The Logan County banner. [volume] (Logan, W. Va.) 1889-1903, 1890-05-15

" &c me happily marrleQ 70 tno 10n OF
his dear old friend; and that be (my
father) wished Iuonid NOT poster him
with my idiotic question:" This last
because asked II Gilbert's eyes were
blue Tired has the most charming blue
eyes you ever sEw).
Ny father and ! arrived at Daricn
Hail late one evening; and single
| glance showed me that my worst fears
were realized The photograph OF my
fathers dearest friend might have
been portrait Of the Apollo Belvedere
compared 70 the dearest friends son, to
whom. however. II DdrG Z striking re-
semblance with regard to the inane
smile. a smile which, In addition to his
general sheepish manner, told me plain
~ that Gilbert was aware Of our re-
spectiye parents plan that we two
should come together.
The next morning there was kind Of
solemn bctrothai scene at which Mrs.
Darien and my father oficiated, and
during which Gilbert. like the person in
the nursery rhyme, continued to smile
perhaps at my misery.
The following three days ] spent In
coyly repelling the advances Of my
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 impertineEce to re-
mark that he hoped should like young
Fred Haliwcll, though, between our
| selves, he was rather a prig.' Finally,
Fred arrived, and was introduced to me
as an utter stranger. One OF the few oc-
casions on which saw Gilbert's smile
dry up was when he noticed how rapidly
I 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 and more hateful More than
once ! determined to make clean
breast Of 1t to my father but L could
never screw up my courage to pay such
an insult to the memory Of his dearest
friend as to decline to marry his son.
Moreover, though had attained the age
Of nineteen, had, strange to say, the
remnants sof a conscience, which from
time to time gave me horrible mental
tweaks for what it was pleased to call
my double-facedness, being practically
| engaged to two men at the Same time.
| But what excuse could give to my
father for breaking off my engagements
to Gilbert? 1t would not have been the
/ Sigh test 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 pennifess
youth his congo from Darien Hall.
Fred in the happy-gosfucky way which
Is one of his chief failings c'No, I'm
not" is here interposed in the manu-
script which gave my husband to cor
j rectt.-Fred, repeat, with a Micawber-
like trust in the future, insisted that
something would turn ups sooner or
later, and that we had better wait till
that sooner CT later, and spend our time
meanwhile in making the best of 1t,
which VIC did so effectually, that even
the long-suffering Gilbert suddenly took
it into his head to demonstrate with me
eon4my nanner-to that fellow Halt
WE'LL
One morning during breakfast Fred
| bestowed upon me a series of m ysterious
mods and winks, which evidently meant
that he had something important to tell
mo. He aroused my curiosity by whis-
pcring in my ear as he passed me cup
OF coffee: have found out why he
| never leaves home"
After breakfast, dispatched Gilbert
to look for pair of gloves, which
happened to have in my pocket, and fol-
lowed Fred into the garden. Leading
me out OF sight of the house, he deliv-
cred himself OF the following oracular
and unintelligible remark: "He has
epileptic fits -
Good gracious! How did you find
out?"
=. "Well," said Fred, who was radiant
with joy at his discovery, "I'll toll you.
You know went up early to roost
last night, and when Igot into.my room
my candle blew out. / couldn't find the
matches anywhere; so / went off to Gill
bert's room, glad of an opportunity to
see the inside of it, for he keeps fellow
out of it as carefully as if 1t were Blue
boards cupboard, with dead wives all
hanging about. There was no one there;
box of matches, struck light and
looked round. The walls were all
padded" Fred paused in triumph.
SIS that all?' cried. Is
"All, indeed Why, don't you see?
It's as clear as daylight He's subject
to fits, and throws himself all over the
place, and the walls are padded so that
| he shan't hurt himself"
Fred's argument seemed plausible
enough; and If his conjecture was cor
rect, here was splendid manner OF con-
vincing my father Of the impossibility
of my marriage with Gilbert.
why, it's clear case of just cause
and impediment, cried Fred. Even
four thousand pounds per anaum can't
make up for those fits. Why, he might
bite you in one OF them, and give you
hydrophobia, and then there'd be the
fat in the fire with a vengeance.
But If he was subject to fits, why had
he never had them during the time we
had been in the house? He had never
failed, as we knew to our cost, to put in
an appearance in what happened to be
going on each day, and usually behaved,
as Fred reluctantly allowed, like q
Christian" Finally, in our ignorance
Of matters medical in general and fits in
particular, we decided that he only had
them by night and that this was the
reason why he never slept away from
/ home
After much consideration we deter
mined with reluctance that the only
way to discover the true state of affairs
was for Fred to conceal himself in Gill
bert's room and find out If our conject-
\ ure was correct.
! scarcely slept wink on the night on
which Fred had settled to put his project
into execution, expecting every minute
! to hear piercing shrieks from the remote
[ niartar of the hnaisA In which thew slant