The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1886-09-08

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help it. l will abide by my decision,
and so have told your Uncle Arbuth-
not, so that in case l do not get home
from my trip to Paris before the very
latest date set in my letter the wedding
must go on without me--or else you,
Lilias, will be a pauper."
" Lilias is so impulsive, you know,
Aunt Hettie, that do wish you would
write that down, so she will not forget"
suggested Minnie, handing a sheet of
paper to Mrs. Arbuthnot, and then with
drawing it, adding, " Suppose l write
it and you sign it, as you say your eyes
trouble you to-day?'
" Do so, my dear; my eyes are very
bad to-day; but for them would post
pone my journey until later in the
season."
So Minnie wrote: " intend to adj
here strictly and literally to the terms
in which yesterday wrote to Mr. Maris-
cal and Frank Carroll; if they are not
suited with what wrote, / cannot help
it. / will abide by that decision" And
to this Mrs. Arbuthnot appended her
name and the date.
Somewhat to Mrs. Arbuthnot's sur
prise, none of the family saw anything
of Mr.. Mariscal all that day; and she
had to start that night for New York,
whence she was to sail for Paris, with
out seeing him again.
Early the next morning there came
to the house not Mr.. Mariscal but
Frank Carroll, who, to Lilias' intense,
amazement, greeted her as if he were
her accepted lover. AS soon as she
could do so--that is, as soon as she could
make up her mind to do so-she with
drew from his EMBEDDING arms and ex-
claimed
Why, Frank How courageous you
are to venture here in such an assured
manner after what Aunt Hettie wrote
to you"
Courageous?' he repeated. CT
don't understand you; it is because L
received her card that | anu here now.
/ must own that was little surprised
when ! read it through"
What could she have said to you?n
asked Lilias, in amazement still.
Here it is; read it for yourself 1
only got it this morning, having been
away on business, or I'd have been here
last evening"" he answered, handing
postal card to Lilias.
Mrs. Arbuthnot was one of those
people who use postal card for any or
all purposes. She had perfect mania
for them and could not be persuaded
not to write the most confidential things
upon them; so Lilias was not at all sur
prised that she had written her COM
munications to the young men on these
cards, though most people prefer to
send such missives in sealed en-
velope. She read:
so sorry l cannot see you tonight.
| write in haste and confusion to say
that / am more than willing that you
should marry Lilias, and / trust she
will appreciate the compliment you
have paid her. From her past treatment
of you / am sure she will. AT any rate,
it is my desire that she marry you and
no one else, on pain of my anger"
To this was appended her name and
the date of the preceding day.
Lilias was mystified, Frank jubilant,
Mr.. Arbuthnot mildly puzzled but &C
quiescent and Minnie smiling but ST.
lent. When Mr.. Arbuthnot told Frank
that his wife had said something about
having Lilias married within a month,
even though she were away, and when
Lilias and Minnie agreed with him, he
: was only too glad to aid in carrying out
her expressed wishes; so the wedding
dress was made up in hurry, and in
,, exactly month after the date of her
card to Frank Mrs. Arbuthnot's older
ward was married to her true-love.
An hour or so after the wedding,
Minnie said carelessly to Lilias:
"Did you ever hear any more of Mr..
Mariscal's desire to marry you?'
, "Bless me, MOI l had entirely for
! gotten the man! Why, sure enough,
didn't auntie say she had accepted his
offer and-what are you laughing at,
Minnie?" said Lilias.
do you remember the night l went
down to the library to get your watch
and you wanted to know why l was
gone so long? l said had paused to
read the deaths and marriages in the
paper; well, that was true, but there
lay on the library table two postal cards
in auntie's own writing, addressed to
; your two lovers. picked them up and
read them. Now don't frown, postals
are not private! l found that she had
: evidently made mistake in addressing
} them, for the one bearing Mr.. Mariscal's
name was very blunt request for him
! to keep away from you; the other
i Frank has shown you. / was so afraid
that she would find out her mistake
u before she went abroad that / just
opened the front door and ran out and
l mailed Them
: Such was indeed the case. What
would otherwise have been Mrs. Arbuth
not's wrath at Minnie's haste to mail
u the misdirected cards no one knows
but as she CHANGED, almost as soon as
she arrived in Paris, to learn that
Marscal was already privately married
> she never in any way referred to the
matter, and as Frank made the best OF
: husbands, she soon forgot that she had
: ever been opposed to the match. -Fran.
ceS E. Wadleigh