Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1881-08-18
A FASCINATING GHOST.

WANTED young gentleman who knows
- how to spell, and who writes a good hand,
70 DO copying IN the country for two or three
months. Must remain in employers house.
Address In own hand, stating what salary is
expected. y, Box 400, this Office.
This was an advertisement cut out
OF the Ece'aing Post one spring after
noon.
In the old days I had been book
keeper for the late concern of Skinfint,
Starvehimout & Co., and while with
them | had been getting good salary,
and, to my sorrow be- it said, lived
pretty well up to it; SO as I made moth
Ing by the failure of the concern, and
aoss my place as well, I had to come
down very low. I had saved little,
more by good luck than from fore
thought, and this little, used with the
str1ctest economy, and added to by a
few dollars made here and there in odd
ways, was all that had kept me alive for
eighteen months. However, | didn't
feel quite disposed to go to the dogs
yet, for there was always a chance of
something turning up in q great CITY
like New York.
As I looked around nv room that
evening I realized how bare it was of
either furniture or adornments; how
unlike All, we'll, there was my paper;
and | unfolded it with all the glee of a
child over new story book. There
was, Of course, the usual political news,
the usual number of railroad accidents
and criminal proceedings; there were
items of interest to investors and
theater-goers and travellers; but nothing
for me. l had no money to invest, or
for theaters, or travelling. So skipped
all that and went on to the advertise
ments. and the only one of them all
worth reading twice was the advertise
ment quoted above.
L read it two or three times, and then
decided it was worth trying. So 1
hunted up sheet of paper and ad-
dressed K as follows:
" My Dear Mr., Mrs, or Miss K: I
notice your advertisement in to-day's
issue OF the Eoeniuq Post. NV hand
writing you can see for yourself. NV
spelling, think, is usually correct, and
there is no doubt I am gentleman.
As to salary, I don't know what to say
i don't wish to value my services at
more than they're worth. Should you
mean by remain in employers
house. that I would be boarded and
lodged at your expense, my price-that
Is, asking price-is five dollars week.
"Yours respectfully,
"JAMEs W. WoIcorT."
The next afternoon heard from nv
friend K, who proved to be man. His
letter ran thus:
JAMES W. Wo1coTr, ESQ.,:
"l lMy dear Sir You may be gentle
man, write good hand, and know how
to spell, but you're fool. inclose
] glxty three cents, the fare to - You
viii take the 7 A. M. train tomorrow
morning from Grand Central depot, and
when you arrive at -, ask for my
carriage, as it will be there to meet YOU.
Yours, ETC.,
"So1. HUMPHREYS"
Sol. Humphreys the last man in the
world would voluntarily have written
to. and for employment, too Two years
before 1 had very nice little filtration
with pretty Mabel Humphreys, and it
had gone so far that if the crash in nv
affairs had not occurred, believe there
might have been an understanding, if
not an engagement. But as it was
put away all thoughts of love and love-
making and dropped pretty Mabel very
suddenly, without any kind of an under
standing, and had not seen her since.
And now to think I had fairly got
myself into it again But, I reflected,
l might not see much of Mabel, after
all. So much the better. Bread and
butter was necessity and / must go
and make the best oft.
The next morning I caught the train,
but missed my breakfast, and by the
time reached the house I was decid-
--edly hungry.
oi Mr. Humphreys met me at the door,
tfpnd | was pleased to see. he did not
.{eem to remember me at all. He put
ZIP his eyeglasses, and inspected me
n9from head to foot
So you're James W. Woicott, are,
4 Fou, young man p