The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1896-08-27

One is permitted to speak to young
lady at ball"
'In the open street? Ia this clan.
destine manner"
"We were not in great privacy. to
be cure, but that might be urged in
mitigation of the offence" / said, with
smile.
"You shall not hoodwink me. What
was it that she was saying to you when
/ came upp
"lf have been guilty OF an indis.
erection, the fault is mine, and am
ready to answer for it; but you can.
not expect me to repeat whatever
triAes ! may have permitted myself to
say tc the young lady. whom fear l
may not have an opportunity OF meet
ing again. No gentleman would be
guilty of such thing, nor, am sure,
would you, If you had been in my
place"
i saw by the mans face that had
achieved my object. had led him to
believe that there had been nothing
more than little foolish Irritation he.
tween the young lady and myself. He
seized the girls hand, tucked it under
his arm, and marched of.
"As for having an opportunity OF
meeting her again, l will take precious
good care that you don't" he threw
at me over his shoulder.
Alas there could be little doubt of
it. And the letter? l had no doubt
that 1t was a note to her lover. II
seemed Just little hard that, anxious
as | was TO serve her, this should be
the particular service required of me.
At the first pillar box L came to /
took out the missive she had given me.
1t was her programme for the even.
ing, a dainty card, folded bookwise,
and secured at the edges by q number
OF postage stamps stuck all around it.
Ii was stamped with a penny stamp,
and addressed in pencil. or course,
L had no business to read the address.
i knew that well enough. 1t was, per-
haps, an ungentlemauly thing to do !;
but then my curiosity was greatly ex-
cited. l hoped that the name pen
cilled on the back of the pro 2ramme
might be that OF woman. But l was
disappointed. By the light of a gas
lamp | read:
"Immediate. Arthur Belingham,
Esq, -Furniva's Inn, Holborn, L. G.
Bellingham? Bellingham? Iseemed
to know the name. For minute or
two 1 stood trying TO remember whom
it was / had once met that owned it,
but in vain. What did it matter? The
affair was at an end. dropped the
queer letter into the letter box and
went home to my lodgings.
A few months later / was strolling
along Oxford street, heard my name
called out, and looking up saw Ar
thur Bellingham standing before me.
| recognized him at once-a young en-
gineer whom had met once in II coun-
try inn on wet day in the Lake dis
trict. We had been capital friends for
a week, aud l could not understand
how had forgotten him when 1 had
tried to remember what Bellingbam
had known.
We greeted each other warmly, and
he would have me go with him to his
chambers in Furnivsl's Inn and smoke
cigar with him.
"Bellingham," ] said, as stood on
his hearth rug, "did it ever happen
that you received letter written on a
ball programmed"
His eyes and mouth opened in pure
establishment.
"What do you know about that?"
he calculated.
81 ought not to have known any.
thing about 1t, but / plead guilty to
having read the address. Iposted the
programme to you one night on my
way home from ball"
My friend sprang up and wruug my
hand as If he would wiring it off.
"My dear fellow" he cried, ~ am
infinitely obliged to you for your tact
and kindness on that occasion. If you
had not posted that note it would
have meant ruin to me. Maud told
me how awiully good you were about
it,"
"Maud2 Do you mean"
"Maud, my sister-the girl who
slipped the note into your hand"
SIS she your sister?"
Certainly she is. It's rather an
uncommon story. Shall 1 tell 1t to
you?"
"If you don't mind. Iconfess am
burning with curiosity"
"The fact is, then, that some three
years ago my poor mother, who was a
widow, did what turned out to be a
very foolish thing-she married again,
and married without making proper
inquiries. My stepfather, Mr.. Mad
dock, turned out to be very bad egg.
My mother lost the greater part Of her
fortune when she married him, and
We were for a time practically de.
pendent on my mothers uncle, an &c.
centric old gentleman, rather fond of
money. called Hodgkinson.
Maddox is neither more nor less
than an adventurer, and for long
time ii was the main business OF his
life to exploit my great uncle. At last
he nearly succeeded. Maddox and
some friends OF his got bold OF bit of