Greenbrier independent. [volume] (Lewisburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1980, 1896-05-28
LEW1sBURG, WEST VIRGINIA. THURSDAY EVENING" MAY 90

later l heard the front door close,
and / knew that Reginald Thorne
and 1 would probably never see each
other again. My jewel-box stood
open, and fastened to see If my
jewels were still safe. 1 carried
some of them to the light, and saw
that the stones had all been substi-
tuted for others that were not worth
their weight in brass. He must haye
taken them one at a time, and had
the stones removed and others put
in their places, knowing we'll that
would never miss them. In his room
telegram was found, dated New
York, saying, Have sold everything
you sent at good price. Have kept
half the proceeds and send YOU
checks for balance Then under
stood what were in the packages he
frequently sent to friend in New
York. But the most horrible part
of it all is, society blames me. What
shall l do to regain my old position p
What do you think of that, boys +?
And do you know what we did?-
When the people send regrets, they
simply enclose their card in an en-
velope. We took all those cards
from the envelopes, and carried
them to the card tray down stairs.
we heard carriage, and then an
other. Some guests were arriving.
She sent for her friends, and al
though the guests acted coldly, you
would never think that Mrs. Mower
suspected there was any thing wrong
q NhnI InI Is.,s, H. .zN:
her in receiving were leaders of so.
ciety in other cities, and they chatted
gayly with the guests. More guests
arrived, until probably there were
fifty in the rooms. One way 1 pro-
cure the names of the guests present
is to copy the names on the cards.
L picked up the tray that was full of
cards, and walked toward the recep-
tion-room, as if were going to ask
Mrs. Mowers permission to use the
cards. When 1 was quite near her,
l dropped the tray, as though by ac-
cident. AS the hundreds of cards
fell to the floor, the amazement ex-
pressed on the faces Of the guests
was laughable. l knew they were
astonished at the many cards, and
could not account for them. I beg
ged Mrs. Mowers pardon, and, gath
ering them all up, put them back in
the hall. Mrs. Mower appeared in
dignant, and refused to allow me to
copy them at all.
1t was then about six O'Clock, and
the guests were preparing to depart,
and every one of them would stop q
moment at the card tray and look at
some of the names on the cards, |
thinking, of course, that the person
left the card personally. 1 hurried
to the office, determined to keep
that story to myself. and help Mrs.
Mower further. The city editor
asked how the reception had been.
answered, Out of sight / wrote
one of the most elaborate descrip-
tions of reception had ever writ
ten. 1 described the beautiful floral
decorations, the gowns of the ladies
who received, and closed by saying
that there were fully three hundred
cards left during the afternoon. It's |
always the way with society, boys
1t only needs leader, and all the
rest will follow. Realizing this, l |
knew that when they read so many
had called, those who hadn't called
would think they had not done as
others did, after all. A few days
later received letter from Mrs.
Mower, asking me to call. did so,
and you ought to have seen her.
She called me 'an angel and her
gratitude knew no bounds as she
showed me pile Of little notes ex-
pressing sympathy for the way she
had been duped-they all said he was
a monomaniac, poor fellow! She is
all the rage now and perfectly con-
tented, and I want to say this much
for her-she has never forgotten that
day, and, although she never speaks
of it, no matter where she is she
will stop to have a few pleasant
words with me, and slight pressure
of the hand always assures me she
never will forget that l befriended
her at one timaD