Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1896-04-03

CAT least am not cruel enough tc
forget you. But that you would &C
count kindness, suppose"
"Indeed," would rather have you
forget me than to think so unkindly
of me. I had hoped that we might
always be good friends"
~ think" I replied with unpardon'
able brutality, "that you had better
invest in lap dog. They are much
more manageable.
"You are right" she said, with icy
sweetness "and they are at least
grateful to their friends
"Forgive me, Alice" I stammered
"I did not mean to be such a BRUTE"
"Let US forget everything but that
we are very good friends" she answer.
ed, after moments pause. "And |
want to PIT your friendship to selfish
use this very minute"
"You know very we'll that I would
gladly die for you"
"Oh, my wants are not 80 exorbi-
tant as that" she answered, lightly
~ merely want your advice, as my
oldest and best friend, in case where
can't trust my family to judge i'm
partially. I think you know Mr.
Hamilton-Mr. Richard Hamilton,
mean" And I fancied that she blush
ed a trif1e as she mentioned the name
I answered with a very bad grace
that I bad the great honor of a distant
acquaintance with the young gentle
man in question.
II fancied 80. Now, the long and
short of the matter, is, that my peo'
pie are very anxious to have me-
marry him ; and Aunt Mary in par
ticular has her heart set on it,"
"He seems to me very desirable
parti, indeed" 1 said, coldly. ~ sup
pose you hardly need my congratula'
tions."
she, too, is so silly as to want to
marry me-" she went on, without
seeming to notice my rude speech,
land I have promised to give him an
answer this evening. And WHAT
here she seemed strangely embarrassed
and became deeply absorbed in the
figures ON her fan-."what answer
shall I give him ?"
"What answer? ?" I cried, as her
meaning flashed over my dull compre'
hension, "why, tell him you are en-
gagged, of course /"
just what happened next is rather
hazy in my mind-almost obliterated
by the direful catastrophe which so
soon followed. dimly remember kiss
ing her upturned face as we stood in the
shadow of a great South American
cactus, that screened US from all obser-
walton, and drawing her unresisting
form toward divan that we had occu'
pied on the memorable evening when
we had been engaged before. We
knew all the strongholds of her aunt's
house perfectly.
"How horribly improper!" she ex-
claimed, apropos of something or 9th
er. "Suppose that anyone would see
US this way"
"That' would be improper, I admit, u
1 replied, serenely; "but then, you
see, nobody can."
The argument was undeniable, and
she let her head rest against my
shoulder, with little sigh of satisfac-
ton.
"How absurd to think that we ever
quarrelled," observed, presently.
"Oh, don't talk of that horrid time
any more !! 1 have nearly cried my
eyes out over it. Let's just remember
that we have loved each other all the
while"
For q moment there was silence.
"Aliceu" I said, severely, &c sud-
den thought came to me; 'what were
you intending to answer"
"That," replied Mistress Alice, Sc
renely, "you will never know"
"There, that dance is Finished" /
said "the rabble will be out here in
moment"
"There is no hurry" she answered,
with the delightful sang-froid of wo-
mankind under circumstances that are
trying to masculine nerves. awe can
see anyone who passes the turn of the
staircase"
"Ah, now it is time," she said, laugh
ingly; one more kiss, and I will see if
I can fix myself up little. You have
put my hair in shocking state of dis,
order. Ugh! What's that"
Isprang to my feet, aghast. On her
delicate pink corsage was a large and
gruesome stain of black, that was
slowly but surely spreading over the
entire front.
"I-I-I'm afraid it's ink !" I said
in quavering accents of despair"
"Ink Where in the world would
any ink come from ?"
Her voice had hard, sharp quality,
that had heard once in a while be-
fore. Evidently, her ladyship's mood
was fast losing its amiability, and l
fell some tremors of fear.
knew altogether too we'll where
the ink came from. With an awful
certainty I looked at my once immac-
ulate white waistcoat it was now a
gruesome, soppy mass of Smiths blue
black commercial writing fluid. The
emergency was frightful. Was there
.,,t,;1o ,y;to And tbon tho drpsc-