Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-11-18

moved by the revelation. Mr. Merridew ap
peafed to be a shrewd old gentleman, with q
keen sense of hurnor, and he received the
captains explanation with grin OF amuse
Inent
"a married man, ehF' he remarked, taking
apinch of snuff 'Well, that is all the bet
ter for us.n
| ''Why. OF course it makes my foolist
conduct all the more inexcusable, but don't
SEQ how it assists you," said Capt. Ogilvie
with humility.
sit proves that you were deliberately
trif1lng with the poor young girls affec-
tionsn
'But you can't bring an action for breach
of promise against married man, surely?H
said the captain, incredulously.
Cant we2 We are going to try" returned
Mr.. Merridew, in tone of playful banter,
which was extremely irritating ''Of course
it isn't my business to tell you the law-youi
own solicitor will do that. 1t is sufficient fol
us that we knew nothing about your being
married till this moment
Come, Mr.. Merridew, is your client really
in earnesta" cried Capt Ogilvie, in despera,
ton. "Does she mean to go into court, and 50
onT'
Undoubtedly. The awkwardness will
probably be on your side"
cit certainly is devilish awkward for me, n
said Capt Ogilvie, frankly. ''The expos
ure will ruin me. What damages does the
lady claimz' he asked, after an uneasy pause,
during which he traced the pattern OF the
dingy carpet with the end of his stick
''Three thousand pounds, " said Mr. Merri.
dew, looking him in the face, and taking an.
other pinch of snuff
''Three thousand poundsl OH preposter
ousr' cried the captain, Indignantly.
1--WE shall see,n said the lawyer, quietly
s'Is-is there nothing l can do to compro.
mise the matterF asked Capt. Ogilvie, after
another short silence. 81 mean in the way OF
apologies"
81 am afraid apologies would not console
the young lady" said Mr. Merridew, dryly.
''You had better consult your own solicitor,
Capt. Ogilvie, and let him advise you. By
the by, who is your solicitor?"
81 have no solicitor l suppose l had bet
ter refer you to Mr.. Bold at Lincoln's Inn
Fields, who prepared my wife's marriage set.
Element" said Capt. OgiIvie, rising from his
seat
You could not do better" said Mr.. Mer-
ridew, making note of the name GOOD
day to you, sir, and l hope we may be able
to settle this unpleasant matter as amicably
as possible under the circumstances.
Capt. Ogiivie was not in mood to recip-
rocate the lawyers amiabiIity, and took his
departure rather abruptly, feeling savage
and disappointed. When he got outside he
regretted he had mentioned Mr. Bold's name
as his solicitor. Mr. Bold had acted for many
years as u legal adviser to his wife's family.
and, though he was acquainted with him, he
felt he would not be likely to receive much
sympathy i'll that quarter For this reason,
he would have preferred on this occasion tn
be represented by a stranger. However,
having referred the plaintiffs solicitor to Mr.
Bold, and not knowing, as matter of fact,
any other London lawyer, he made his way
to that gentlemans office Mr. Bolds manner
quite realized the captains uneasy expecta-
tons. Instead OF treating the affair in Il dry.
matter-of-fact way, hIr. Bold took him to
task roundly for his indiscretion, and made
him vince by expressing contempt at his con-
duct. Though perfectly conscious that he
had behaved badly both to his wife and to
Miss Pontifex, Capt. Ogilvie regarded him
self rather as a martyr than malefactor
The punishment seemed TO him to be out of
all proportion to the offenSe, and it was by
10 means pleasant to be thus talked TO by his
own lawyer.
well, Mr.. Bold, it's no use pitching into
me" he said atlength, feeling rather nettled
''Phe question is, what is to be doner'
81 must see Mr.. Merridew at once, +"
returned the lawyer
II have seen him. He says his client is in
earnest" answered Capt. Ogilvie, shortly.
"You have seen the plaintiffs solicitori
That was very irregular" said Mr.. Bold,
looking scandalized when was that,
pray!"
Just now, on my way here. thought,
when l told him | was married, he would
stop the action"
'Oh! you told him you were married That
was very clever of you You have simply
put the whip into his hands," said Mr.. Bold,
with a short laugh.
well, l will leave the matter with yon
now, at all events" said the captain humbly.
81 suppose you admitted the promise, i"
proceeded Mr.. Bold, numerically,
81 don't know what you mean by that |
didn't deny that | was foolish enough to pro-
pose to the girl" said Capt. Ogilvie, turning
sulky. For that matter, my letter TO her
win prove as much"
$50 you wrote a letter. tool Well, you
don't seem to have left me much elbow room.
Pm afraid my talk VIII resolve itself into
making the best terms l can, said the law
yer, Struggling his shoulders.
"What 1 chiefly want is to avoid n scan
dal, for my wife's sake" said the captain
''Oh, yes. we must stop him even Issuing
writ, if possible. But it may prove expen-
sive. Did Merridew mention any figure Ii.
reference to damagesF'
HE said something about E3.O0O. OF
course that ridiculous, - said Capt, Ogilvie,
anxiously.
''Humphl 1t is unwise to prophesy At
all events, ] will do the best l can said Mr..
Bold, rather ominously, as be shook hands
with his client Call in tomorrow after
noon," he added, opening the door to him.
Capt Ogilvie felt very crestfalIen during
his homeward journey, andl was more than
ever conscious that be had made a fool of
himself. He had done more harm than good
by calling on Mr.. Merridew, and altogether
the outlook was not cheering. For man
who entertained the belief that he was
rather sharp fellow, his position was far
from enviable. The last phase of his anx-
iety had reference to the probable pecuniary
sacrifice be would have 70 submit to. He
was inclined to be mean about money mat
tiers, and the prospect of having to pay a
large sum Of money was of itself quite suffi-
cient to cause him sleepless night.
n L.