Middletown transcript., 1878-03-16

faithful in regard to he exact word
ing. know that read it with great
satisfaction-in especial, loverlike
inventory which it contained Of my
most amiable and admirable charac-
teristics. There were things set down
there that l had supposed known only
to myself.
Toward It's close the letter assumed
a practical tone, q will, with your
leave" it ran, "call on your father in
a day or two. In the meantime, love,
perhaps you had better confide our
dear secret to no one, unless it be your
brother Tom
All, heavens the letter was not for
me! Alas | had no brother Tom"
Providence had been bountiful in
sons to our house. Our cup had run
over with that particular sort Of bless
ing, but the respectable name Of Thorn
as had somehow never struck my
mothers rowing fancy. At the baptis-
NAL font she had never given it'in.
Fatal omission
Madam, you might have saved me
from this"
l resealed that letter. | sent it with
all dispatch, and a corteous apology
to my double, now my rival. l was
wretched, but | could not be base.
Yes, she married my John. After
that, l got no more Of her letters,
which was some consolation
No, she was not pretty-even on her
wedding day, but she was charmingly
dressed
John still lives. He has grown rich
and stout. He has no longer the By
ron expression but the Byron peak
on his brow is more pronounced than
ever. Of all the beautiful enthusiasms
of his youth. that for fast horses alone
remains. He has, | believe, never
been 50 unhappy or wicked as he prom
ised to be, though, for time, he fell
into evil ways and was sent to the leg
islature.
My double has made several visits
to Paris, and has grown fonder and
more az fat of dress than ever. As
she has no children. she gives her
whole mind to it-"but that's not
much"
| never could think her the COM
panion for John in intellect and soul.
| never, in truth, could help thinking
that if | had had fair start with her
if had had her clothes-if l had
had her brother Tom-it might have
but ah-
''Of all sad words Of tongue or pen,
Tie saddest are these: 1T might have been. ;"
NEWSPAPER AcCoUNTs.-The fol-
lowing from the Skaneateles, N. Y.
Free Press, is respectfully presented
for consideration
"Wesuppose that many people think
that newspaper men are persistent
duns: Let a farmer place. himself in a
similar business position and see if he
would not do the same thing. Sup
pose he raised 1000 bushels of wheat,
and his neighbor should come and buy
a bushel, and the price was a small
matter, only So, and say, 81 will hand
you the amount in few days" As
the farmer did not want to be small
about a small matter, he says all right,
and leaves the wheat. Another one
comes in the same way, until the whole
1000 bushels are trusted out to one
thousand different persons, and not one
of the purchasers concerns himself
about it, for it is only small amount
that he owed the farmer, and of course
that would not help him any. He does
not realize that the farmer has fritter.
ed away all of his large crop of wheat.
and that its value is due him in thou
sand little driblets, and that he is Sc
riously embarrassed in his business be-
cause his debtors treat it as a small
matter. But if all would pay them
promptly, which they could do as well
as not. it would be large amount tc
the farmer, and would enable him tc
carry on his business without Difficult
ty. The comparison is too true Of the
difficulties that the newspaper man ha:
to contend with