The Portland daily press., 1893-11-06
BY TELEPHONE.

AS the centuries succeed one another So
ciety becomes more complicated and sci
ence develops in all directions; thus is an
equilibrium maintained, and the modern
lover is aided By the appliances of science
as he is hampered by the intricacies of So
ciety. Even the charity fair, that final tri-
umph of the amateur swindler, and the
telephone. that unpoetic adjunct of the
shop and the Office, can be forced to do loves
bidding and to serve as instruments in the
cunning hands of Cupid.
When the young ladies who were spend
ing the summer at the seaside hotel at
Sandy Beach resolved to get up a fair for
the benefit of the society for the supply of
missionaries to cannibal countries, they
had no more hearty helper than Mr.. Sam
uel Brassey, young gentleman recently
graduated from Columbia College. He
was alert energetic, ingenious and untir-
ing; and when at last the fair was opened
the youAg ladies declared that they did not
know WINS they would have done without
him. He it was who helped to decorate
the ballroom. and to arrange it as mart
for the vending Of unconsidered trifies.
He it was who devised the Japanese tea
stall for Mrs. Martin, and suggested that
this portly and imposing dame should ap-
pear in Japanese dressing gown. He it
was who aided the three Miss Pettitoes,
then under Mrs. Martins motherly wing,
to set up their stands-the well, where
Miss Rebecca drew lemonade for every one
that thirsted; the old curiosity shop, where
Miss Nelly displayed heller SHELTER lot of
odds and ends; and the Indian wigwam, in
the dark recesses of which Miss Cassandra,
in the garb of Pocahontas, told fortunes
To Miss Cassandra, who was the eldest
and most austere of the three Miss Petit
toes, he suggested certain predictions for
the certain young men and maidens who
were sure to apply to the soothsayer-pre-
dictions which seemed to her sufficiently
vague and oracular, but which CHANGED to
be pertinent enough to excite the liveliest
emotions when they were impaired to the
applicants. For Miss Nelly he wrote out
many autographs of many famous persons,
from Julius Caesar and Cleopatra to Queen
Elizabeth and George Washington. The
signatures of Shakespeare, of which there
were dozen, he declared to be eminently
characteristic, as no two were spelled alike,
and the sign manual of Confucius he au-
thorized her to proclaim absolutely unique,
as he had copied it from the only tea chest
in the hotel. To him also the sirens of the
bazaar owed their absolute conviction of
the necessity of giving no change.
Furthermore, he elaborated novel re-
versal of the principle of a reduction on
taking quantity-the autographs at the
Old Curiosity Shop, the glasses of atten-
uated lemonade at the well, and the little
fans at the Japanese tea stall were all Is
cents each, three for ST. The device alone
him as young man with a most
promising head for business, and SO Martin
declared him, after asking if the auto
graphs were genuine and being promptly
offered written guarantee from the
maker"
From these details it will be seen that
Mr.. Samuel Brassey was on the most friend
ly terms, not to say familiar, with Mrs
Martin and with her charges, the three Miss
Pettitocs. He was equally frank and open
with all the other young ladies in the hotel,
except, it may be, with Miss Bessy Martin.
In his relations with Mrs Martins hand
some niece persistent observer might have
detected censtraint, often cast aside and
often recurring. The rest o. the girls met
him with the sincerity and tho unthinking
cordiality which are marked characteristics
of the young women of America, especially
when they chance = be at summer hotel.
So indeed did Miss Martin, but to her his
bearing was different. Toward the others
ne was kindly. TO her he was devoted and
vet reserved at times, as though under
duress.
The least bashful of young men ordina-
rily, in her presence he found himself shy
and not always able to compel his tongue
to do his bidding If she looked at him
and he was pleasant faced young fellow
he found himself wondering whether he
was blushinR or not Out of her sight he
was often miserable, and under her eyes he
suffered an exquisite agony. He lowered
about her as though he had words Vt the
deepest import trembling on his tongue,
but when he sat by her side on the piazza
Or danced Virginia reel opposite to her of
Saturday night or walked with her to
shurch of Sunday morning, he had moth
hg to say for himself
Whether or not Miss Martin had noted
these symptoms, Or what her opinion of
Mr.. Brassey might be, or her feelings to-
ward him, no man might know. These
things were locked in her breast. The face
Ul d virgin DciOEc blxe tSkIlS OIL Tile QueS-
tion is as inscrutable as the visage Of the
sphinx propounding its riddle. Miss Mar
tin treated Sam as she treated the other
young men. She allowed him to help her
in the organization Of the postofice depart
ment of the fair. She was to be the post
mistress, and with Sam aiding and abet-
ting a letter was prepared for every person
who could possibly apply for one-a mis-
Eive not lacking in spice and not always
shown about by the recipient.
At Sam Brassey's suggestion the postof-
fee had been arranged as public pay sta
ton of the Seaside Hotel Telephone COM
pany-so blue and white sign declared
which hung over the corner of the ballroom
where the letters were distributed. Hehad
set up toy telephone in the postoffice with
o line extending to u summer house in the
grounds about 200 feet from the hotel. Any
person who might pay % cents at the post
office was entitled to go to the summer
house and hold :, conversation by wire THE
questions which this casual eonverser
might choose TO put were answered prompt
iy End pointedly, for Bessie Martin WAS Il
quick wittcd and keen sighted girl.
So it happened that these telephone talks