Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1896-05-22

Then he caught hold of Che generals
bride, and, in most fluent English, in
yited him to step off and be heaved over
] the cliff. Next minute Miss Youghal
began crying, and Strickland saw that
he had hopelessly given himself away
and everything was over.
The general nearly had fit, while
Miss Youghal was sobbing out the story
of the disguise and the engagement that
wasn't recognized by the parents.
Strickland was furiously angry with
himself and more angry with the gen
eral for forcing his hand, SO he said
nothing, but held the horses head and
prepared to thrash the general as some
sort of satisfaction, but when the gen
eral had thoroughly grasped the story
and knew who Strickland was, he began
to puff and blow in the saddle and near
ly rolled off with laughing. He said
Strickland deserved a V. c., if it were
only for putting on sails blanket.
Then he called himself names and VOW
ed that he deserved thrashing, but he
was too old to take it from Strickland
Then he complimented Miss Youghal
on her lover. The scandal of the bust
ness never struck him, for he was a
nice old man, with weakness for fir
tations. Then he laughed again and said
that old Youghal was fool
Strickland let go Of the cob's head
and suggested that the general had bet
ter help them, if that was his opinion
Strickland knew Youghal's weakness
for men with titles and letters after
their names and high official position.
''It's rather like 40 minute farce, y
said the general, "but, begad, will
help, if it's only to escape that tremen-
dous thrashing deserved. Go along to
your home, my sails policeman, and
change into decent kit, and I'll attack
Mr. Youghal. Miss Youghal, may ask
you to canter home and waltz"
X X
About seven minutes &ter there was
a wild hurroosh at the club. A sails,
with blanket and head rope, was asking
all the men he knew, "For heavens
sake lend me decent clothes!'' AS the
men did not recognize him, there were
some peculiar scenes before Strickland
could get a hot bath, with soda in it, in
one room, a shirt here, collar there,
pair Of trousers elsewhere, and so on.
He galloped off, with half the club
wardrobe on his back and an utter
strangers pony under him, to the house
of old Youghal.
The general, arrayed in purple and
fine linen, was before him. What the
general had said Strickland never knew,
but Youghal received Strickland with
moderate civility, and Mrs. Youghal,
touched by the devotion of the trans
formed Dulloo, was almost kind. The
general bea1ned and chuckled, and Miss
Youghal came in, and, almost before
old Youghal knew where he was, the
parental consent had been wrenched out
and Strickland had departed with Miss
Youghal to the telegraph Office to wire
for his kit The final embarrassment
was when an utter stranger attacked
him on the mall and asked for the stolen
pony.
So, in the end, Strickland and Miss
Youghal were married, on the strict I'M
derstanding that Strickland should drop
his old ways and stick to department
routine, which pays best and leads to
Simla. Strickland was far too fond Of
his wife just then to break his word,
but it was sore trial to him; for the
streets and the bazaars and the sounds
in them were full of meaning to Strick-
land, and these called to him to come
back and take up his wanderings and
his discoveries.
Some day I will tell you how he broke
his promise to help friend. That was
long since, and he has, by this time,
been nearly spoiled for what he would
call shikar He is forgetting the slang,
and the beggar's can't and the marks,
and the signs, and the drift of the I'M
dercurrents, which, if a man would
master, he must always continue to
learn.
But he fills in his departmental re-
turns beautifully. -Rudyard Kipling.