Connecticut western news., 1896-08-20
NO ONE KNEW HIM.

II These were the words of Florence Larkin to her brother. George had in | trusted her with that difficult commis- Sion-to find out why Gertrude was of md on with him-why she was some times so cordial and sweet and some ines so distant And poor Florence had ,o explain to George that Gertrude had virtually said that he was too common place. She could not marry a man that nobody knew and nobody talked about. He was good, he was successful, he was sind, he was everything that Miss Edge worth would require in one of her novels, but he did not attract peoples attention. Nobody ever heard of George Larkin.
 After Florence had explained this in he minutest way possible twice. George ing about
 "Does she want to see my name in the newspapers?"
 ''I should not say that" said Flor ance-
 Does she want me to ride down Broadway in plate armor and nail on he doors of Trinity a notice that she is he prettiest girl in the wopaa:" "She did not say so, said Florence. "Does she want to see me more?" .'I should think you would do better you went there less," said Florence "If all she wants is to have me talked about, she shall have her wayr r' And George Larkin flounced out of the room. Ten days after. as Gertrude Clark anne down, rather late, to her breakfast, he servant brought in pile of letters on the salver. Gertrude's little sister counted them; there were 23. "What in he world has happened?" said she. The little sister cut them open, and iertrude read:
 DEAR Mss CLARk-I think you know MT. >3eorge Larkin. Will you have the kindness to put his address on the note inciosedf DRAR Mss CLARS-Do you know your friend Ir. Larkin we'll enough to ask him to come round to our receptionf 1t Is very informal. nut we shall be so pleased to see him. DEAR Mss CLARk-I sm so annoyed that orget Mir. Larkin's first name. Iwant to send .sim card for our party. May trouble you Tor his addressf
 Twenty three notes that contained iuch references to Georgel Yet for these ten days past George had not sent her-no, not a carnation. de did send her a 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 | y dropped out of her life, and Gertrude mad begun to wish that he had not drop | ped out.
 The reader shall know what had hap lened. The reader shall know how a l lice girl may be suddenly walked up to I find that her lover is not the unimpor- tant person which in his humility he | had made her believe. The reader shall 1now how one young man got himself | tanned from one end of a continent to | the other.
 All this happened in a very large city
 If 2.00o. GOO people, which is the capi-
 tal of very large country, which coun- | ny is next to the republic of Altruria. | This country was governed partly by
 he principles of the nation of Altruria.
 partly ty the principles of the devil
 md partly by sort of happy go lucky | system which had worked very well for | 100 years In the course of the happy | 90 lucky arrangements it found itself
 in scrape for the sort of ready money
 shat it wanted. It had some ready
 money, which ihe people did not much
 ike. and 1t wanted some ready money
 made of beaten gold And So the chief
 magistrate of this happy go lucky
 country had issued his proposals fol | ,rhat xraa cal1al 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 dool
 neighbor had better subscribe to ois Peo
 pie went so far as to say how much Mir
 Jones ought to subscribe and how mucl
 the Widow Smith ought to subscribe
 But, up till the moment when Gertrudt
 sent that unkind message to George b,
 Florence, nobody knew very well how tn, thing was going to turn out. It migh
 be that the popular loan would all b.
 taken up by a set of sharpers. or it migh
 be that it would not be taken at all I might be that it would be very unpopu
 lar loan. And every body was very curi
 ous to see.
 There was once an occasion when al . the nations of the world agreed that ev
 cry person in the world should scream
 as loud as he could at particular in
 stant of time. When the instant came
 there was a horrible stiffness over th
 mundane creation. For every body, in 1 stead of screaming himself, had lstene, t to hear somebody else scream, and D , one screamed but dumb man in Chin [ and a deaf woman in the Sandwich Is
 lands
 It was something like this about tn h popular loan. But at last the great da
 came when, at Washington. they opene
 the bids
 Now, the credit of this nation wa
 pretty good and pretty bad. In yer
 bright, gilt edged times it could borroy
 money at Jess than 3 per cent. In thos = times when there was trouble about th
 sort of money that it would give an take, it generally had to pay $4 on $10 h -that is to say, its per cents wer placed at l04 The different sharper
 and the different old ladies, the men an t women who had been ooaxed up to sut smibing in different ways, were in ger eral sending in their bids at 105 and 10
 and 107.
 But when at Washington the bio
 were opened, the weary clerks hearin i"1O7 7-9, ""104 11-12," till they wel , almost to sleep as they wrote down tt /. scarcely varying numbers, all of su'
 den a bolt fell like lightning from J'
 piter. The reading clerk, almost c. sleepy as the rest, cried out: "One hul
 dred and twenty-five! MT. George La
 kin of New Bedlam offers 125 for
 bonds of the new issuep
 Every sleepy clerk in the room staI