, 1888-03-15

friday. Tluuily, III CouiPic'e ueoP"h' hS
sent telegram:
Miss Symmetry when, Then's whim, Bceswas
Junction. Connecticut
Do you mean hosiery and so forth' u.
He awnitcd the answer feverishiy II
came ut 8 p. M
Mr.. Doodovcy ycum. Pelionossa Flats, New
York;
Yes. everything, ~
Everything went. When Mr.. Vellun
descended from the train at BceswaS
Junction late In the following afternoon
he wore silk underwear, u neat SILK dress
ehirt, u silk necktlc, silk stockings, sllt
mixed diagonal suit silk hat, silky mus.
tachc, and manners that were sort ana
aiken In the extreme.
The old gentleman, though eccentric,
was none the less keen OH that ACCOUNT
He desired Symmetry to have husband
who could love her deeply, and In consc
1uence, cherish and tenderly care for her
He had no sentiments--the old electrician
lie looked upon vital force as merely
form of electrical force. He regarded the
human body simply as n complex ma
chine, and all its acts, of thought aud sen
timent, as we'll rs muscular motion, as
purely electrical phenomena. lie believed
chat any mans emotional capacity was
directly proportional to his possession OF
latent nerve force. Consequently he calm
iy and resolutely had determined TO le:
Mr.. Vcllum WOO Symmetry To the full o:
his wishes, but he proposed To know cX'
actly how much he actually loved her by
keeping track of the process with MS gal
vnnomcter.
His plan was simply this Mr.. Ncllnm.
while making love, Z. ou]l be insulated ana
should he the connecting link between TWO
positive and negative wires, which wires
should run from the arena of loves young
dream, the beautiful twilight stiffness OF
the garden, into the matter of fact Seclu-
sion and the unsentmcntal surroundings
of Mr. Whcn's library. This was why he
had insisted on silk clothing, because he
wanted to give Mr.. Ncllum every show,
and sill; was the best conductor IN the
list of fabrics. Consequently, having Civ
en- his consent, he fitted up two stationary
stuffed cloth chairs beneath spreading
elm, lust where II colonunde al beautiful
trees led away to the moonlit surface OF
slcrpinn silver lake. II was II bealtifu
place for n mans ncart, beating with al
the high hopes and pure ana ennoDine
ambitions of u manly love, to expand IL
self 1t was also first class locality tc
bring out all the sympathetic electricit!
there was IN him, thought the old gen
tlcmun as he surveyed his work ana
chucklcd The chairs were similar and
were placed side by side quite close to-
gethcr. The only difference between
them was that MIR. Nellum's Lad two
narrow strips of brass running down the
back md ucross the seat of the chair ont
side of the woolen upholstery. From
these slips two fine No. II copper wires
led down the chair legs, up the trunk o.
,he elm. along n branch, across the lawn
To the portico, around the corner OF the
house. through the Hbrary window aud
tnI Nxffh tbn nnGifiNp and negative
poles of Mr.. Whens galvanomcter. The
chairs stood ON the platform, which np-
pearcd to he of rough wood, but was really
u large plate OF rough glass. Mr.. Neilum,
when he obcycd the promptinCs Of his
dcep affection, would he absolutely insu-
lated with the exception of the brass
strips which he would infallibly torch
whichever way he sat and thereby com
plctc the circuit. Every ohm of vital clcc
tricity set free by the psyche physiological
reactions of his developing sentimental
perturbation would therefore directly seek
an equilibrium in the wires. IT he pre-
tended to love Symmetry aud the galNan-
ometer reading was against him. the old
man proposed to set the dog on him with
out delay.
by dusk on Saturday evening Symmetry
was waiting, in Che tender trying conflict
of Young girls heart, for her lovers
She was perforce Il party to II. She did
not dare 10 tell Mr.. Ncllum for fear her
father had some uneSrthly machine by
which lie would catch her at it. Dressed
In snowy null, with the velvet blush Of
the unfolding rose upon her cheek, she
was as gentle, as perfect, and as fair hs
some women are who make the biblical
angel IL rational suppositiou. Dressed
half an hour too early she came down
or N nd sInin gnftl la mud ninus iuIn tho
dark library where the galv;lnomctcr,
with its cold polished face of convex glass,
It's shining nickel rim, its circular scale,
with the fine degree marking, and its
thin, almost invisible needle. lay silent
upon her fathers desk. Who can tell
what loving hopes and tender fears were
hers as she gnzed tInidly upon that deli
cate thing of metal and of glnss upon
which all her life happiness depended?
Who can tell the uncxpresset longing
that came to her as she wished 1t ~cru
only pug dog or policeman or any
thing that, by wO,nan's diplomacy, she
could win over to her cause. But no. JIG
was cold and quiet and beyond bcr. But
she leaned over impulsiyely and kissed IL;
kissed 1t warmly and eagerly upon its
face as all the love In her heart outshonc.
The needle tremblcd slightly in gallant
recognition. That was all
Mr. Nciiuih urrlNeu uuiy "i'i WIS WsH-
cred In by Symmetry to her father. The
old man eyed him sharply while they cx-
changed few commonplaces, and Ncllum
fondly imagined that the searching glance
was probing deep into his moral charac-
ter, but il wasn't. IT. WAS directed Ell
tirely at HIS underclothes. IL was little
awkward TO ask stranger about his un-
derwear, particularly when he had not
becu five minutes in the house. Notwith.
standing this, however, the old man was
several times on the verge of IL, and Sym
metry was in mortal terror. She was SO
nervous that she could neither talk nor