The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1879-06-15
THE PROFESSORS FATE.
i LHarper's Weekly.l

Whiting arrived In the town Of Berne, Will
]. face and hands sunburned To deep brick-ret
hue, end nose OF fiery and infiamed aspect
3 a Bun-bronzBd GDnpfexfUn a11d bifihyterea Hest
arc paltry considerations to q student eman
elpated from his books for summer va
cation liz Europe with Cooks ticket In
his pocket as the golden key to unlock the
treasures of the old world. When he up
poured Mt d table d'hote he felt nervous con-
eerning his nose, until the advent Of other
tourists, also sun-baked and devoid Of any
superfiuous skin On the ornamental feature
Of the human countenance.
Prof. Harley Whiting was as shy a
man Oh America can produce. despite the
seminence and fame Of his reputation In sci
enee, and the fluent eloquence of bis average
discourse before the class. Introduce him
into the drawing-room and the presence Of
woman and he sat On the extreme verge Of
his chair uneasily, was either dumb or
rambled weakly In bis conversation, and
nervously dropped every article III the shape
OF coffee-cup and wine-glass conflded to his
keeping. The ladies at home had '.given him
up long ago, for In early youth he had built
about himself q rampant Of ponderous vol
slnles while his fond mother, believing firmly
that he had no equal In the universe, had
stood between him and other feminine fntiu-
e1ce. until now she had passed away, leaving
him d small, dry gentleman Of forty-flve
with bald spot On. top of bis head, j closely
clipped brown beard tinRed with gray, blue
eyes, usually downeaHt and distracted
formed the mould Of life early assumed
Here he was. at Berne, having done Cha
mpunix and Zermatt with ardor. prowling
md fiaiirhti1r all hia senaea in n,,re ,n,,a,
nfmnu,,hara n tha Rhnna ara Roaa, Mn,
riafsiera -N.sA
Havinr entared Hi name ~ 4ha rartatar
PROF. WHITING Inspected Tie box 81 4 cham.
5her aasirned Rim In the large and erawdad
hotaI -''AA = 49, - . >'1'' ~ "VoA
aNo. qnb. and I'm three f,iphta of sta,ra !, he
rnha.sfi ranEnnnp ar, the nninta ri The a,, nv
naa Il n we're with NM atd "A aa ~ oy ~.
tore quitting The branahIna eorridnra II Then
with III arcndas. Observation-Disclosures fir,,rass
md ran, maria, He aian dirantad hia atana =,
fhe hank. with s,,ch inta,,eat, aa insni,.es I.
traveller whn may nnsaihlv draw i y,r,za nf
warded III 4 nackapa n nawsnaners
j nafnnhIat hv i Graduate ~ fRa al,
legs and several ietfsra, RANKING hm1rs
we're nvar, And the professor returnin1
III The hntal snleetad q nnIet corner ~
readinr Tootf, ia which "a narl,se III missiva
me pamnhiet was iikalv LII nrova Einanlv 80 !.
5asr,aratinu Ia q anhnar ri tha nrnfeaanr'a
t einnerarnent: detianee WA hurled at ma IA
ilis own pet theorIes 81 seed pronunciation in
ferns; Whether . first glance excited him, or
further disturbed him hee o nd tho frat frat
letter abetrnctedlv. and stared in hewiIdar
anef1t dit tho thin sheets inclosed. It was one
of those maudeninu enistles. writtan In a
slantlng feminine hand, On paper SO trans
parent that the characters on the other side
silsputed such leoibiIItv as was nossihle in
Iinna TINT 4, ,ssed aach either III liftIa corner
notes and exclamation points made slant
Wise. and an occasional blot. Prof. Whittlinu
woman had written e. hiln n epTb THEN be sat him.
self diligently to the task Of discovering be-
xifning ~ end 81 fra eIf,1Eiun. md was fnaIlv
rewarded by finding a name inscribed on the
Ton I'll tha nare. 80
INV dear Ned he read. and stopped. His
own name " Is not Ned, He took up the en-
yelope: IL was addressed to Mr.. Edward
Whitinp. II Voluntarily he so1lght the sigma
ture at the ctv,se. The correspondence Of a
stranger see ned likely to remain sacred. for
able to make Of those closely crossed sheets:
ana his ava restad an thaaa linos aMnrtha,
,beas me to add that prof. Harley Whit
lnS IL abroad this summer. n Won and Fanny
could catch and tame him Tor Emily Ia
would prove an excellent husband only Won
fm,1st not allow mar to nerceive INV mafch.
making procliyities. as she win become nr,n
aud old.maidish at once.''
The ears Of the reader tingled, and he
flronned the letter as If It burned his fingers
His first Impulse was immediats flight. Good
Who was EmIly. about to decov
him intn matrimonv2 al conrse the hanI,
clerk had mistaken tie two names. and given
him the wrong letter. He folded the sheets
carefully and went to dinner. In the morn.
inr Ia would restare tha letter III tia hank,
The carelessness Of having opened ii was
~ ~ y,ir,. exsa s.a ~ ar1E noo - h;s
own path by such an obliaue shaft from the
lantern n.' ~ accident - raadinr' those awf,,l
lines from Martina Somebody had designs
on him. He beheld in horror Ills Quiet home
t taea, ns pophs .,n s han nus papers sea- scaf
Wh,t.iin uapsas pounu u n9 aoGs; li,.
aMnlItllhf never unaerrated FEMININE n
ny. auen e.s. mother had taught him bet
ge r. he avoided lt.
Inc safe a andnOef was very large. bril-
n HAP Lighted, and excessively warm; Prof.
WhlttIng, sheltered BY crow, slid into his
seat, and bllnked at his neighbors shyly
through his spectaeles, until able to sub
merge his embarrassment, as it were, in a