The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1896-12-28
A SURPRISE.

Mr.. and Mrs Bert Lester had a fiat on
the North Side.
They were and are the kind of young
married people calculated to restore q
feeling Of confidence as to matrimony.
Many bachelor after spending an
evening at the Lester flat and rioting in
the simple delights Of dutch lunch"
would remark to some other bachelor
as they were walking homeward, "Say,
If knew where there was another Mrs.
Bert Lester, I'd be a married man in
less than six months. "
The Testers had dozen or more men
friends, mostly Of the hotel kind, but
Joe Barnet held the record for constant
attendance. When there was any sort
Of social gathering at the Lester fiat, Joe
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 lawful
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 the Lester mantel,
and her name went back and forth be.
tween the Testers.
"Oh, Joe, I must have Louise come
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"
II don't sec why that should interest
me, Joe would reply with an inditfer-
ence which was wholly assumed.
"Well, if was man there would
not be many girls like Louise Rhodes
running around single"
"You couldn't marry more than one
Of them. -
you're very bright tonight, aren't
your Wait till you see her. l 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 tho 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 country town
existence at Flavius, Ind, where her
father owned a grain elevator, a bank,
q general store and a 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 fanciful stories Of
the Rhodes possessions.
Last spring, whilo Mrs. Lester was
writing to Louise, coaxing her to come
to Chicago on visit, Joe Barnet did q
very unusual thing. He wrote letter
to Miss Louise Rhodes of Flavius, Ind,
o young woman whom no had never
seen.
Mark the cunning of tho scoundrel!
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. I am with the Testers so much Of
the timo that l am, to all intents and
purposes, a member of the household,
and this may entitle me to the privilege
of joining in the invitations You may
remember that May will mark the
third anniversary Of their marriage.
am arranging to give little dinner in
their honor, but want to make it sur.
prise to them. AS you are Mrs. Testers
most intimate friend, it would be almost
a calamity if you were not present at
the dinner. You will understand, Of
course, that I 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
The letter closed with q final plea for
pardon, and ice mailed it, in the con-
seriousness that he had done very
clever thing. He believed that any
young woman, no matter how strict her
seminary training had boen, would have
10 answer that kind of letter. He was
not mistaken. The reply came three
lays later, and it was in a bald and
peaked handwriting, in which both ink
md space were lavishly wasted. The
etter called him "Mr. Baroet" and said
,mong other things:
"Under these extraordinary ciroum-
tances l suppose l am justified in writ |
ng to you--a stranger. No, not stran-
,er, either, for I have heard so much |
bout you Through Kate) that ! suppose
can already claim a half way ao.
|uaintance. Alas, to say it l cannot
cine to Chicago for your little dinner,
which will doubtless be lovely. We are