Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1884-08-29

SrANFfELD MARROW.
"You will go l supposo?" said Willis
Howard, to whom Mr.. Byron presently
showed his note.
"Of course; one cannot refuse such n
summons. 1t Is probably aquestion of
life and DEATH"
al am due at Uxmo-e tonight -rath-
or n different crraud from yours-a
masquerade party. I'm sorry VIC are
not travelling in the same direction"
II am sorry also. Do you know any
thing of the rcop,e at NARROW Hall,
Howardpn
"Never had heard of them before.
Are they strangers to youp"
"Enirely so."
Snow good-oyc, old fellow; my traps
are all slowed away in the train, and |
had better follow them. Take care of
yourself among those mysterious
strangers.
In the hustle and confusion Mt the sta
ton Mr.. Byron's sachcl was mislad,
but he presently caught sight of the
familiar oh ect on II distant table, and
felt inwardly thankful for its ungainly
proportions and the huge brass dia-
mond which made it so easily rccog-
nizcd.
AT Portland respectfully dressed
man IN charge of wagonetto came for
ward to meet Mr.. Byron, and, during
the drive to the Hall, the former dis
,courscd freely upon the existing state
of affairs there. A son and heir to the
fine estate had arrived, aud there had
been great re .oicing, but within the
past twcnty-four hours their 10y had
been turned 10 mourning by dispatch
summonlng the newly-madc father to
the death-bcd Of his only ster in Ger
many. The young mother seemed to
feel II presentiment of misfortune, and
she insisted upon the young baby being
baptized before the departure of its
father. The clergyman of the parish
was temporarily absent, hen C Mr.. By
ron's hasty summons. The ceremony
would he performed in the chapel con-
netted with the Hall, and would be
very quiet. being witnessed only by the
father and grandfather of the child,
with possibly one or two guests.
After lunching in somber, richly
decorated dining hall, Mr. Byron was
shown to u bedroom, with the intima-
ton that his services in the chapl
would be required in an hour if con-
venient to him.
There was something strange and in
terestiEg about the fine old mansion, so
lately scene of re,oi ing, and now 81
lent as an empty church. No membc $
of the family were visible, and the great
house seemed deserted, save Tor few
silent footed servants.
As the time for the baptism drew
near, Mr.. Byron asked to be conducted
to the vestry room. To make sure that
everything was in readiness he opened
his snchel, when, to his CONSERVATION,
instead OF drawing forth n neatly olded
surplicc, he held up before his aston
ished gaze doublet AMI hose of scarlet
and gray satin. such as might he seen
on the stage in Gas You Like IT,"
Alas for the veracity OF Messrs. Piper
and III son and The credulity of the
worthy Mrs. Minis. The so called
unique bag had many dupica es, ara
MIR. Willis Howard had bought one that
very morning in which to stow away
his fancy ball costume.
Here was n predicament indeed for
Rev. Julius Byron In desperation he
flew to the wardrobe in the vestry-
room. Vain hope. Not u shred of the
other clergyman's vestmrnts hung
the C. What was to be donep Even if
in extreme cases the church rules per-
mitIed the clergy to olliciate without
robes in the sacred edlce-and for Il
. moment NJ. Byrol was too bewildered
! to think whether this would be permis-
sible or not-how could he explain the
annoying mistake to those strangers?
They, already so troubled, woul think
him an untrustworthy, careless triiie,.
In his perplcxity he rang or the man
who had already waited on him.
''ls there lady in the house with
whom | could speak for Il few mo-
mentsa' Mr.. Byron asked.
MY mistress cousin is here; but she
does moi leave the invalid rooms for
anything just at present
Then l will write my message in
noten
He stated the case as clearly as he
could on paper. and dispatched the SER
want with il. In answer the la ly sent her
maid to inquire if search had been made
everywhere in the vo3try-room for n
surpl,ce. He sent ba k word that fur
ther search was useless.
After some moments of, to him, ter
rible sHspense.-tor the time was almost
come for him to appear IN the hapel-
the maid returned, and, with deep
bushes and ner, GUS twitch ng OF her
apron hem, began:
"My young lady told me to tell you,
SIR, that, if YOU would not tn nix it any
harm, she would send you her
Oh, no, don't mean that, sir! She
sa d j was not to say who it belonged
to, but she would cut the bands OF the
sleeves and the lace from the neck, and
it would be long, and nobody would
notice that it was night-gown, T.;
and, if you didn't mind, sr, | would 90
and fetch it AZ once, for there is no
time to lose"
The girls concluding remarks were
only too true; and, however much he
might have hcstated at her suggest on
in cooler moments, lie was thankful
now for any solution of the difficulty.
'Tell your mistress that | shall be
very grateful for the loan she proposes,
if she thinks the deception will not be
discovered"
The servant vanished, and was soon
on the spot agaD with a snowy linen
night-gown. The neck at the back had
been torn down to admit broader
shoulders, and a linen handkerchief had
been hastily stitched in to hide the rent.
Most of the ornamentation had been
cut away; but enough remained to
prove that the garment bel, nged to Il
lady OF very dainty tastes,
Thankful for this semblance of sur
phi, e, and too hurried to feel amuse-
ment, Mr.. Byron arrayed himself, en-
tered the chan e, and the servi,e be-
gan on C. He observed with sigh
If thankfulness that the chapel was
very dark; and this enabled him to read
without much nervousness. Two gen
tlemen came onward with the baby and
its nur e, and for blief time during
the service the young clergymen saw
indisin tly the slender figure of lady
standing in the di My lighted aisle. Be
fore the end of the ceremony her feel
ings seemed TO overcome her, for she
left the chur sitting what might have