Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1896-03-20

the minutest way possible twice, George
seemed to understand what she was talk
ing about.
"Does she want to see my name in
the newspapers"
81 should not say that" said Flor
ence.
"Does she want me to ride down
Broadway in plate armor and nail on
the doors of Trinity notice that she is
the prettiest girl in the world:"
"She did not say SO" said Florence.
"Does she want to see me more?"
''I should think you would do better
if you went there less," said Florence.
'fIf all she wants is to have me talked
about, she shall have her wayl'' And
George Larkin flounced out of the room.
Ten days after, as Gertrude Clark
came down, rather late, to her breakfast,
the servant brought in pile of letters
On the salver. Gertrude's little sister
counted them; there were %. "What in
the world has happened?" said she.
The little sister cut them open, and
Gertrude read:
DEAR Miss CLARK think you know Mr..
George Larkin. Will you have the kindness to
put his address on the note inclosed?
DEAR Miss CLARK-Do you know your friend
Mr. Larkin Well enough to ask him to come
round to our reception2 It is very informal,
but we shall be SO pleased to see him.
DEAR Miss CLARK-I am SO annoyed that
forget Mr.. Larkin S first name. WANT to SEND
him a card for our party. May I trouble you
for his address?
Twenty three notes that contained
such references to George!
Yet for these ten days past George
had not sent her-no, not carnation.
He did send her note to excuse him
self from driving with her in the park.
He was not even at her aunt's regular
family party, where he had begged her
to have him invited. George had Who'll
ly dropped out of her life, and Gertrude
had begun to wish that he had not drop
ped out.
The reader shall know what had hap
pened. The reader shall know how
nice girl may be suddenly walked up to
find that her lover is not the unimpor
tant person which in his humility he
had made her believe. The reader shall
know how one young man got himself
named from one end of a continent to
the other.
All this happened in very large city
Of 1000, 900 people, which is the capt.
tai Of very large country, which coun-
try is next to the republic of Altruria.
This country was governed partly by
the principles Of the nation of Altruria,
partly by the principles of the devil
and partly by sort Of happy go lucky
system which bad worked very we'll for
100 years. In the course of the happy
go lucky arrangements it found itself
in scrape for the sort Of ready money
that 1t wanted. 1t had some ready
money, which the people did not much
like, and it wanted some ready money
made of beaten gold. And so the chief
magistrate of this happy go lucky
country had issued his proposals for
what was called g popular loan
Nobody knew very we'll how the pop
ular loan was to be taken up, but every
body was quite sure that his next door
neighbor had better subscribe it. Fec
pie went SO far as to say how much Mr..
Jones ought to subscribe aad how much
the Widow Smith ought to subscribe.
But, up till the moment when Gertrude
sent that unkind message te George BY
Florence, nobody knew very well how the
thing was going to turn out. It might
be that the popular loan would all be
taken up by a set Of sharpers, OF it might
be that it would not be taken at all. It
might be that it would be very unpopu-
lar loan. And everybody was very curl
Gus to see.
There was once all occasion when all
the nations of the world agreed that ev-
cry person in the world should scream
as loud as he could at particular in
slant of time When the instant came,
there was horrible stiffness over the
mundane creation. For everybody, in
stead Of screaming himself, had listened
to hear somebody else scream, and no
one screamed but dumb man in China
and deaf woman in the Sandwich Is
lands.
1t was something like this about the
popular loan. But at last the great day
came when, at Washington, they opened
the bids.
Now, the credit Of this nation was
pretty good and pretty bad. In very
bright, gilt edged times it could borrow
money at less than per cent In those
times when there was trouble about the
sort OF money that it would give and
take, it generally had to pay 81 Oh $104
that is to say, its per cents We're
placed at 104. The different sharpers
and the different old ladies, the men and
women who had been coaxed up to sub
scribing in different Ways, were in gen.
eral sending in their bids at 1o5 aud JOG
and 107.
But when at Washington the bids
were opened, the weary clerks hearing
"l07 70, ""104 11-12," till they went
almost to sleep as they wrote down the
scarcely varying numbers, all of sud:
den bolt fell like lightning from yu=
pfler. The reading clerk, almost ns
sleepy as the rest, cried out: Zone hun
dred and twenty five! Dir. George Lar
XIII VI NEW D0uldm UuSTS lS0 1Of "
bonds Of the new issue!'
Every sleepy clerk in the room start
ed up in amazei1aents "Who is Mr..
George Larkin?' And his bid was en-
tered as by far the highest bid in the
calendar.
The nest evening every journal in
that great empire, which, extended from
ocean to ocean, had biography of Mr..
George Larkin. These biographies were
made up generally from the informa
ton given in the directory Of New Bed
lam. One of them therefofs described
Mr.. George Larlzin as the leading man
at the Varieties. Another said that Mr..
George Larkin was engaged in p profit
aple thread and needle business in ting
lower wards OF New Redlam. Another
said that Mr.. George Larkin bad won
his distinction as reporter for tins
press But all persons agreed that Mr..
George LafIail was person of great
Importance in the financial community,
and that he was a patriot of the first