, 1886-03-25

And, after = little general converse
ton, Mr.. Greysark took his leave.
The next morning, upon arrival at
London bridge, instead of handing
Phyllis INTO n Mansion house omnibus, as
usual, he insisted that she should walk
there with him. And, by the time King
Williams statue was reached he had
poured out his soul to her, and received
her ready assent to his proposal, con-
ditional upon the approval OF her father.
Upon arriving at his Office he called
Mr.. Penn in, gave him instructions to
show nobody into the private room for
an hour, and settled himself down to in
dite the epistle 70 Mr.. Fleming. After
much destruction Of best cream-laid note,
he produced the following:
DEAR SIR: 1t is with no little difidence
that l address one who is a complete
stranger to me upon a subject Of such
importance as that which now occupies
my pen; but l am sure l judge you
rightly when l think that you will par
don the liberty l am taking by the time
you arrive at the end of the letter.
an short, l wish to obtain your con-
sent to my marriage with your charm
ing daughter, Phyllis. AS this is TO some
extent a matter OF business, / may in
form you that | made the young lady's
acquaintance in the Brighton train, by
which we nave been fellow-passengers
daily for some weeks past, that 1 then
obtained not only her consent to my pro-
posal, but the entire appreciation of her
aunt, upon whom / had the pleasure Of
calling, with your daughters permission.
For your satisfaction / may add that,
although l am not a very young man, l
am in the full vigor OF health and
strength; that / am the sole and RESPONSE
BILE head of one of the b~est-known and
most respected business houses in the
city Of London; and that / am in a posi-
ton, which you may verify, IL you
please, by the most minute investigation,
TO maintain your daughter in a fitting
position as a lady.
The entire happiness of my life, and l
dare add that Of your daughters, rest
upon u decision as to whether she
should be my wife or not, and l implore
you not to be influenced in your opinion
by the somewhat peculiar circumstance
under which our meeting took place, and
our consequent acquaintance and init
macy were formed.
If you will kindly take a week to con-
slider this, to me, vital question, 1 shall
be inexpressiblr obliged; and, thanking
you heartily in advance for the sanction
which l feel certain you will accord, ]
am, my dear sir, your very obedien.
servant. JONATHAN G~REYsARK."
Having read this two or three times
over to assure himself that he had not
said too much or too little, Jonathan
Greysark placed it in an envelope adj
dressed to Robert Fleming, Esq, and
that again in an envelope which he pur-
posed to hand TO the old lady at Brighton
The week seemed nterminable to the
,namored Jonathan. Men remarked
that he appeared absent-minded and pre-
occupied, but two or three of his fellow
passengers by the 8:45, who were in the
same market, told the story of his cap
ture by the pretty girl in the train, and
50 accounted for his popularity. He
himself, however, was in a state OF anx-
iety to which he had long been a stranger.
tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday passed,
md no answer from the mysterious Mr..
Fleming arrived. Perhaps the old lady
had forgotten to forward his missive.
Did ladies, so strangely mindful of long
Iast occurrences, were, he knew, often
,bliyious about matters present. Per-
haps-but he shuddered at the thought,
md cast it from him-for Phyllis was
TOO good, too honest, too much Of a lady,
to be so base and cruel; on the other
hand, possibly Mr.. Fleming was i~nstitut-
ing inquiries. 1t was natural that a
lffectionate father should do 80, and
very time Penn brought in a visitors
Iame the merchant expected to hear
Mr.. Robert Fleming" announced. On
he Friday afternoon he called in Mr..
'enn.
Kindly shut the door" he said; Il
W. something Of Importance to speak
70 you about
Mr.. Penn obeyed, and anxiously in
pected his employers face.
Mr.. Penn began the merchant with
preliminary clearing Of the throat,
you have been in my service now for
ONE years, and you nave given me very
General satisfaction in the performance
4 your duties"
Penn's face frightened Certainly a
Use in salary was coming, perhaps some
thing more substantial. But all was
dashed to the ground with the first word
II the great mans next sentence.
But continued G~reysark, II have
)een thinking the matter over very seri-
sously lately, and | nave arrived at the
ainful conclusion that | must dispense
With your services at the expiration of a
month from this date"
The poor clerk gasped and clutched the
lble for support, and would rave spolsn,
ut for a magisteriai wave of Mr.. Grey
irk's hand.
1T is very evident to me- continued
is employer, that sDme fresh blood is
ieeded in this business. In fact, l pro-
,ose to take a partner, and by so acting
D do away with the necessity Of paying
handsome salary TO a head clerk
Mr.. Greysarrl" almost shrieked poor
'enn. do hear me. | have helped you
. make this business. | have been in
his office for more than twenty years.
iou have never once had cause TO find
ault with me; for l may c-onscientiously
~ that l have never given you occasion
D. For more than one reason l Am pro-
'luded from the possibility OF getting
mother situation. Ny name, as you
Enow, is against me, and people would
object to me on the ground that | had a
brother who had been in the police dock;
moreover, ! am not fitted to occupy a
clerks desk in any other business.
Think, sir, l implore you TO think.
With one word you are turning an honest
man into the streets To beg. for no fault
II his own. do not wish to push my
II forward unduly, Mr.. Greysark. but
such a crisis As this | am forced to re-
al you that but for me you might