Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1888-03-24

"sMy dear sir, from four or five hum
dred thousand letters you can't expect us
to pick out yours. Besides, we are for
hidden under any circumstances to deliver
any mail en- route. !"
"What did you dos'
ssThere was nothing for me to do ex-
cept to grin and bear it. I took a seat on
the mail bags in order to rest myself, and
think the sacks were not as comfortable
as a pillow. They seemed to be full OF
hard and irregular shaped articles mixed
up with letters. l wondered If it was pos
sihle that was sitting on the identical
bag that contained my affectionate letter
to tho countess. Perhaps there was MOTH
ing between me and that accursed dOcu-
leather, and / whistled quietly, Thou art
so near and yet so far
81 should think, Jacques, that your
conscience would have troubled you:"
40, my conscience did not trouble me,
but my stomach made me wish that
were dead There Is no doubt that
suffered intsfnally. Tssamverys sensitive
about smells, and the car was full of them.
There was evidently something rotten IN
Denmark, as far as the postofflce depart
ment is concerned. The worst smell was
that damp leather. Judging by the smells
In the car, the people Of France were in
the habit of sending Limburger cheese,
sausage seasoned with garlic and the like,
through the mails. 1t was very warm, Z
damp weather. The motion of the cars
made things worse inside of me- In order
to be more comfortable the clerks re-
moved their shoes. At last the crisis
came on. needed fresh air. My bosom
heaved convulsively. How I wished /
had not eaten that hearty breakfast. 'Oh,
Amelia, Ameliap / groaned, how little
do you know how my bosom heayes for
thee How little dost thou dream what
sacrifices make on account Of my love
for theer "
.sYou must have enjoyed yourself very
much on the excursion"
'aThat was only the beginning of my
sufferings,' resumed Jacques. AFTER
the spasms and commissions In my breast
had subsidized, owing to the vile smells and
the racket ] could not get wink of sleep
until about 3 O'Clock in the morning. The
clerks kept distributing mail all night,
and do you believe it, when they came
across that letter they woke me up to
show it to me, but refused TO give it to
me. could have murdered Them"
sDid you get it at lasti''
ITO cut things short, when we got to
Lyons the postmaster was very polite, but
he said he could not let me have the letter
because the order was not countersigned
by the postmaster general. / kept right
along with that letter, undergoing all
manner Of exposures and hardships, until
it got to Var, which is very small coun-
try town. / had to ride to that place on
wagon without any springs, alongside
of the driver, the letter bag containing
that internal document / had written to
Louisa and addressed TO the Countess
Amelia being under the seat. I could
not bride the mail carrier, as had only
about twenty francs in my pocket. l in
tended to make n final appeal to the post
master at Var, and, il successful, return
at once to Paris. The more thought Of
this plan the more became convinced it
would not work. Var was only few
miles from the villa of the countess. You
know what gossips these country people
are. In few days at most the countess
would hear that a strange gentleman from
Paris, without any baggage except a
gold headed cane, had arrived at Var and
had obtained from the postmaster a letter
addressed to her. From the description
she would know who 1t was That would
never do. learned that half an hour
after the mail arrived ut Var, letter car
rier set out on foot with the mail for the
villa of the countess and the immediate
vicinity. / determined to get my letter
from the carrier by hook or crook.
"That was nice way to get to the
penitentiary"
81 knew that well enough, but rather
than have Amelia read the letter to Louisa
was willing to take any risks. On our
arrival at Var the bag containing my let
ter was turned over to the postmaster.
went to the local tavern and got square
meal. / saw the letter carrier start out
ON the road to Amelia's villa. l joined
him, and we soon became quito familiar
He was q dull, stupid peasant. l had n
flask with me, and, after taking a small
drink myself, he took a healthy pull at it,
encouraged him in his debauchery, and
in passing through a village set 'efn up
again. After two more pulls at the flask
he was beautifully drunk, and staggered
helplessly. Coming to gully, tripped
him up. He fell like a log. A moment
more and, under the pretext Of helping
him up, had opened the bag and secured
that long sought letter and showed it into
my pocket heard noise, and looking
up saw u Jug Cdlb 4BcIC was u letu1
driving. / felt myself turning pale all
over, for the lady was none other than the
Countess Amelia herself She recognized
me, but at first she was too astonished to
speak. thought to myself: odd boy, II
you have got any presence OF mind, now is
your time to show it.
"'Great Godi' screamed Amelia, what
has happened How do you come to be in
this condition Jaeuuess'
amelia, do you believe in ornenss
Night before last, while ] was writing to
you, ] heard you call my name three
times
AS said this tears ran down my cheeks,
for l had caught fearful cold, and pull
ing out my handkerchief to wipe my eyes,
out dropped that aecursed letter
grabbed it and again showed it into my
pocket.
"'You heard me, call your name,
jacques asked Amelia, her eyes as large
as saucers, with amazement.
".Yes, Amelia, and left on the next
train, just dressed as ! was, to come to
you. thought it was enc of those mys-
terious warnings that notify people Of the
death Of loved ones, and, Amelia, oh, how
love your and here dropped down In
the mud on my knees. The rest OF the
story Is short" continued jacques.
'Amelia's eyes filled with tears at this
proof OF my devotion, and, although
locked like tramp, she asked me to get
in the dog cart with her. / did so, and
before we got to the villa she had con-
seRted TO become my wife. That, my
friend, Is the story of our marriage. /
have since told my wife all about IT, and
she laughed until i thought she would
have Mysteries. really thought / should
have TO send for a doctor n--T Translated
from the German by Alex T. Sweet.
An Open Confession.