The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1896-11-18
A SURPRISE.


Mr. and Mrs. Bert Lester had fiat on
the North Side.
They were and are the kind of young
married people calculated to restore a
feeling of confidence as to matrimony.
Many bachelor after spending an
evening at the Lester fiat and rioting in
the simple delights of Dutch lunch"
would remark to some other bachelor
as they wero walking homeward, "Say,
if knew where there was another Mrs.
Bert Lester, I'd be married man in
less than six months.
The Testers had dozen or more men
friends, mostly of the hotel kind, but
Joe Barnet held tho record for constant
attendance. When there was any sort
of social gathering ut the Lester fiat, Joo
was neither absent nor tardy. He and
Bert Lester had been good friends long
before there was any Lester fiat Mrs.
Lester believed that joe was an awful
ly nice fellow She had laid certain
plans for his future.
Louise Rhodes had been preached TO
Joe Barnet for year.
Her picture was on tho Lester mantel,
and her name went back and forth be.
tween tho Testers.
"Oh, Joe, ] must have Louise como
up to visit me, Mrs Lester would say
when she had dragged Joe up to the
photograph for the hundredth time.
"You'll like her immensely. She's as
clever as she can be, and pretty. Joe,
her father has plenty of money too.
Think of that. -
81 don't see why that should interest
me, Joe would reply with an indiffer-
enoe which was wholly assumed.
"Well, If 1 was a man there would
not be many girls like Louise Rhodes
running around single.
"You couldn't marry moro than one
of them. :"
you're very bright tonight aren't
you? Wait till you see her. know you
will fall in love with her, and then it
will serve you right if she refuses TO
look at you at all. "
Mrs. Bert Lester and the much talked
of Louise Rhodes had been classmates
in girls seminary in Ohio. After
graduating Kate Townsend returned to
Chicago and promptly accepted Bert
Lester. Louise resumed "A country town
existence ut Flavius. Ind, where her
father owned grain elevator, bank,
a general stcro and hub and spoke fac
tory. His country possessions were
marked by white farmhouses and huge
red barns Mrs. Lester once visited
Louise at Flavius, and when she re-
turned home she told fancifui stories OF
the Rhodes possessions.
Last spring, while Mrs. Lester was
writing to Louise, coaxing her to come
to Chicago oil visit, Joe Barnet did q
very unusual thing. He wrote o letter
to Miss Louise Rhodes of Flavius. Ind,
q young woman whom he had never
seen. If
Mark the cunning OF the scoundrell
This is the way the letter ran;
"Of course you dare not overlook my
vast presumption in thus addressing
you. One fact you must consider. how
ever am with the Testers SO much OF
tho time that / am, to all intents and
purposes, member OF the household,
and this may entitle me TO the privilege
of joining i'll the invitations. You may
remember that May 8 will mark the
third anniversary of their marriage,
am arranging to give little dinner IN
their honor, but ! want to make 1t sur
prise to them As you are Mrs Testers
most intimate friend, it would BIO almost
calamity if you were not present at
the dinner. You will understand, OF
course, that could not have forwarded
this information through the agency OF
Mrs. Lester. Don't tell her that have
written to you. do not want her to
learn of the dinner, and there are other
reasons.
The letter closed with a final plea for
pardon, and Joe mailed 1t, in the COIL
seriousness that he had done a very
clever thing He believed that any
young woman. no matter how strict her
seminary training had been, would have
to answer that kind of letter. He was
not mistaken. The reply came three
days later, and it WAS in q bald and
peaked handwriting, in which both ink
and space were lavishly wasted. The
letter called him "Mr. Barnet" and said
among other things:
"Under these extraordinary circum-
stances suppose am justified in writ
ing to you--a stranger. No, not stran-
ger either, for have heard so much
about you Through Kate) that / suppose
can already claim half way ac-
quaintance. Alas, to say It'll / cannot
come to Chicago for your little dinner,
which will doubtless be lovely. We are
in the throes of preparation for we'd
ding here (my cousin), and until she is
safely away on her wedding tour / shall
be deliriously busy. It's too bad. Per-
haps next month shall be in Chicago,
and you may be sure will be prepared
to feign proper surprise and embarrass-
ment when Kate presents you. ! would
not for worlds let her know / had writ
ten this letter"
''Say. she's all right" This is what
Joe Barnet told himself as he read her
letter and grinned like vealy boy over
his first love note.
Joe studied the letter again and con-
cluded that the young woman had not
been seriously offended. So hi wrote