St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1883-03-02

laughed Colonel Ingram, glancing at
the card and handing it to the young
lady.
"Mr. Champion Farquhar. No, |
never heard it before in my life," was
the reply, uttered in a low, nervous
tone, and from the manner in which
she mlsprOnOunced the name it was ev-
ident she never had.
Really, Mr.. Farquhar, you are la
boring under a misapprehensiOn," said
Colonel Ingram, frankly. ''YOu are
probably misled by some accidental re-
semblance between this young lady
and your niece. l sympathize with
your disappointment, and hope you
will soon be relieved of your evident
anxiety"
Poor Mr.. Farquhar looked the pic
ture of confusion. The COloners frank
tone carried conviction with it, while
the young lady made no sign of recog-
milton. Certainly, the resemblance be-
tween her and his niece, Miss Nichol-
son, was most striking, but in his agi-
tation Mr.. Farquhar began to imagine
he saw points of difference. 1t occurred
to him with painful distinctness that he
had made an absurd mistake, and he
felt so cM,rwhelmed by the awkward
ness CT mis- position that he fairly bolt
ed out of the room with muttered
apology.
On descending to the hall of the ho-
tel he found that his pOrtmanteau had
been taken off the cab, and being worn
out with fatigue and excitement he
wisely determined to stay where he
was for the night. He therefore or
dered dinner, and by degrees recovered
his equanimity sufficiently to be able tC
reflect with calmness on what had hap
pened.
Unfortunately, his deliberations did
not conduce to peace of mind, for the
more he thought over the matter the
more convinced did he feel that his
first suspicious were correct, that the
young lady up stairs was really hi,
niece. The COlOnel's ingenious manner
had evidently been assumed to put hin
off the scent, and recalling to mind the
young lady's agitation when he enter
ed the room, Mr.. Farquhar came to the
conclusion that he was the victim of /
very clever conspiracy. While angri
ly meditating another visit to COlOne
lngram's apartment, a waiter handed
him a note written in pencil in a lady''
hand, which showed traces of haste anC
agitation. Mr.. Farquhar put on his
glasses and read with amazement al
follows:
'Dear Sir l implOre you to keel
my secret. 1t was all the fault of the
people at the hotel at Paris, who caus
ed me to mistake You for my uncle
and | never suspected anything unit
my uncle came in while we were a
breakfast. He had been in India 81
many years that | had forgotten wha
he was like, but when he came in | a
once recollected him. | cannot tell yOu
how ashamed | feel, for | was wicked
enough in my confusion to pretend t.
him that | had only arrived yesterday
morning. | persuaded my uncle t.
leave Paris at once, never thinking yol
would take any more trouble about me
Pray forgive me for my ungrateful con
duct to you just now, but please keel
my secret, or my uncle might be an
CRY. | will tell him some day really
Do please forgive me, and accept III!
| grateful thanks for your kindness.
Yours sincerely,
AMY BETHUNE."
"POOr little thing" muttered Mr.
| Farquhar, when he had read the letter
which he handled tenderly. "Of cours
she feels awkward, for she kissed IN
more than once, thinking | was he
uncle"
The recollection of this agreeable ep
isode caused the old gentleman to breaI
into good humored chuckle, whicI
banished every trace of anger and re
sentiment from his mind.