Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1886-07-12
AN IRISH ELOPEMENT.


Arden Hill, my dear old chappie, of
all others | was most anxious to see
you to-day"
The speaker was rather cookbook
ing young fellow. who wore the cap and
gown of student of Trinity college,
Dublin, and as he spoke he laid his
hand Familiarity on the shoulder of
friend standing at book-stall by the
college wall, and absorbed in the pages
OF volume picked up haphazardly.
well, Dillon, what is it?"
II think you will do me a service,
which, while it will not entail a great
deal of trouble on you, may help to
secure my future happiness.
''Of course it goes without saying that
l will. But what makes Maurice Dill
Ion look as solemn as an undertaken at
his wife's funeral?"
''This is not the place to tell you,
Hill. Come across to the Star and
Garter, and over a chop and glass of
bitter beer you can hear the story"
Seated in quiet corner of that snug
old hosiery Mr.. Dillon commenced:
You are q Kings county man, Hill
-Tullamore, 1 believe"
His companion nodded an affirmative,
and Dillon went on:
"a dirty little hole of town, built in
bog, isn't it? In fact. may take it
you are a bog-trotter.''
you may take it that | am genu-
inc bog-trotter. but, Dillon, if you
please, you will cast no aspersions on
my native town."
'Oh! | mean no offcnse, | assure
you" Dillon explained, with laugh.
''But was thinking of the saying that
Charles Lever has left on record. He
says that among Irish towns Tullamore
is only remarkable for the surperlative
ugliness of its female natives. There,
now, don't get your back up. I'm will
ing not to believe word of it. But
tell me. am | safe in assuming that you
know the country within Il radius of
dozen miles of Tullamore?"
Every inch of it; but what is this
leading up TOP"
"Will you have patience-two weeks
ago, when YOU and Watkins and | saw
Irving as Hamlet in the Theatre Royal,
there was lady in the dress-circle,
whom Arthur Watkins had promised to
see home, in company with her pa; but
he found our discussion on the relative
merits of Irving and Barry Sullivan so
very interesting that the lady was for
gotten.
Indeed; but, anyway, Watkins is the
last man in the university 10 allow
woman's eyes to distract his thoughts
from sober studes and now let me ask
al I i
to? For II Trinity college man you
have, | must say. a particularly lucid
style in telling a story"
arthur Watkins father and the
father of this young lady are very anx-
ious to make match between them,
and the young people, with proverbial
perversity, are adverse to entering into
any such arrangement Watkins would
regard wife simply as a nuisance and
a bore
"And the lady?'
1.-The lady. | beleve-or, rather, l
sincerely hope, loves another.
"a very friendly aspiration. upon my
soul. Dillon.
''You will scarcely blame me when /
say that Lucy and / are"
'On. 90 the cat IS out Oh tne Day, Is
1T, Master Maurice? And with your
keen appreciation of honor do YOU think
this is matter to boast of? You have
wronged friend who
Il haven't done anything of the sort
Hill, and wish you wouldn't think it.
Lucy and knew each other-well. were
fond of each other-thcre now-before
Watkins doomed up as IN unwilling
rival. The friends of Watkins, you
know. are wealthy. while but tbs
the old story. Lucy's father desires to
secure rich husband for his only
child"
Hill crossed his arms on the table.
and looking in his friends face said
quietly: "And don't you know he's
right, Maurice Dillon? Since my child
hood days | do not think that any
single individual ever slandered me by
saying that l possessed even moderate
share of common sense. but / say to
marry girl where that marriage must