Blackfoot news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1891-1902, 1892-12-24
AN IMPEDIMENT.

stupid awkward creature. whom !
have known for less than a month.
and detest as if had known him all
my life; while Fred you know you
met Fred last sunni er--ls staying in
the same house and can hardly speak
a word 10 me such is the devotion OF
my odious tiance."
The foregoing extract from letter
10 81. .friend represents the condi-
tioa in which found myself not very
long after my nineteenth birthday.
was not much over nineteen when
one day my father addressed me at
breakfast: Eva Mrs Darien wants
as 10 go there on the 9TH. This an.
parently innocent remark nearly an.
INFLATED me.
The long expected blow had fallen
at last shortly after his return from
India my father who was little bet
ter Than stranger 10 me. had thrown
out certain ominons hints as to the
e&pedlency OF my getting married;
and then one fine day Informed me
outright that il was his wish to see
me happily welded to the son OF his
Old friend Darien.
had no mother TO conilde in and
had not the courage 10 confess all 70
my respected parent who had &c.
turned from India broken-down In.
val d whose one object in life was
rs he informed mo some twenty times
"A day 10 sec ne happily married, TO
the son OF his old friend. Happily
married. forsooth TO a man one de-
testa / bitterly exclaimed. perhaps
rather unfairly as ] had never seen
Gilbert who for aught knew. might
have been an Adonis as well as a
future Or sus though from my
fathers significant silence as 10 his
personal appearance. had my doubts.
AT oil events one thing was certain.
and that was that l was not going to
give up Fred and with this resolution
! sat down aud wrote q long let
'er 10 him. ia which | set forth my
woes. When ! received Ereds an.
swer was agreeably surprised 10
lind that the Dariens were not
strangers 10 him as he had stayed
with them as n friend OF a Younger
brother OF Gilberts
There is something" he wrote.
fishy about Gilbert The fellow
never leaves home. and Is about as
Ill bred hippopotamus US / have
ever met The idea Of you marrying
him aud hero followed long
d airibe on my father aud on what he
called the cusseduessn OF things in
general and his nancial airs in
particular However there was a
ceumb OF comfort at 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
mystery. the something fishy' about
the man whom my father had chosen
10 be my futu husband. Was he
sab ect TO fits OF madnessp Was he a
klepto- or dipso. or anything else
horrld ending in maniac? de-
termined to c oss-guestion my father
and that evening | set about the task.
| ultimately succeeded In oliciung
the following information. That
ilbert was the image OF his poor
father" The right" / mentally
calculated. for had seen n photo OF
the poor father in big baggy white
trousers the legs crossed and regard
ing with wondering smile--as well
no u iEht--an enormous mishapen
silk hat 'thnt he very rarely left
his home, having been educated thore
by private tutors keepers ex-
c bsmcd 10 myself; that Iarien Hall
had the repu alton OF being haunted;
that IL WAS my fathers one wish TO
SEQ me happily married TO the son of
his dear old friend, and that he my
fatherl wished | would not poster
HIM W tn my idio,ic questions This
last because | asked if iberts eyes
wee blue Fred has tho most c.arm-
ing blue eyes you ever saw.
My father and arrived at Darien
hall late one evening and single
glance showed mo that nv worst fears
were reaii cd. The photograph OF my
fathers dearest Trend" m ght have
been portrait of the Apollo Belve.
dere compared to the dearest friends
son % whom however itt bore n
str Sng resemblance with regard TO
the inane smile smile which in
addition to his general sheep sh man.
ner told me plainly that Gilbert was
aware OF our respective parents
plans that 40 two should come to-
gether
The noXt morning there was a kind
OF solemn betroLhal scene ut witch
Mrs Darien and my father OBLIGATED,
and during which Gilbert like the
person In the nursery rhyme, cont,n.
ued to smile--perhap at my IN sery
Gilbert had the impertinence TO re-
mark that he hoped | should like
young bred HaliwelL though between
ourselves 10 was rather u prig.
finally Fred arrived and was
solemnly introduced to mo as an utter
stranger One OF tho few occasions
on which saw Gilbert's smile dry
up was when no noticed how rapidly
got on with man whom, as he thought
/ had ust met for the first time
The dayR went bv md my unSitton