, 1886-10-03
ROMANCE OF AGLOVf.

pace.
1t would have mattered little II Bill
could have kept his courtship to himself,
he might have worshipped in secret all
his days, and no one have been any the
wiser.
But the ~extravagant rush into polish
betrayed the poor clerk. The dyed hair
and distracted air combined; his deep
bushes whenever the subject of love was
mentioned, however casually; the ro-
mantle air that sat so i'll upon him; his
visits to the theaters, In hopes of a chance
glimpse of his idol; the hours he moaned
about listlessly-all helped to make him
a target for the jokes of his friends, and q
fund Of amusement for the office"
Meanwhile he was not at all unhappy.
All, the joy of standing by the area
ratings of an evening, when she had van
lshed from his enraptured sight, and he
knew her to be in the drawing room
could see, at rare intervals, her shadow
Fit across the blind
The irascible landlady frightened Mr..
Harker M of his seven senses nearly by
sending n grim servant one evening to
ask him ito be kline enough to just step
in, IL he would be so kind. and just speak
to the lady OF the house"
In no condition to face the ~fiery-looking
female he caught a glimpse of, standing
ready, in full battle array, on the door- mat
In the hall, the startled lover no sooner
heard the message than he polted, as II he
had purloined the boarding house plate.
1t would be, he argued, impossible TO re-
turn after such al inglorious escape, ex-
cept In disguise; and to call and boldly
ask TO see a lady whose name he could not
give was an achievement the timid clerk
could not venture on.
What "A stupid fellow Flpkins, one of the
other clerks at Old BIS, vast At least
Bill thought so, and how he disliked himl
1.-The impotence Of hat fell
low" he would murmur to himself. al
would give a quarters salary, poor as |
am, to be like him. There Is nothing he
would stick at. 1t is disgusting. But what
a blessing it must be to live on such com
Portable terms with oneself"
Fipkins was very slovenly; no one would
hive tolerated a clerk with such a shock
head OF hair except Old b.
But Just as Bill Harker had begun to
persuade himself that his love suit was in
vain, and that his best plan was to try
and forget a passion that appeared so
hopeless, this brassy Fipkins was sud-
denly seized with the fever he was recov-
ering from
There was no installing the symptoms.
Other motives might have induced Tip
kins to have had his hair cut; but
only love could have induced him to curl
1t. Those paper cuffs, clean even on a
Saturday, were conclusive. II not, that
reckless disregard of Office hours in the
morning, that restless looking at the
clock in the evening. could not be mis-
taken.
Flowers, tool When did Fipkins care
for flDxyara hafnra > uhfIa fha ufraaf
Arabs watched for his coming.
IIarker noted him narrowly. Would
this cad be successful in the thorny, may
paths Of lover
lie half despisea. ininnsemn Cor ever ii0v-
in@r, !, 80 vulgar a creature as this Fipkins
could be smitten or could smite.
Then, when : o clock struck. or rather
was striking. Fipkins caught up his
flowers from the bottle on his desk, set
his glossy hat i~auntily on his detestable
head and babe his fellow clerk goodnight.
Bill Harker followed him almost the mo
ment he went out, and, ms he felt instinct
lively would be the case, Fipkins made
straight for Leicester square and went
straight into the boarding house HaTkar
had 30 often watched But-and this
staggered him-Fipkins went down the
area steps just as the potman might have
done with beor, not ut all like a gentle
manly sutton Tor the hand Of the nameiess
one.
Whnt could be the meaning Of this'
Was tia clandestine meeting Scarcely
so, for he had gone in with the assurance
Of a frequent or of an expected guest.
Poor Harker paced the street in agony
What could he do
To think Of having his loved one snap
nod ln In fhfa atrn.fnpa n,annnr nalIal
him to the quick.
Wandering distractedly about. Bill Har-
ker unfortunately did not see his rival
leave the boarding house, or he might
probably have relieved his feelings by
putting Fipkin's head in "Chancery.p As
IL was, he waited and watched till he was
weary, as well as drenched to the skin by
the rain, which had been falling for some
time. Then he raised the siege and wear
lily trailed of to Camde Town, reaching
the lodgings a little before daybreak.
as this yoursYn said old Is. next day, as
he carelessly picked up a lady's glove and
threw it on Bin H.rker's desk.
Had he dropped a bombshell over the
old-fashioned ratings it would scarcely
have disconnected the clerk more than
this simple article did. He quietly an
swered his employer in the negative, but
the color mounted to his pale cheeks and
Il wild light irradiated his glaring eyes.
MIR. FipAlns, perhaps, has dropped 1t, "
he said, with more bitterness and mean
ing than so simple a suggestion appeared
TO call for.
Strange to say, Fipkins blushed too AS
he ropudiated all knowledge of it.
LIAR thought and nearly said Bill
Harker as he heard him speak.
Old b. toddled off to his specifications,
and the glove was left lyidg UNDECIDED, ap-
parently, on Harker's desk, while lie
wrote on furlously.
Not till he was left alone in the office,
nearly two hour after, did he touch the
glove; but then he pressed It to his burn
ing lips, he noted its dainty size-unused
ms he had once been to remark such mat
terA-and observed that, though now re-
dolent OF tobacco. 1t had been scented.
But, with a joy only to be appreciated by
n lover, there in this glove, flung as it
were in his path by "A secret rival, seemed
TO be the very clew he had been vainly
seeking. The name was written In it, or
a name Whose should 1t be bno hers
Foussii That, coupled with the half iegi-
bic II on the blotting. pad. he accepted as
conclusive, poor fellow, little dreaming in
how many other gloves he could have
found the same name. So now then he
could write TO her. And write he did, that
same evening, at Camden Town, a manly
though passionate letter, detailing his
love, his trials, his hopes, and last, II not
So fully. his position.
This, duly addressed to miss Foussi,'
he posted, and waited with what fortitude
he could muster for an answer.
He had need Of patience. 1t was n week
before he knew anything, n then his
own letter came as a returned paid one
from the dead letter office, the envelope
playfully annotated with TRY Fishy,-
mot known" Pussy" -Try Leicester
erect" 'Rd-'-and so on.