Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1885-04-29

lie put out MS nand ami took 1t. He
I read 1t through, and then he took my
hand.
Miss Morley" he said gravely and
/ kindly, believe me, YOU cannot know
/ how highly respect and esteem you,
and how difficult | find it to tell you
that never wrote that letter at all -
Never wrote it?" | echoed. stupe-
/ ied
mo " he replied; ''there is some mis-
take here, some cruel jest. ! never
penned it; it is not my writing, though
close imitation. Had | meant SO to
address you, trust should have treated
so high and holy theme in more dig
niiied manner. could not write to
you Ike that, Miss Morley"
- thought, | felt-'' muttered.
But you never wrote it-you did not,
/ you do not"
And then the real nature of my mis-
cradle situation flashed upon me. 1t
was all mistake; he did not love mel
81 do not love you, Miss Morley, as
that letter says" be continued. "For-
| give me; but feel it is best and wisest
to be frank with you. have never yet
dreamt of marriage. | have no present
means, and have been too busy with my
profession to think as yet of any love.
| bitterly deplore that some--I fear will
ful--mlstake has exposed you to this
unpleasantneSs."
/ listened as in dream; my head was
buried in my hands, and my very heart
was faint. Oh, the shame, the humill-
alton, the misery of having let him so
openly see my love, which now came
back to me rejected | longed to fly, to
escape from my intolerable position He
had tried to take my hand; but | had
waved him off,
$50 away, go away!" was all could
say.
heard his steps die away; and then
my tears came. For long time l sat
on thus, crushed and stunned by this
cruel blow. At last L rose to go in. The
blissful hours of freedom were drawing
to a close, and instinct taught me to
hide my wound from others. l was
startled to behold Mr.. Clitheroe still in
the garden, apparently examining some
plants. He heard me move, and hur-
ried up to me before | could escape.
cannot let you go like this, Miss
Morley" he SAID. ''Will you forgive
me for being the innocent cause of this
cruel annOyance?"
"Oh, yesl' / muttered ''But [ am
so ashamed-my letter."
miss Morley" he said, 81 respect
you more than ever. Your letter and
your words shall be forgotten by me;
they shall be as though they had not
been. Trust me. have forgotten al
ready all that you would have me for
get. | must hope to merit your good
opinion of me by my discretion; and l
shall only try to find out who could
have so insulted you. Have you any
suspicionl"
''NA." replied; 81 have not thought
about it. Please dO2't try 20 find out
Please let it alone, and let me go in
nowl"
He raised his hat and said Good
bye" | was alone-more alone than
ever. My bright castles were shattered;
ard the letter that had been mOcking
phantom to me-he had never written il.
HIS STORY.
have been in at the death of many
a iOA, ohOI hh ihnOOChS OlAu anu
beast as a young man, and have said
many cruel words in my time, but |
never felt such barbarian as that dav.
And yet it was not my fault. | Twas
Obliged to do it. Truth and honor de
manded 1t.
Poor little Marion Morleyi l had
often noticed her sad face, and longed
to be of use 10 her, and had even tried
to make her think 1 would befriend her
if she needed it. ! had often preached
at her the hard lesson, In whatsoever
state she was, Herewith to be content.
Bnt | had never dreamed of lOve-I
had never tried to win her affection.
As | told her, marriage lay very far in
the dim future with meas far, in fact,
as the living that l hoped would ulti-
mately fall to my lot. 1t never crossed
my widest fancy that she would have
taken more than friendly interest in
me; therefore my utter astonishment
can be imagined when l received her
poor little innocent letter promising to
be the wife l had not desired. How
hard 1t was to tell her that L had never
penned the letter she had received
returned home humbled and grieved
-grieved to have wounded her sensi
tive feelings, grleved that she should
have given me her love unsought. |
prayed that night that she might forget
me. l felt very guilty; and yet | could
find nothing of which TO accuse myself.
My chief feeling however was indigna-
tion against the person, whoever he or
she might be, whose wicked jest had
caused all this. l had my suspicious.
Caroline Thomson was never a favorite
of mine; thought her a forward sly
girl, precocious and assuming; and |
imagined her quite capable of playing
such trick.
One day met Miss Thompson walk
ing in the village and joined her Pur-
poSely l led the conversation round to
practical jokes.
II do not know anything more cow
ardly than to play practical joke" l
said, ION person whom circumstances
place to certain extent in ones power.
A practical joke of any magnitude Is
insulting, cruel, stupid, and a disgrace
to one person only-the perpetrator."
The girls face got very red, and she
Uttered nervously.
''Have you ever played such a joke?"
went on. II am pretty sure you have,
and on Miss Morley; have you not?" l
demanded sternly.
"What do you mean?" she stam-
mered.
"Please answer me straightforwardly,
Tiss Thomson, said, ''Or | must, as
your clergyman, apply to your mother.
You will know what l mean if your
conscience accuses you. Did you not
lately play practical joke upon Miss
Morleyp"
The girl burst into tears, and grad
ually told me all-how she and Amy
had written the letter in fun and never
meant any harm; how, when she imag-
ined that Miss Morley had answered 1t,
she was too frightened to confess; how
she was very sorry, and so on.
"You have done an unmaidenly cruel
action" l said-''an action which. but
for Miss Morley's good sense and lady
like mind, might have caused great mis-
chief hope this will be a lesson to
you, and that in the future you will be
more considerate of Others feelings I"
now hoped that all trouble arising
from the unfortunate letter would be
ended; but it grieved me to see how
4 ~ Il