Morning journal and courier., 1884-01-07

own misnaanagement and her son's extra. vRgsnee, and she resolved that she would not lose the chance of securing such home as her cousin could give her, without des- perate struggle. She and her son put their heads together, and they upitedly resolved that Mary should mary Rathburn, and they diligently and wickedly set themselves to work to accomplish their designs
 Ralph Grover, Mrs. Arvine's son, always brought the family's mail from the postoffice, and so had the best of opportunities for in tercepting and tampering with the letters that Fiske wrote Mary. He was skiliful with Q pen, and after a little practice was able to initiate Fiske's handwriting so closely that no one who had not had suspicious raised would have dreamed that the three last le' 'ters that t Mary received, purporting to come from FiSke, were forgeries. Fiske would not have wondered that she wrote him cold letters if he could have seen the letters to which she replied. The following is copy of the last one, the one which combined with the in- fuence of Mrs. Arvine, led Mary to dismiss him so peremptorily:
 "PINR GROVE Me, Dec 16 1885
 Dear Mary-I fear that was rather hasty in urging you to consent to our marriage New Years It is duty that both to You and myself tn eay the srdor of my love for you; and to ask you, that being the if it not best and st for us to postpone our marriage until We have had sufficient time to fully learn our own minds. s.
 It may be that both sba to the conclusion Dy spring, 10 postpone 1t indefinitely.
 Respectfully yours,
 CLINTON FIsKE."
 Mary did not down come stairs, in a short time after reading that letter. glowing with happiness, as she had always done before, un- tilreceiving the last three. It was two hours be fore she returned to the sitting room. When she entered the door she actually staggered and she looked so white, so utterly wretched. that even interruptions Mrs. Arvine was ed on beholding the effect of her cruel plot ting. She rushed to Mary and gently assisted her to an easy chair, and expressed so much anxiety at seeing her ''poor darling" look so i'll, and was so insidiously attentive to her, and tender of her, that in 8 few hours Mary was induced to confide her grief to her and show her the heart-breakipg letters.
 Mrs. Arvine read them carefully, as though She had never seen them before, and did not know every word of them by heart. She sighed and shook her head, apparently un- consciously, several times while reading them, and as soon as she had finished the last one she threw 1t from her contemptuously, and exclaimed
 "Oh, the willy villain. have heard of just such artful men before. There is not shadow of doubt that Fiske has fallen in love with some one else, and so has edroitly taken this course, hoping to get released from you without serious trouble himself. Such man is unworthy of you, my precious darling. and if your dear father were living he would tell you so. If you are wise for yourself, poor abused child, you will never acknowl. edge the receipt of this letter-neSer make the slightest allusion to it to him. or any one else except to me, who fills the place of your own mother to you. 1 beg of you never let Fiske feel that he got clear of you by this shrewd stratagenn. Rather make him feel that for some reason you chose to discard him."
 Mrs. Arvine privately dispatched her son that very day--there would be danger in de- lay sine feared-to an adjoining town, where her cousin Rathburn was closing up sGme business preparatory to returning West, with an urgent request that he would run down and spend that night with her. He came. She seized the first opportunity to tell him, in the strictest confidence of course, that me thing appeared to be wearing upon Mary. She did not seem to be well and she evident ly was greatly depressed in spirit and she had no doubt that the dear child regretted that she did not accept his offer, and that that was the sole cause of the great change in her. Rathburn felt hattered and hope re- viVed. He lost no time before offering him. self to Mary again. She was So heartbrolSen, go crushed and stunned by the terrible blow that Fiske's purpoEted letter had given her that she cared but littl5 whut became of her self, and so she quietlg and listlessIy referred him to her stepmother- Mrs. Arvine wss de- lighted and she ard Rathburn arranged everything to suit themselves. Mrs. Ar vine suggestively and with every appearance Of simplicity instead of dupiicity, asked If he proposed to be married before he re- turned to Chicago The unsuapecting and in- noeent mani ihad not dreamed that such thing was possible. He replied that he wanted no fairer flower to transplant to his western home than Mary was, and the sooner he had her in it, the better he should like is.
 If Mary's father had been living and he T., e-If. l-rFsz , L. ters that Ralph Grover forged with his moth ers help, he would have cautioned Mary against marrying another man so hastily; but ID judIcI3us SdV ser came to her rescue and she was so young. barely twenty-Fiske was ten years older than she, and Rathbura was just twice old.-so indifferent to every thin that COT cerE el herself, tt at sbe swfered her stepmother to lead her as she choss. sFen to writing letter of her dictation to Fiske.
 Katlburn and Mary were married the next week on Christmas day. When he took Mary west, he took his in also, as he had promised. Mrs. Arvine had succeeded in SC curing good home for herself.
 Homer Rathburn never learned the cruel plot that had been laid ito induce Mary Ar vine to marry him; and she did not whiio her truly good husband lived. Probably it well she did not It could not have done any good, and it might have wrought much harm. In 8 fit O drunken rage, Ralph Grover, while on visit to his mother soon after Rathburn's death, taunted her with the part she had taken in 1t, and divulged the whole story.
 Then Mary Rathburn had an unconquera- be desire to come East She had never wanted to come before, since her marriage. Had Clinton Fiske thought her heartless and untrue all these years, and despised her for it? Was he living? If so, where? Two years before she met young couple in a Chicago hotel, from Pine Grove, Maine She incl oil Fo ham hot ho knew young man of the name of Fiske who resided in that place. They replied that they believed they had heard the name but there was no man of that name residing there now. If Mrs Rsthburn had known where he was after she learned what her stepmother and stepbrether had done, she would have ventured to write him. Of course they never could be anything to each ol her again, but it would be such relief to her if he could only know the exact truth in the matter. And when she accepted the in vitation Of her cousin in Providence to come East and spend the winter the hope that she might somehow learn something of him led her the more readily to accept the invitation
 When Mrs Rathburn finished her story Fiske caught both her hands in his and said: .' Have you forgotten 10 love me, Mary2 Will you marry me noW?'
 She hastily withdrew her hands from his, and locking at him with amazement ex- claimed:
 Marry you! I understood your servant to say that you were living in this place with your family. Are you widower, sir ?"
 T have carried heart Rs bereaved as that of widower in my breast, Mary, for twelve years." he replied in eager, husky tones, ''but have never had a wife. l want one, Mary. I want you Will you marry me now, Mary, this very day? Have l not been de- frauded of my own long enough ?"
 Mrs Rathburn burst into tears and placed 10th her hands in his again, and the strong, stern man drew her tightly to himself with grasp that said nothing but death should ey- CT come between them again.
 They were married, a. noon, that day. in Fiske's own parlor, and Rector Hall per formed the marriage ceremony. Randolph Gordon said that if it was not ''surprise party" it certainly was very surprised party, and most pleasingly surprised one, too.
 Mrs. CapRell said, aside to her sister: ''I think we shall be able to give them en- sertainment for the occasion. I doubt if we could have done better if we had known l that we were getting dinner for 8 wedding l party. MT. Fiske told me to get up as good 3 Christmas dinner as possible regardless of expense, and have done my very best.''
 Before the marriage, Fiske sent Jake l down in the carriage to ask Parson Jackson 1 -lo pl Iii far