, 1879-11-06

Jack "IIand me- the old boys hat.
"WLatoycr for2' as handed him the
arttcl, in question. 1t was worn and
rlsty, 5ut wan brushed and wcllshaHad
10 make m cytiuguisher Of replied
jack ; and 50 saying he fitted i on the
lamp, making tie globe act Ike the bald
head Of the owner ofJhe ln. 1t fitted
to a nice + and 80 tightly as 30 keep it
well in isg place. The arrangement an.
swerel sploniidIy, and not g'immor Of
light was to be seen.
When the train stopped ut Swindon
we awol;o and rushed out Of the carriage
to get refreshments, quite forgetting our
fellow passenger and his hat On re-
turning we found they had both flown.
The train started, and when we arrived
at Gloucester, Jack left me, had =
cool lonely journey to my destination,
a little station Just below Hereford.
When | arrived it was 9 o'clock ; a dark
raw night | was very sleepy and tired.
For some moments l could not find my
portmanteau then my hai box was
missing, and while | was searching, the
guard was exclaiming about the delay of
the train At last it was all found, the
guard whistled, the train moved of, and
| was standing on the little country
platform, in a strange place.
"Any cabs or fys to be got here z l
asked the station master
"Dear me, no, sir, was the reply.
'But we can get you something down in
town, Where is it to, sir I"
81 want to get to Mr.. FOsberrys, of
Castle Hall" l replied.
paced the wretched little station till
1 the conveyance came, with my mind full
Of the coming meeting asked the
driver how far we had to so.
"How far, sir 2" said he. ooh, about
four miles.
81 got in, and we bowled along the
dark, narrow lanes. About halt an
hours drive we entered some handsome
iron gates, and drove into what seemed
to me now, in the dim light, very ex-
tensive park. The whole aspect i'm
pressed upon me the idea,of a grand
estate, and / questioned the driver on
the subject
'Indeed, it is big place, sir" he re-
piled. "'Tis about fifteen miles around
the estate. Eh, Mr. Fosberry's very
rich. People do say he has two hun
dred thousands pounds to leave, if he's
penny, besides this property"
My driver jumped down and pulled
the bell The peal resounded through
the house like the clang of trumpet.
A foot man in livery flung open the
door, and I was admitted in hall
glowing with light and warmth, and then
showed into brilliantly lighted drawing
1 room. HID ...rl, .9 E
A moment later and the tall footnan
reappeared. He apologized for his
masters non-appearance, and requested
me to obey the instructions Of note
which he handed me from massive sill
yer salver. otg
i tore it open and read
MR. Phil. FosBERRY WILLIAMS !: The
next time you travel by rail, do not
smoke nor annoy old gentlemen; do not
make the infrmities of old age your
laughing stock; do not tell your friends
of your great expectations; do not speak
of your cracked Drained relatives; do not
make extinguishers of old gentlemen's
hats; do not be slangy, vulgar and in
sulting to strangers; do not nourish vain
hopes of inheriting me; and, finally, do
not lose any time in leaving forever the
house of your old fireworks" of fellow
traveller. PHILLIP FosBERRY.
p ST. enclose EGO note to pay
your expenses. = \
How got out of the house-how l
got back to the station and spent the
night in wretched inn--how returned
to town and told my enraged relations
my woeful tale, wherein / played such a
sorry part-how my abject letter of apol-
ogy was returned unread--I cannot tell.
/ only know old Fosberry died worth
100000, leaving his niece sole heiress,
and that / quarreled with Jack Evans
about it; nor have ever spoke to Jack
since.