The Arizona sentinel., 1888-10-06
FITZHERBERT.
The Love Affair of Plain John
 Smith, and How It Ended.

Om1IQ, dQQ HOW It HuO0Os
 My name is John Smith-plain Smith, without change or addition of vowel, and I was in no way discon- tented with it till I fell in love with Katie Rogers. Katie had never sneered at it, but her elder sister, Miranda, had more than once hinted that it was neither romantic nor un- common; and her father, in his some what lengthy discourses about the British aristocracy, had an aggravat- ing way of looking apologetically at me every time he spoke of "a good name.n
 In cur commercial community Smith was counted better name than Rog- CTS, and young Smith, the rising cot ton broker, more distinguished mem- Der of society than old Rogers, ex- Captain of dragons, who could scarce ly pay his thirty pounds rent and never wore a decent hat.
 I quite agreed with my neighbors on these points till fell in love with Katie and grew familiar with Miranda s sentiments about ''the ignorance of Philistine Riverbank."
 Captain Rogers was descended from Fitzroger, who came over with the Conqueror, and as listened reverent- ly to the history of the family progress through eight centuries, there was a total collapse of my once-foolish pride in belonging to what a local paper call ed ''one of the oldest families in River bank For Riverbank was scarcely as old as my father, having grown into a town with a speed rarely equaled on this side of the Atlantic.
 in general way do not under value myself, but it was with deep sense of humility that 1 implored the descendant of Fitzroger to become my father-in-law. We were alone to- gether in the dining-room of the thir- ty-pound house, he sitting in a shabby armchair, 1 standing on a still shab- bier hearthrug He looked up at the Battle Roll of Hastings" " which hung over the mantelpiece, and down at the fire, kept low by economical Miranda. Then, having weighed the past glories of Fitzroger against the present price of coals, he accepted my proposal with the magnificent condescension of a King consenting, for certain state reasons, to bestow the hand of a royal Princess oman aspiring subject.
 So Kate and were engaged, and for a time I was supremely happy. I was not quite vain enough to share my darling's opinion that I, John Smith, was better worth worshiping than all Carlyle's Heroes" put together; but I was rather easily convinced that I was far too fine fellow to fear any rival So when Katie went on visit to Lon don there was no bitterness in my re- gret, for believed in her-and my self.
 At first l was not disturbed by Miranda's boasts about the advantages her sister was enjoying in ''the best society,"" but when the London visit extended for weeks and months beyond its original limit I began to feel vaguely uneasy. In those days Katie's letters, though loving, were not long, and she more than once apolOgized for their brevity by plead ing "a particular engagement, the nature of which she never explained. My confidence sank, my jealousy rose.
 At last she came home, and then noticed a change in her that seriously alarmed me. She was paler and quieter, and at times there was a wist- ful look in her eyes, suggestive of something in her mind. It could not be anxiety about her fathers pecuni- ary affairs, because about that time he appeared in a new hat, and Miranda kept better fires. These outward and visible signs of prosperity would have given me sincere pleasure if it had not been for the suspicion that old Rogers was more than ever disposed to take
 
 and for the certainty that Miranda's sneers at people who could not count their grandfathers" were all for my benefit.
 What did this sort of thing mean? Had Katie been tempted away from me by lover with longer pedigreeP Would Rogers tell me some day, like the father in old-fashioned romance, that he had "other views" for his daughter?
 One evening called much later than usual, having been detained by an i'm portant business matter in the neigh boring city of ShiPley. The outer door of the house was open, and l, in my usual way, turned the handle of the vestibule door and walked into the drawing-room, which appeared to be empty. l was just going to ring the bell for the servant when I heard a pleading little voice behind me: