The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-12-03

nluSlonmenJ- w nat Sell-OeCelNeIS VIZ
are. for 1 neither wanted nor expected
to be disillusioned.
And / was not Night after night
talked to Grace-I had heard her father
call her so. and thenceforward she was
Grace TO me, and the more we talked
the more we found that we had many
tastes in common. L became daily more
devoted TO this girl, of whose existence
1 knew nothing short month ago. Oh
| if / only should secure the first prize
in the lottery, or if only my comedy
were to be produced at the ThesDian
then 1 might dare-what might l not
dare?
One morning I went TO the Botanic
! garden, for Grace had said the evening
before that she often spent an hour
there at noon. A couple of small child
rem came playing near where 1 sat.
! They began chattering to one another
| in French as they gathered up stones
from the path and arranged them on
the garden seat. 1 tried talking to the
youngsters and they promptly began
transferring the pebbles from the seat
10 my knees. laughing merrily the
While. l was so taken up with them
that l did not notice anyone approach
ing and was startled at hearing a
sweet. familiar voice say:
Mr.. Drummond, what are those
children doing?"
rose at once, to the disturbance of
| their playings. Good morning, Miss
Mortimer; this is an unexpected pleas
ure."
She blushed at my remark. seeing. l
suppose, with feminine sharpness, that
1 was there merely on the chance of
meeting her. The two little children
evidently decided that l was an I'M
satisfactory comrade, and returned To
a cfah 1 10
foundation for their buildings. When
addressing my companion they called
her 'Mees Mariner" and / suppose that
1 looked surprised, for she said:
L was about to tell you. Mr.. Drum
mond, that my name is not Mortimer
Mr.. Mortimer is my stepfather. These
are my young pupils she added
whom l bring out here every morning
as recompense for having made them
try to twist their little tongues into
speaking our language"
During this sumner and some SUISSE
quent ones-for il is curious how often
we happened to meet in the same place
i learned much of my charmer's his
tory. Her step-father was a retired
officer whose means had all been swal-
lowed up in a notorious bank failure
of few years earlier. They had but
&1O0 year. and. both being without
-ANoi iNAeAtiNCSs lictQ SOlt " bIuSSGlS 10
be able to live cheaply. she adding to
their income by giving lessons in Eng
lSh. L in turn told everything there
was to tell of my uneventful history,
allowing perhaps, that wish which is
sometimes father to the thought to in
fuence my account of the chances of
my comedy's success.
1t is curious how soon acquaintance
ripens into friendship and friendship
develops into intimacy between people
OF common origin thrown together
in foreign country. June was not
half through, when. despite my impe-
curiosity. l had asked Grace whether
she would be my wife if my play were
TO prove successful and I had reason
able chance of being able to offer her
a comfortable home. My declaration.
made with the stammering diffidence
of one asking for more than his deserts.
was met with Indignation
Mr.. Drummond. if you wait until
then 1 certainly will not; for if I mar
ried at all it would be because I cared
for you, and not for a reasonable
chance of a comfortable home"
How can I ask the woman love to
share possible beggary?"
How? In very much the same way
you could ask her to share a possible
dukedom.''
But, Grace, will you marry me?"
Jack-for the first time nv bap-
tismal name seemed to have something
of good in it-''whatever 1 NAV prom
Use, L can not bind myself without my
fathers consent; for 1 promised nv
mother always to look after him, ana
| certainly cannot leave him against
his wish. and besides, my e10O a year
You did not know the princely income
is mlne-is all he has TO live on. so that
II l marry-you see, Jack. I am going
10 use ifs now-I must leave that to
him.
We agreed that Grace should excuse
herself from accompanying her father
to Vauxhall that evening. and
thought to tackle him on the subject
OF our engagement.
1t was difficult indeed At first the
old man stormed-he would never con-
sent; Grace was doing this because she
was tlred OF him; she was going to de-
sert him; he would starve-and so on.
IL was as much as l could do to re-
strain my Indignation. / pointed ont
mat FAR from leaving him to starve.
Grace would let him use her income as
long as he lived, and this partly molIi-
ned MN. II she would lend him the
capital instead he could double If in
SIX weeks in certain investment.
hazarded the childish suggestion that
II secured the lottery prize I would
lend MIN $500 to invest in that stool,
which he, with all a gamblers s1per-
stltious pertinacity, declared v,ould
restore his fortunes.
MY lnbecile references to the lot
terry did what reason could not do.
You have ticket in the lottery?
What is its number?'
1t is 0,O5S, BIO"
"Whatr' he exclaimed with feverish
energy "What?"
/ repeated the number.
Why, he began. murmuring to
himself, So. just my age; 81, the num-
Der OF our house. and three naughts-
there's luck in three"
we were now approaching his apart
Inents and I seemed no nearer gain [
ing his consent, when clutching me bv /
the arm. he said:
In my hands that ticket must be a /
lucky one Give 1t to me and you may
marry Grace tomorrow"
The proposal was a shocking one-it /
seemed suspiciously like buying and l
selling but there was little time to 4
lnlnk, and L said, with barbarous /
Il will"
On the last day of June Grace Mar
ner became Mrs Jack Drummond.
L called at the Dostoffice for letters |
on the evening before our simple we'd
ding. There was note from the
great man of the ThesDian saving
most f1attering things of '.Sobersides. /
the Funny Man." and asking me to
call, as he would like to put the piece
n immediate rehearsal I telegraphed /
that l would be in town in two DAYS.
When we We're speeding from Brus-
sells l showed my newly made wife the
etter and she said with affected indig-
1a fiOn-