The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1878-09-26
ROMANCE OF n POST
AGE-STAMP.

ROM1NCE OF Il POST.
1GE-STAHP.
breAthed more freely after it wa!
over. It was q temptation resisted,
! but felt better after having done It.
As / was asserting the letters, prepa'
ratOry 10 putting them In the mail.
bag for New York, one letter turned
up and sent a jealous shock through
nee that set my heart thrObbing and
my brain swimming with a sudden
dizziness. / might have expected to
have seen il, but not the less did IL
affect me when / did see it-"JOseph
Morris, India dock, New York. f"
That was the address, and / knew
that IL was his. l had q dear little
note in that same handwriting next
to my heart then-R few graceful
words thanking me for book l had
sent her-s little note that had read
over countless times, and kissed as
often, wondering il il would displease
her to know how fondly L cherished
it. thrust the hateful letter out of
my sight, and, leaning my head on
the table, lived over again the hopes,
the fears, the wretchedness Of the last
twenty-fOur hours.
The day before, while distributing
the mail matter, 1 came across q letter
addressed to myself, and on opening
it learned that, through the gener-
Osity OF q distant relstive, whose
name bore, had been left in Cali
fornlR an inheritance OF $2e, 600.
Whist 8 change few strokes OF 8 pen
had made-transfOrming Karl Berg
mann, Postmaster of q secluded Con-
necticut village, into Karl Bergmann,
the possessor Of a competence, well
invested, yielding a certain income
And how before my good fortune /
had thought Of Annie Merrill as sepa-
rated away from me by my poor cir
cumstances, my salary barely sup
porting my mother and myself, and
how could / ask any woman TO snare
my poverty Now that the burden
of poverty was most unexpectedly
lifted from me, felt at liberty to tell
her the hopes never dared to enter
tain till now. What would her an
6mGL bC 1hdL L mOAAA n Vial
very night. In the same mail with
my letter was one addressed to her.
pcstmarked New York. Her cOrre-
spondence all passed through my
hands, but L had never seen that
writing before, That was no weak,
wavering, feminine style. 1t was
large, clear, decisive, the writing of 3
self-possessed man. Who could the
writer be ? Annie's uncle, DIR. Mer-
rill, had male correspondents in New
York. But this letter was the first
that had come to her since she
came orphaned from the great city 4
year before, and had been received
into her uncle's heart and home.
But other thoughts put the question
of the letter out of my mind. j sent,
by a messenger, a few hurried lines to
my mother, TO prepare her for our
good fortune, and then counted the
hours that would pass before 1 could
offer MY inheritance TO Annie, en-
cum bered with its pOssessOr. When
l reached home found her there be-
fore me. Ny mother, who had taken
her into her favor from the first, her
sweetness and orphaned situation
BaSNlnE pun ~ AANA ANaAA - AeNA
sent for Annie TO communicate the
good news to her. She was strangely
quiet, l thought, and there was a
troubled look in her blue eyes / never
saw there before. In fact, after q
while, q subdued feeling stole over us
all. Annie's disguiet seemed TO i'm
part itself to us. L was thinking how
/ could venture to tell her all my
hopes, and my mother, guessing
what my thoughts were, left US to-
gether most Of the evening, but my
neRrt failed me. It was only when I
was walking home with Annie to DR..
Merrillis that 1 found courage to
speak. She led me on by saying that
I must not think, from her silence,
that she did not rejoice in the happy
change in my prospects, but no one
could be more sincere in their con-
gratulatiOns than herself. IansWered /
that my good fortune would be value
less TO me unless / could share il with
the girl loved.
"The girl you love ," she repeated,
questiOningly.
l felt her hand tremble on my arm.
"The girl 1 love" l answered, in
tones that she might have Interpret
ed, but she failed to do so.
"She ought TO he happy woman, f"
she continued. May L ask il l know
her.
"If you know her ?" cried. IF you
know her o, who could it be but
you pr
"Me ?'
She drew her hand quickly away
from my arm, and stood quite still be-
fore me.
"Me o, did you say me ,"
And then l saw the moonlight fall
ing on her face, and it was not the
face OF s girl shining with happy con-
| fusion when she hears the story of his
| love from the man whom she prefers.
1t was pale and shocked, snd then she
hid it from me in her hands and
! burst into tears.
I needed no other answer. l knew
my suit Ess hopeless.
"DOn't cry, dear ~ said !. 81 nevel
thought 10 wound you"
81 thought yOu knew" she went on
sobbingly. al thought my uncle might
have told you. | am going to marry
Mr.. Norris. | got letter from him
to-day. o can you forgive me ,"
She stretched OuG her little hands
| imploringly. l took them in mine
and 1 kissed them-they were sacred
to me they belonged TO another, snC
l kissed them while my heart was
breaking.
Forgive you? my darling ~
said. 81 would forgive you il vol
killed me, 1 think. Don't grieve, An,
ME d; / will try to bear it,"
We parted at her uncle's withoH
another word, and went home TO tb,
motherly heart that l knew would
suffer with me, but whose tender sym
psthy would uphold me in this hOu
of bitter trial.
The next day / sent of my resigns
ton to Washington, for my mOthe
and / agreed to leave the villag
where we had passed so many quie
years. 1t was in the afternoon OF tn
came day that the letter Of which
had spoken, that now knew was 70
my rival, attracted my attention.
took it up reluctsntly-I felt that
would as readily have touched a pOis
Onous snake-snd was just about
put the pOstmark on &c when / ss'
that the stamp upon it, instead q