The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1890-06-03

Younger ijYOther OF Gilberts. There j.
something he wrote. ''fishy about Gil.
bert. TIE fellow never leaves home.
and is about as ill-bred hippopotamus
as | have ever met. The idea of your
marrying him." And here followed q
long diatribe on my father and on what
he called the ''cussedness'' of things in
general, and his financial affairs in par.
ticular. However. there was crumb of
comfort a. the end of his letter, and
that was contained in the information
that he would fish for an invitation 10
Darien Hall while we were there.
My curiosity was excited by the mys-
terry, the something fishy" about the
man whom my father had chosen To be
my future husband. Was he subject to
fits of madness? Was he a klepto- or
dipso- or any thing else horrid ending in
O-maniac? | determined to cross-ques-
tion my father, and that evening | set
about the task.
ultimately succeeded in eliciting the
following information. That Gilbert
was the image of his poor father"
(''The Fright" | mentally calculated.
for had seen photo OF the poor father
in big baggy white trousers, the legs
crossed, and regarding with wondering
smile-aS well he might-an enormous,
misShapen silk hat: that he very rarely
left his home. having been educated
there by private tutors" t''keepers," |
exclaimed TO MYSELF; that Darien Hall
had the reputation of being haunted:
that it was my fathers one wish in life
to see inc happily married to the son of
his dear old friend; and that he Tiny
father wished would not poster him
with my idiotic questions This last
because | asked if Gilbert's eyes were
blue Fred has the most charming blue
eyes you ever saw.
NV father and | arrived at Darien
Hall late one evening; and a single
glance showed me that my worst fears
were realized. The photograph of my
fathers dearest friend" might have
been a portrait of the Apollo Belvedere
compared TO the dearest friends son, TO
whom, however, it bore striking re-
semblance with regard to the inane
smile. a smile which, in addition to his
general sheepish manner, told me plain
ly that Gilbert was aware of our re-
spective parents plan that We two
should come together.
The next morning there was kind of
solemn betrOthal scene at which Mrs.
Darien and my father officiated, and
during which Gilbert. like the person in
the nursery rhyme. continued to smile
perhaps at my misery.
The following three days spent in
prospective husband. ! was only sus-
tanned by the thought that soon Fred
would arrive, and the hope that he
would find some method of relieving me
from my painful position
Gilbert had the impeFtinence to re-
mark that he hoped | should like young
Fred Haliwell. though, between our
selves, 'he was rather prig." Finally,
Fred arrived. and was introduced to me
as an utter stranger. One of the few. &C.
casions on which saw Gilbert's smile
dry up was when he noticed how rapidly
/ got on with a man whom, as he
thought, had just met for the first
time.
The days went by and my position
grew more ana more hateful. More than
once ! determined TO make a clean
breast of it to my father; but could
never screw mp my courage to pay such
an insult to the memory of his dearest
friend as 10 decline to marry his son.
Moreover, though had attained the age
of nineteen. | had, strange TO say, the
remnants of a conscience, which from
time to time gave me horrible mental
tweaks for what it was pleased to call
my oublefacedness, being practically
engaged to two men a. the same time.
But what excuse could ] give TO my
father for breaking off my engagement
to Gilbert? Ii would not have been the
slightest use to plead that didn't love
him, or TO find fault with his mental or
bodily features: while to confess that
was in love with Fred would have re-
suited in obtaining for that penniless
yoath his congo from Darien Hall.
Fred in the happy-go-lucky way which
is one of his chief failings Ono. I'm
not" is here interpoSed in the manu-
script which gave my husband To cor
rectb-tred, / repeat, with Micawber-
like trust in the future. insisted that
something would turn up sooner or
later. and that we had better wait till
that sooner or later, and spend our time
meanwhile in making the best of it,
which we did so effectually, that even
the lOng-suffering Gilbert suddenly took
it into his head to demonstrate with me
on my manner to that fellow Hall
we'll"
One morning during breakfast Fred
bestowed upon me a series of mysterious
mods and winks, which evidently meant
that he had something important to tell
me. He aroused my curiosity by whis-
pering in my ear as he passed me cup
of coffee: Il have found out why he
never leaves home"
After breakfast dispatched Gilbert
to look for pair of gloves, which !