Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1893-04-22
THE TWO JOHNS.

! do not remember having met a
young lady sufficiently like Ethel Som
mers to serve the purpose of a COM
parison There are, perhaps, many az
beautiful, as accomplished, as intelh
gent, as good, but it has never been my
good fortune to meet one who com
bined all these qualities so happily ae
she did Her life had been far happier
than that of the average-an unevent-
full life, with many more days of sun
shine than clouds. The memory OF
those years which had brought her to
young womanhood was simply the his
tory of that little country town in which
they had been spent, with here and
there a stray page telling of other
scenes among which she had, at rare
intervals, sought diversion. This and
two years at boarding school sutficed to
fill the twenty years of her life. Little
wonder, therefore, that the prospect of
three months visit with o friend Of
her boarding school days was very in
viting Anna Dale, the schoolmate,
had written Ethel most cordial invi,
tation to visit her during the Summer
adding q few remarks somewhat foreign
to the subject, which may have been
the cause of slight blush on Ethels
cheeks.
The little city in which Ethel was
to spend the Summer was but little
larger than the one she left behind but
it possessed all the charms of strange
city, with many strange faces. In fact,
it possessed charms to which the younS
ladies' who had been reared within its
borders were far from blind. Of course,
they had long since ceased to enthuse
with the beauties of the picturesque
drive which wound in and out among
the rocks as it followed the course o!
the sleepy river or to sigh rapturously as
their eyes followed the silvery path that
led across the little lake to where the
Summer sun was sinking through the
ruddy clouds into the morning of an
other land, but the mediocrity of every
day life had been relieved by the al.
vent of the two Johns" the distinctive
title which Anna soberly applied to the
combination which had literally
stormed Glenwood. Although the
foundation for this title did not at first
appear clear to the stranger who looked
upon the comely, we'll proportioned
gentlemen who jointly bore it, yet
when all was explained its aptness was
clear. 1t was indeed most singular
coincidence
That the two Johns" were rightly
named could not be disputed unless one
wished to assail the wisdom of their
respective parents and the accident OF
birth. The singular feature of the affair
was that the full name of the older OF
the two was John Gordon, while that
OF the younger was John Gordon.
There was not even middle letter III
their names by which to distinguish
them, and neither would yield pre-
cedence to the other by adopting one,
but preferred to compromise the matter
by having the mail matter of the former
addressed to Mr.. John Gordon" anG
that of the latter to John Gordon
Esq"
L have, perhaps, inadvertently done
an injustice to Mr.. John Gordon by
lnslnuatlng that he strove to maintain
hls dignity by perverseness, when, IN
truth, his actions should much more
properly be ascribed to the imperti.
nence of the younger one. Mr. Cor.
don, who, by the way, was in no way
related to Gordon, Esq, arrived II,
Glenwood fully a week prior to h.
advent of the second one, and Wa,
not little surprised when the latte,
called upon him early one morning
and suggested that he make SONS
change in his name to avoid compli.
cations. Mr.. Gordon very naturally
suggested that John Gordon, ESQ.,,
adopt this happy idea, which sugses,
ton was deemed beneath the dignity
of the latter. Somewhat annoyed by
his ot1iciousness, Mr.. Gordon declined
and, as a result, both remained Mr.
Gordon, with the additions [ have
mentioned. Ethels curiosity was some
what excited when she was maize &c.
quainted with the perplexing circum.
stances which had called forth the tit.
of the two Johns" and, very naturally.
she associated with them a similarity
Of personal appearance which, had il
had any existence in fact, would have
rendered matters entirely hopeless
There was, in reality but one point o.
similarity, aside from their rnames-botll
were gentlemen of leisure; but there ii
ended
MIR. Gordon was in every sense the
highest type of gentleman. Always af.
fable, courteous and urbane, he made
none but friends. There was no affecta.
tion or insincerity about him, and even
stranger when in his company felt the
magnetic influence of his whole -souled
nature Although about thirty years
of age, few would have placed him
above twenty six.
As for John Gordon, Esq, l could
not do better than invert the above
We're it not for the fact that by so doing
/ would impute rudeness, which would
be far from the truth, as he was chival.
rously polite. But there was a sinister
8leam in his eyes, covert fattery in
his words that bespoke i1sincerity and
selfishness, and gave one the sensation
of a cross examination when conversing
with him. He would have been most
"candidly" disliked,' had it not been
that most fascinating row of figures
appeared in his bank account
Although twenty-seven years told his
age, many thought him the senior Of
Mr.. John Gordon.
Anna, Notwithstanding that she had
sometime since promised to look no
Ir1rt hay for a com naniOu was Iannl,.