Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1880-05-20

mamma did not know when to look for
you.n
"My uncle. probably He is not mar
| ried. I had no idea, however, that he
had written to Mrs. Ashurst so long be-
forehand, though he bade me call upon
her without fail"
"Your unclep" repeated Miss As
hurst, doubtfully. Il thought I recol-
lected; but of course / might easily be
mistaken. Pray sit down, Mr.. Ashe.
oh, not on that chair; that is only COM
Portable for ladies. Try that big square
one. What clustering night it isl"
/ thought so till / came in, but no
one would suspect it from the atmos-
phere of your room, Miss Ashurst
What delightful room it isl"
| am so glad that you think so,' put
in the beautiful Amy, whose voice was
as sweet as her face. Florence and [
are always pleased when any one praises
our rooms, because they are mammals
| doing, and we think that she has the
most perfect taste in the world.'
Nothing could be pleasanter, am
sure. 1t is thoroughly individual, and
yet has such look of home, and that is
pot an easy look to produce in city
house, it seems to me-"
wonder worker; she always gives that
look" cried Amy, eagerly, dimpling
and flushing, and looking twice as hand
some for the pretty glow of pleasure
We hear occasionally of love at first
sight, and we smile at the notion as ro-
mantle; but for all our disbelief and
our derision, the thing does sometimes
happen even in these matter-of- fact
days, and it happened that evening in
the case of Alexander Ashe. His ex-
cuse must be that nothing in the world
was easier than to fall in love at first
sight with Amy Ashurst. Apart from
her beauty, and her remarkable charm
of manner, which in itself would have
been irresistible outfit for far palmer
girl, every moment spent in her company
made it more and more apparent that
this outward loveliness was but the ex-
ponent of nature lovelier still, "pure
as her cheek and tender as her eyes," 1t
would have required a tough heart in
deed, or an already occupied one, to
have resisted her spell, and Alex Ashe
had neither. He had been rather indif-
ferent to young ladies up to this time.
and piqued himself little as beauty
proof; but he melted like frost in sun
under the influence of Amy's sunny
looks, and with feeling akin to that of
the old woman of the nursery legend,
wondered if this were indeed he, as he
drifted INCREASINGLY on under the be-
witchment of the occasion. Two hours
sped like two minutes. 1t was ten
O'Clock before Mrs. Ashurst walked in
from her cercle. Her coming was like
the breaking of dream. She greeted
him cordially, but there was little per-
pleXity in her manner as she said: 81
am very glad to see you, but somehow
you surprise me a good deal. / was not
prepared for anything so tall or, formed
You know, l recolIect you as little
Albert, and your Aunt Garry never
mentioned that you were so astonish-
ingly grown"
"Albert-Aunt Carry!n thought the
mystified Alex; snd then, with sudden
sinking of heart, he began to surmise
blunder.
Il do not quite understand, he STAN
mered. Il Can there be l am
half afraid | may have made mis-
lake. am Alexander Ashe, not AL
bert.n
Mrs. Ashurst looked more puzzled
than ever. Florence blushed deeply,
and became grave and embarrassed; but
Amy's blue eyes met his frankly, with
such a sparkle of kindly fun in them that
Alex took courage to go on.
Pray let me explain" he said. "The
mistake, If mistake there be, comes in
this way. My uncle, Mr.. Nathaniel
Ashe, of Boston, whom possibly you
may know by name, wrote me this
note"-t taking it from his letter-case-
in which he laid upon me his COM
mands to call on his old friends the
Ashursts before | left Philadelphia. He
should write in advance, he said, to
mention my coming, so they would be
prepared to see me. My uncle writes
blind hand as you may perceive. and l
was quite at loss whether thirteen or
fifteen was the number; and while
was casting about / found the name
was in search of upon your doorplate,
and made sure that / was right. Miss
Ashurst seemed prepared to receive
Mr.. Ashe, which confirmed my impress
sion, and So In short, you see how it
IS, trust, and will accept my assurance
that the blunder was unintentional, and
made in perfect good faith"
SIT was perfectly natural one," said
Mrs. Ashurst, pleasantly. And now
pray resume your seat, Mr.. Ashe, and
let me explain in my turn. | have a
dear old friend, Mrs. Galloway Cum
mings, of Newburyport, whose sister
married Mr.. Francis Ashe, of Salem.
She wrote some months ago to say that
her young nephew, Albert Ashe, was
coming on to study in the medical
school of Philadelphia, and we have
been looking for him in a vague way
since February; SO when my daughters
read your card, Mr. A. G.. Ashe,'
they naturally took it for granted that
you were he. You see, there was q
blunder on both sides, and we have
apologies to make as well as you"
II cannot regret my share IN the
mistake" said Alex, rising to go, '.since
it has procured me one of the pleasant
est evenings of my life." He glanced at
Amy as he spoke. Was there little
answering gleam in her eyes? He half
dared to hope it.
But about these Salem Ashes" said
Mrs. Ashurst, desirous to set him at
ease, and end The interview without
embarrassment, ARE they your rela-
tives in any way?'
&c am afraid it is distant cousin
ship, if any. My uncle, l think, has
spoken of some remote connections at
Salem or Marblehead, but am not sure
of The facts. And now / must wish you
good-evening, with renewed apologies,
and go in search of these other Ashursts,
at 13-no, 1914. That will be two
squares farther up in this same street,