New-York tribune., 1891-05-17

| owanham-on-cea n,sr uns Besides-women attach
| Themselves 70 poodle-dogs -she really nReu 'ne
| man.
Tg the Ou% circumstances really are, @lnk,
the most extraordinary ever heaio oi; a eli
be almost induced to DelieVe not un for letter
| happened in dream were ~ h'O A'
| that have in my pocket; 9n
| . 10 that the lady you are engaged 10 r
| . Enuanoa@ed ouSU TO-? ! hadn't made her &c,
ouaintance ten minutes before she said had
prVPSS55e PS5e woplJ not have said so unless you had
| Miss Bayley do you not know me petsi
than that? Nothing was lur.her iron niS n-i""
| The proposal came from her, =. .uo,
Il have heard of women proposing to to men zen
| And | suppose you accepted her one rh we
strongly tempted to add You N are ran bour Of her
! for anythingl But even III un''O n
Oi @I can only assure you that i had no al sacn
intention in any words may ,m nave 10 the state
| Of confusion was in on receiving sum p''P'''
| ton from a total stranger" - ,h+ sbe
| Miss Rayley turned away. ohe on'"s"' w
I can only offer you my congratulations. ~. l
do not know why you enter INTO all 'leSe o'''''''
When is the marriage to be
a Yes, marriage / hope you will send on me a
piece Of the cake. Oh Mr. Macleod; i;,,a his IisTl -
thought that you would behave to me IKE ?od oni5
Miss Bayley fairly succumbed. ohs . Durteo 4Sa
her face in her hands and ran, crying, to bndar
room Nh MaceOd left LEFT Dehnq, STy maH WAS with even
a little knowledge Of the world wouiu hHNo 0ce"
| from the first. oon Up
sank in a chair and he too buried his face IN
| his hands Presently he rose again. Poor, Pufe
| soul She is the best woman in the worlu
He twisted his hands together with
which was peculiarly his. Il have done "rons
in the sight of God and man !" .on ,,,o,,
| How he got out of the house he never knew new
but he did get out, and through the 'front.' aoor
foo He SET off walking toward the rectory,
where in the absence of the rector, ne HSeu, leno
free. He had not gone twenty yarus "on o r.I slc
house when a gloved hand slapped hlin Sn"i" Wy
on the shoulder.
"Alanl"
He turned There war Miss Vesey and her
| father! He could hardly believe that IL was
bur il was. The lady was brilliantly attired,
perhaps as a set-off to her father. That worthy
gentetan resem6led nothing so % mnon as rWllen WlC
| down hedge parson. He was evidently meant
for a clergyman, sartorally. That is, the con-
ception was clear enough, it was the result
| which was unsatisfactory.
| Your hand, my son!'
He held out his hand after the manner OF the
fathers in old comedy. But unfortunately he dld
seized it, and shook it up and down-pump-hanuiie ne
fashion. And while the father was engaged In
arms about the curates neck.
MY belOved!' she cried. ,-,,
| If there was any there to behold they beheld
what they had never seen before-the curate EN-
braced curate never had been embraced III
public, at Swafham-on-Sea.
| 81 Let mo go!" he stammered
And in due time the lady let him CO. Under
the circumstances he kept his presence Of mind
aY&n-you'll find the rectory about quarter
Of mile in front of you, just round the bend
in the road. f-if you'll excuse me, L have a
most important visit must make"
Miss Veseys father slapped him heartily,-too
heartily upon the back, again after the fashion
of the comedy fathers.
Don't put yourself out for us, my boy Don't
neglect your duties, is too often the case with
the young. Tell us where the bottles are, and
well make ourselves snug till you come ln.'
The curate did not tell them where the bottles
were in fact there was only solitary bottle
Of cod-liver oil in the house, and probably
the speakers thoughts did not incline that
way: but they went on 20 the rectory
alone Miss Vesey waved her parasol and
kissed her glove to him long as she was in sight
He stood watching them TILL they were round t1e
bend in the road, then he re-entered the doctors
house.
This time he passed through the back ;d door,
straight into the Kitchen. "Lauk, sir! cried the
mad-of-all-work who'd a thought of seeing
you?
The Rev. Alan addressed her in a fever of ex-
"Tell Miss Ellen must speak TO her at once"
He went into the parlor, and the maid-of-all-
! work went upstairs. Presently she returned with
If You please. sir, Miss Ellens compliments,
and she's got headache"
Mr.. Macleod was pacing up and down the room, room,
feeding time at the Zoo.
He took his notebook from his pocket. Tearing
out a page he scr1bbled on IT these two or three
strongly wOrded lines:
II entreat YOU to see me- if you ever called your
self my friend, 1t is matter Of life or death;
u-llOSi ~A. NJ" "ODi' ''"'''' " O''' - w
The maid-of-all-work bore these winged words
| above The result was presently visible In The
form of the lady herself She entered with the
air Of MARTYR conscious OF her crown.
| "You are my priest. have come.
ut is not as a priest L have summoned you'
| Ellen. but as q friend. j."
The use of the Christian name was perhaps unin-
tentiona but the lady marked her sense Of the
familiarity at once
Her lip curled, possibly with scorn;, His answer
was sufficiently startling. Ellen, 1 entreat you
"Your wife, Mr. Macleod Are you mad ?"
"I am-nearly / shall be quite if you don't
accede to my request at once
:" think you mad now. How dare You In
suit me when from my bedroom window just
saw you kissing that creature in the street"
Il kissed her! She kissed me-
ats the same thing"
It's mott" Which was true enough-it was
different thing entirely. ELLEN, can you not see
that | was never more in earnest IN my ilfe. II
yOa do not marry me, something tells me that that
woman will, and for all | know that wretched
parent Of hers may bH the occupant of dissenting
pulpt; he looks disreputable enough for anything.
! What with her and her father and my aunt, am
as a reed in their hands do entreat you-be my
wife
The offer was not put in the most flattering
form. Still, il was an offer.
If YOU really want me- began Miss Bayley.
want you! / want nothing SO much in all the
world"
And if you think can be of use to you in the
| parish"
Parish! It's not the parish I'm thinking Of,
its-t's that wretched woman"
Miss Bayley did not like this way of putting it
at all.
Il will consider what you say. Mr. Macleod, and
will leC- you have an answer-say in a month"
In a month :" the curate was aghast Il want
! your answer now. Ellen, | do entreat you, il you
do not want TO see disgraced in the face Of all
the world promise to be my wife"
But Mr.. Macleod, you do not even pretend to
care for me-
Care for you! care for you more than ever
cared for any woman yet.
"Then in that the lady was a little coy
ILL L. int r,,,iu