The Southern herald., 1886-03-13

leu HE 10 Jlluk Judb IA EhiAly OdSuOE
had consented to marry him for his
name and position, despising him in
her heart, it was not to her credit; and
if she did not despise him, her own
taste was truly to be deplored. The
service was to have commenced at
eleven; at half-past, the bride had not
appeared. The two clergymen who
were to officiate conferred anxiously
with the gentlemen of our party, and
the poor little bridegroom's distress
and nervousness were pitiable to wit
ness. The minutes went by - our
watches pointed to the quarter now; it
was perfectly evident that there could
be no wedding to-day. Nevertheless,
we fingered in the church for another
five minutes, to see whether anything
would happen. Then the clergymen
took off their surplices; and the luck
less wedding guests, with the still
more luckless bridegroom, re-cntered
the carriages, amid the jeers Of the
crowd that had collected round the
church doors, and drove back to Bal
moral Lodge.
Uncle Bert and his sister received us
upon our return with discontinue
which they tried very Intellectually to
conceal. Fanny, they said, was suffer-
ing from nervous attack, and had de-
clared that she could not go to church
that day-could not, or would not, it
was much the same thing with young
lady suffering from an affection Of the
nerves. So the disappointed BRIDE
groom went back to his hotel, and all
the guests departed, with the exception
of one or two old friends who were
staying in the house
But what on earth was the explana-
tion of this singular fiascoP Why had
this terrible wedding guest been in
vitedP Above all, why was the out
rage of his presence to be visited upon
my headp
MY uncle's fury burst out with the
utmost violence as soon as we were
left alone together.
'Why, you asked me to bring him,
Don't fling a lie in my very face,
sir!' he retorted; and found it impos-
sible to make him listen to a word of
reason.
'It was very clever trick of yours
to bring that man here" he shouted
out after me as / was leaving the
house; "but you will find that you
have outwitted yourself. You will re-
gret that you did it, to the last day of
your life" !"
On my way back to Liverpool, the
thought occurred to me-was there re-
ally anything wrong with the telegram
which my uncle so strenuously denied
all knowledge OFF had unluckily de-
stroyed it by this time, and SO had only
my bare word to urge against his. Was
it stupid hoax, perpetrated by some
idiotic acquaintance, or a clever device
of Digby's to gain entrance to my un'
cle's houseP
| I had not long to wait for solution
of this part of the puzzle. Arriving al
home, / found letter from Bob Collier
which / transcribe at length:
DEAR SIMPKINs-l presume you got my
telegram all right on Thursday. I lost nc
time in sending of one of the new sixpenny
ones, but don't see that they are such won
derful improvement, especially when you
have to wire to fellows with names like
yours. shall be back in town on Friday OF
Saturday week, and hope to find you at the
"Langham." per agreement. VIII Digby bt
| able TO join us? He seems very agreeable
fellow, of the quiet and steady sort. [Bob't
perception of character was not very keen.
| hate going out with a man whom you're moi
sure Of, and who is as likely as not to lug yot
into some scrape. Send me line before tht
end of the week. Yours ever,
B. c. alias "VLLIKINs."
P. S.-Be sure to give my most affectionatt
regards to your dear uncle; you know he hal
always dotted upon me.
So it was Bob who had sent the mes
sage, and the post-office clerks had con
verted "Villikins" into Jenkins. >
Why had / not connected him with the
muddle and mystifcation before, by {
natural association of ideas? 1t may bt
his fault or it may be his fate, but if HI
has only so much as his little finger il
any affair, it is sure to end in an i'm
broglio. This is the worst turn, how
ever, that you have ever done me yet
Master Bob, and don't find it easy tt
forgive you. Why need he hav,
: telegraphed all my four name
: at length, and then rigidl,
; curtailed all the important par
of the communication within tn
sixpenny limit, as if an extra penn,
or three-halfpence were a matter 0
vital consequence to him9 Why, in
, deedP 1t was just one of his usua
fatuous proceedings, which no on
could have explained, not even himself
That same evening, l was passing
the entrance to the Northwestern Sta
ton, when saw cab drive up, fror
+ which alighted Lancelot Digby, and
t lady so closely yelled and muffled a
, almost to elude recognition. Never
. theless, felt certain that it was m
: cousin Fanny and following the coupl
d warily in the crowd, saw them ente
4 a first-class carriage in the up-trai
l that was just on the point of starting
Next day, it was known all owe
8 Liverpool and Southport that Fam
: Dasher had eloped with fortune
1 hunter from Australia, on the very da
on which she was to have been marie
a to Sir Marmaduke Fitzhugh,
Il By degrees, l learned other details
8 which made the story clearer to m
d understanding. Fanny Dasher ha
i possessed fortune of her own befol
she had any thought of inheriting III
s Gle Bert's money; and he had foun
Is her, upon his arrival in New Sout
a Wales, surrounded by swarm of il
" terested suitors, of whom Lancet,
= | TOt,.l,, ,r,aa Aho ,,,oeE f,.o,ol IL he