New-York tribune., 1883-11-04
CHAPTER Y.
Mr.. ALPHONso HAWKE.


II a mistake to ask a woman not to breathe q
syllable. She cannot be trusted, least of all with
another persons love-secret. She can keep her Own
but not YOURS or mine And, indeed, very often she
cannot keep her own. remember a young gentle
man telling me that, having fallen in love with a
girl he proposed to her in a very neat letter that
had cost hm nearly quire of expensive paper. She
answered by return, declining his offer, hoping he
would forgive her and they would be friends. She
had destroyed his letter, she said and as she did
not mean to breathe a syllable of what had passed
between them she hoped he would be silent too.
Meanwhile he was to be sure TO come to their dance
next so-and-so Well, his heart having been de-
clined il suited him very well to be silent, and
nothing but his faith in her promise of secrecy,
coupled with his anxiety TO gaze on her once more,
could have furnished him with sufficient fortitude
TO present himself at the dance given by the young
ladv's mamma. The behavior of the numerous
family satisfied him that nobody knew he had pro-
posed to the girl, and he danced in collected and
easy frame of mind. But what was the truth 7
He ultimately the girls love, and when they
were married she said " Of course, Montague,
showed your letter TO papa and mamma, and my
brothers and sisters and poor Aunt Jane-you re-
member dear Aunt Jane 2-fOr was 1t to be supposed
Montague that could hide such a serious thing as
an offer of marriage from my family ~
Amelia served me in that way. She went and
told Sophie that l had confessed" Yes my dear
ooRtessed-only think W-to be deeply IN love with
Florence Hawke Sophie gave the news TO her
mother, who handed it on TO my uncle. No doubt
they all pledged one another to secrecy. But my
uncle could not hold his tongue and on the evening
of the day on which had lmched with MISS Hawke,
the ladies having retired to rest. aud he and be
ing alone, sitting in the open window and smoking
cigars, he spoke as follows: ,.
I" So my boy - land this was the delicate way IN
which he approached the subject, they tell me
you are. head over ears in love with Florence
Hawke"
"Al your relations" he answered. " But why
DIVE want to keep IL a secret and yet don know
You're right to be sly ityoure sincere Ior II h9wke %
how on earth can you be in love with girl you
have only met once or twice, and have only heard
of during the last twenty-fOuT hours I"
Pm sure / can't tell you' said l.
" Why, it took me eight months to make mp my
mind to offer for your aunt-a handsomer woman
then than Florence is now make no mistake about
that, sir A proper female-a lady in heart and a
woman nan in ie beauty! 81 u! young 3 nagd man."
Yes every inch of her. Eight months, say, IL
took me TO resolve, and here are you ripe IN less
than twenty-fOur hours for the parson to operate
on. But this is the age of locomotives, the sixty
mles-an-hOuT epoch, and a correct portrait OF the
period should represent it as peltng before hmrrl-
cane, holding its gray hair on with both hands"
think you GmgTo iIgT efsa Mss Hs e eDS 3S 80 do vo
He nodded " But when you speak of my being
desperately in love, yOnre giving character To my
"WeII. nv Lad lad said he don't 5 know what's IN
your mind nor does it matter but III tell you this,
you'll be alucky fellow if you win her. should say
she's good for ten thousand pounds, If penny, with
more to come. Moreover, she is a lady, which Is
fine thing for ones friends, and beauty which Is
fine thing for ones self Any help can give you,
Jack, you may command. Your aunt may hang Q
bit in the wind, as she's got to work the sense of
duty to her neighbOr of her mind but your
cousins at your service, and, with q pair OF
clever girls TO do your loye-errands you should be
able TO outweather Old Nick himself were he Flor
ence's papa"
Though could talk as off-handedly az he, was
not without u stock of native modesty; and we
were now upon a subject which sentiment had, to
certain extent, consecrated, and which felt ought
to he approached hat In hand, so that did not
much cale TO humor my unce's irreverent, CON-
mercial and half-ieering alnsiOns 10 it. there
fore, without much trouble, drew him away from
the subject, and was presently splitting my sides
over some capital Yankee stories he related; though
when went to my bedroom, hung for long half
hour over Miss Fl0rence's photograph, and, whom IN
bed, 10y so long a time full Of thought that the
sparrOws were twitterimg on the trees when fell
asleep. Was 10 get no rest at Cliftonf
Next morning took my cousins for drive in the
phaeton, and when we were fairly under way L
said to Amelia, DO you remember promising not to
breathe a syllablep
"Of what" asked she