The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1896-07-30

When Parsons daughter, Alice TreweeKes,
came down to breakfast there was letter
waiting foc her onthe table From this you
may Judge that the Treweekes family, or
Alice, at any rate, were rather late risers,
for the postman doesn't get to the rectory
before 10 o'clock. In fact, the letters rarely
reach Windingford from Bodmin before 3
O'Clock, so that, by the time all the post
masters friends have called in to get their
own letters, and have read all other peoples
postcards, the postman must hurry If he Is
to get the rectOry letters delivered by ~
o'clock And it takes the people at the
postoffice some time TO get through the
rectory correspondence, partly because OF
the ELIGIBILITY of clerical writing, and
partly because of the great decrease in the
value of glebe, which causes SO much CORE
spondence between parsons to be carried on
by postcards; and postcards, of course,
take longer to sort than letters do.
" From whom is your letter, Alice!" SAID
Parsons wife.
Alice blushed little, and said: s." A friend
in Bodmin."
"What friend pa little sharply.
Parson noticed the tone, and looked up
from the Rock Then he noticed the blush.
"My DEAR" he said, let the girl have her
little secrets. You open all my letters as
well as your own. Isn't that enough?"
"Just as well that l do open your letters
now and then, OF you would leave them un-
opened for week."
Il don't get the chance of opening them
or of leaving them unopened, my deal" said
Parson. This was very bold speech for
him to make; so, although the words were
brave, the tone was mild enough to soften
somewhat the effect of the words.
"If three days after you received 1t, /
had not opened the letter Offering you this
living, you would never have known any
thing about it until some other man had
been appointed"
This little wrangle took the attention Of
both father and mother of the letter which
had raised the storm. This letter was from
Pat DooIey, the Exciseman at BOdmin, OF
whem Alice had seen a good deal lately.
| An Irishman, with the good temper and
blarney of his country, he added to his adj
vantayes of birth the experience OF some
years in London, and smart young man
from town is rather run after in Out-of-the-
way parts of the country like ours. Fat
Dooley could sing and dance, and, above all,
| be had way with him which made him
very popular. He overcame the unpopu-
| larity of the Exciseman, which is tradi-
tional in County where everyone's grand
father regularly had hand in smuggling
| everyones father now and then, and q good
| many even of ourselves at odd times.
My DEAR MISS TREwEEKEs Tor may say My
| Dear Alice? said Pats leiier): You must have
been sure. since that pleasant evening we had nj
| the dance at Bodmin. when your mother WAS moi
| there, and when danced those six dances to-
gether. that had particular question to ask you
| When may come and see you, and insure
seeing your father aud mother afterwards III q
| good temper? This question, you will underssRnd
| is not the question wished to ask you. should
| like to come over soon.
Yours till death.
| PATRICK HKSEEssBY DooLEY.
Alice, Of course, knew just what the ques.
tion was. But she would not confess IT.
even TO her own heart. She said TO herself
How funny! Whatever can he want tt
ask US all? l expect he is trying to get vi
another dance somewhere. Men who have
lived in London want more amusement
than they can get in the country, so expec
it is another dance. Anyhow, like ever.
woman, l am very inquisitiye, and L shoul'