such bit of lace; and if any
thing were needed to demon
strate to him the wisdom
of the course he had decided on, and
the utter absurdity of having dared for
a single moment to look with love on
one of these darlings of fortune, it was
the fact that her handkerchiefs alone
were items of five hundred dollars!
What a shame! what a wickedness!
what a preposterous folly! How could
a young man marry! He burned with
Indignation then.
But to replace it: one-third of the
sum he was saving to redeem his little
property from mortgage-all the money
he really had in the world beyond that
for his daily expenses! 1t was the ruin
of his hopes, his ambitions, his pride,
that scorned so to be any body's debtor;
it threw him back in the race, how
long! But it must be done He had a
trihe over five hundred dollars in the
National Solvency Bank. He drew his
check for the necessary sum, and
folded it away in his pOcketbook, and
then went about his business till night
fall, when he came back to his dreary
rooms, and made himself ready for
call at Mrs. Barnetta's.
The night had never seemed so beauti-
full, the stars so large and keen and far
above the earth, so remote and cold
they typiied all the dear and happy
things of life forever removed from
him. His heart was chilled and his
face was white when he stood at last in
Mrs. Barnetta's drawing-rOom, and she
floated forward to meet him. He had
not asked for Miss Mercier.
"It is delicate errand, Mrs. Bar
netta," said he, with dreary attempt
at smiling. "But the truth is that my
maid, in her ollicious kindness, has
done such damage to a bit of Miss
Mercier's property that l must replace
it. And have come to beg you, out Of
your friendship for me, TO transact the
affair, if such an article can be replaced
here. | believe these little trifles are
rather costly, and if you will procure
one''--and he laid the check he had
drawn that morning and the little limp
rag in Mrs. Barnetta's hand" as like
the original as possible, /"
"My dear Mr.. Malvin, what in the
world are you talking of?" cried Mrs.
Barnetta. "Have you money to throw
about in this way. Five hundred dol
lars-what is it for?"
"To replace Miss Mercier's handher-
chief, if you will be so good as to make
the purchase.
Like this?" said Mrs. Barnetta,
holding up the little limp rag by one
corner.
"Like that" said Lucian.
"Oh, that is too good!" cried Mrs.
Barnetta, with a peal of laughter. cit
is too good, it is too absurd! What
creatures men are! Did you imagine
that this bit of finery was worth all that? F?
this little scrid of grass-clOth and
German lace? No wonder the young
men don't marry, then! My dear Mr..
Malvin, this miserable handkerchief
cost exactly two dollars and half, and
was nearly worn out at that. Did you
imagine, too, that my poor little Rosa
could wear five hundred-dollar hand-
kerchiefs, without cent to her nameP"
"Without cent to her name?"
cried Lucian, springing to his feet.
EXACTLY. Aha! Is that the trou-
BILE? Now, why didn't you come and
talk it all over with me in the way you
used to do, and save yourself all this
vexation, and save my little Rosa, too2
What an absurd boy you are! Another
would have waited to hear that
she was an heiress; you wait to
hear that she is penniless. Well, she
is, if that satisfies you, except for what
l shall leave my little god-daughter
when | die-which will not be at pres
ent, d. V. And there she is IN the next
room now. But, bless me-
Lucian had not waited for the rest of
the invocation. He was already in the
next room, and Rosa was already in
his arms.-Harper'S BGzar.
STEFANo GIAGINI, of San Francisco,
batbouUht him, Of Cal;a,;,; Gsorda,,o a