Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1889-08-23
TIT FOR TAT.

romantic, and no one was ashamed of it,
two gentlemen of England conceived
the preposterous, but at the same time
rather fashionable, idea that, because
they were friends, their son and daugh-
ter, then infants in their cradles, must
love each other when they grew to be
man and woman; and, having compared
notes and found that they quite agreed
on this point, set to work with a zeal
worthy of a better cause to arrange mat
tiers so that they must turn out exactly
as they desired.
Consequently, each made a will and
matters were so arranged that if either
of the young people declined the hand
of the other, the young person would be
penniless. and his or her estate would go
to the other young person who was will
| ing
After some years the gentleman whose
child was daughter left his native Eng
land for America, while the other, who
was widower, his wife having given
her life for that son, remained in Eng
land, so that the ocean rolled between
the romantic friends.
The English resident was named Ed
mund Harrington; the American,
Charles Seabright.
Both were wealthy and brought their
children up carefully.
AS they grew older they permitted
them to correspond with each other, but
each detested the task so that the letters
were written by the elders themselves.
Once, at the age of IA, when news
came that little Harold Harrington had
fallen from a tree and broken his leg,
Elsie Seabright was desired to reply that
she felt great regret and sent her best
love and wishes for his speedy recovery,
but the girl, who could never listen to
the boys name with anything like pa
thence, refused to write one word of this
amiable epistle.
81 wish he had broken his neck, so
that might never hear any more about
him." she said, with stamp of her slip
pered foot, land 1 won't write fibs."
So again mamma wrote the letter hav-
ing first locked Elsie up in dark pantry
by way of punishment.
"And am sorry to find a child of mine
SO unfeeling," she said. "A broken leg
causes great pain and may make one
lame for life"
"a nice thing for me that would be if
I am to marry him." said Elsie.
Indeed if she had been as sympathetic
as her mother desired, Elsie would have
had opportunity enough to exercise these
feelings, for her young betrothed was
always in some pickle, and had nearly
drowned and nearly shot himself dozen
) times, to say nothing of ordinary troubles.
1t was tit for tat, at all events, for
when Elsie had the measles Master Har-
old had received the information with a
contemptuous indifference amounting to
heartlessness, and had indeed said that
he did not care.
He hated girls, and this one the worst
of them all.
So, with the ocean between them, the
young people grew to maturity, and the
year approached in which they were to
meet.
: But meanwhile all sorts of sad things
happened. Elsie lost both her father
: and mother, and, away in England, Mr..
Harrington died suddenly of apoplexy.
So the two men, who had looked for
ward for so many years to meeting when
their children were married, never met
j again.
Mr.. Harrington would not bring his
!. son to America to see his lovely Elsie, as
= he had proposed, and but for these obsti-
j nate wills the matter would have been
dropped, for the last thing the young
: people desired was to meet each other.
: But the young man was of age and
T. the young lady also, and the property
4 must be settled, and could not until the
I match was either on or off.
: The old lawyers in whose hands the
u affair rested knew the feelings of Their
wards, but they judged that a meeting
Q might mend matters. At least 1t was
IS necessary that they should meet.
u Harold, as in duty bound, was to cross
the ocean to meet his betrothed and give
her an opportunity to refuse him.
The news of his arrival brought into
!. full activity those feelings of repug
!. nance that Elsie had conceived for Har
a. old in her childhood.
: She had for while resolved to yield
v to her dead fathers wishes, but now she
:. felt that it was impossible.
h Yet there was enough of worldly wis
n dom in her head to teach her how much
q better it was to be rich than it was to bt
l. poor.
q If he refused her, her fortune, and hi
n also, would be her own by law.
q She would force him to refuse her, anC
\ then she would return him his fortune
Il and all would be as it should be. Blu
Il how could she do this?
d The girl sat for while in deep reverie
a and then arose and clasped her hands to
= gether.
o A thought had struck her.
IS There was in the house a seamstress
IS with as much conceit as any younl
IS beauty was ever blessed with.