National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1884-09-06

uuct as III desorveS," said Mr.. Ainslie,
scornfuliy; but l call upon the gentle
man to produce here, before us all, tho
letter he has been Dragging about"
Tho Hon. harmaduke shifted uneasily
in his chair and glanced appealingly at
Jack, who maintained a stolid expression
Of countenance. Then no said In very
fine drawn voice:
DO you really mean what you say, Mr..
Ainslio?"
II do" was tho firm response.
Very we'll But in my turn, gentle
men, must beg you to bear witness that
this disagreeablo scene is not of my
making. l think / am entitled to ask,
after what has passed. that the letter be
read" ho added, with sudden access of
rage.
by oil means. Ask any of your
friends here to read 1t aloud" said Mr..
Ainslie, hesitatingly.
VERY we'll. You will regret IL, but
you will only have yourself TO thank"
returned tho Hon. Marmuduke. who
seemed beside himself with anger. Here !!
Withers-Rowlands- read IL, throw
ing the letter across the room with
vicious gesture.
Tho last named individual unfolded the
letter, and after glancing ut it looked up
with an air Of surprise at tho Hon. Mar
maduke.
go on. Readp said tho latter between
his clenched teeth.
Thus admonished, and further urged
by sign from Mr.. Ainslie, Mr.. Row
lands reads slowly and distinctly as fol-
lows:
DEAR Mr.. CARRUTHERs: am grievcd to
learn that our acquaintance has given, rise to
gossip among ill.natured persons and under
these circumstances | am sure you will not
feel offended If ask you to discontinue your
Visits to my house. You Will readily under
stand that II gives me pain to write you thus
but for my husbands sake, rs well as my own,
| feel have no alternative. With our united
kind regards, believe me, yours very truly,
- AMY AiSsLlE.
After tho reading Of the unexpected
opistle there ensued silence more clo-
quent than words. The Hon. Marina
duke seemed utterly taken aback, and
hurriedly brought forth his cigarette case
again. This voluntary movement caused
litter in the room. which developed
into general laughter when the Hon.
Marmadukc, having opened and glanced
inside it, replaced it in his pocket with
an air Of bewilderment. Nothing is moro
CALLING than ridicule to man Of tho Hon.
Marmaduke's temperament, and the gen.
eral hilarity caused him to lose his head
entirely.
"Its-it's lie! It is o conspiracy.
That Is not the letter gave you, Row
landsW he cried. excitedly.
What the deuce do you mean by that,
Carruthers?" cried Mr.. Rowlands, who
was hot-tempered individual. II will
swear this is the letter you handed me,
and have read 1t word for word"
Several voices were raised in indignant
verification of this statement, and then
Hon. Marmaduke found the feeling of
tho room so strong against him that he
apparently considered it would be use
less to attempt to offer further explana-
ton. Perhaps, too, he found it impossi-
BILE to collect his thoughts, for he was
trembling with rage and vexation. At
all evonts, he rose from his scat and said {:
" This matter shall not stop here. II
will prove that the letter / received was
not the ono which has boon read"
The subject must, as a matter of
course, be brought before the committee"
said Mr.. Ainslie, as the Hon. Marmaduke
walked out of the, room, with futile
attempt at dignified bearing. For my
part, gentlemen" he added, addressing an
entirely sympathetic audience, 81 pro-
pose to tender my resignation If the COM
mittee choose to accept 1t. My wife's
good name being at stake, l could not
altOrd TO DO dellcate ABOUT the means OF
vindicating it. This letter. which has
been 80 much talked about in the club
has now been produced and read to you,
and think you will agree with me that
it effectuaily disposes of the scandal"
1t was rather singular circumstance
that, in spite of his threat, the Hon. Mar
maduke made no attempt to bring his
grievance before tho committee. He
contented himself with asserting that
Jack HARDWOOD had, ut q private inter
view, substituted another letter for the
one Miss Ainslie had written to him.
But Jack easily disposed of this ACCUSE
ton, which nobody was inclined to be-
lieve. by contemptuous shrug of his
shoulders, and popular indignation was
so thoroughly aroused at the Hon. Mar
maduke's conduct that the most plausible
explanation could hardly have saved him.
The upshot was that he withdrew his
name from tho club, thereby anticipating
the action of the committee, which at the
instance of Mr.. Ainslic investigated the
affair. No questions were asked of that
gentleman, and his resignation was not
accepted.