The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1904-01-08

] had bought in Tottenham Court road.
He was standing at her side before
she recognized his presence. He looked
| very big and imposing in his evening
| clothes. A large diamond sparkled in
his shirt front. Was this the lover OF
her dreams?
When he had business in hand, it was
not Sir Humphreys custom to beat
| about the bush. After remarking on
| the beauty of the evening-so much
was customary even in strictly busl-
| ness conversation-he asked her il she
would be his wife.
For a moment she did not reply. Sir
| Humphrey recognized the fact that she
was very beautiful and that loneliness
and the moonlight threw him little
off his balance. He felt he wanted to
take her in his arms and kiss her. The
matter was getting beyond the strict
regime of business.
He had never wanted to kiss any one
| before.
| 1t could, of course, be only mat
ter of minutes-a little maiden hesita-
| tion-before he had the right to do So
Minutes? Clarissa was speaking
do you know my father, Sir Hum
phrey?
mo, I have not that pleasure"
He anticipated no trouble in that
quarter. Was he not Sir Humphrey
Potter?
81 think you will not-cannot-re-
new this proposal when / tell you that
| that"
"Yes?" urged Sir Humphrey as
Clarissa paused.
"He is in prison." she said, in a
voice scarcely audible, and turning
herself away from him.
"In PRISON." gasped Sir Humphrey.
There was silence. A faint breath
stirred the rushes and died away again.
A wakeful corncrake creaked once and
then subsidized, as if he were alarmed
by the noise he made in that great
stiffness.
Sir Humphrey was thinking. He
| could not decide on the instant what
he should do. But the moonlight still
exercised it's power over him. He still
wanted to kiss her.
| Latimer should have told him; it
was monstrous to have introduced him
to this girl without word as to her
| fathers disgrace. She was, he sup
posed, living on the charity of the
Latimers. There would be faint of
crime in her blood, and perhaps if ne
married her it would appear in her
children. The thought was horrible
But he wanted Clarissa.
| When, at last, he fell asleep, he had
almost made up his mind to marry hsr.
But when he awoke in the morning
he found his love much less obtrusive
and his business instincts predonli-
nant Sentiment had faded with the
moonlight.
| He wondered how he could have hest
tated. Such marriage was impossible.
81 am very distressed, very dis
tressed indeed, to learn you are in such
an unfortunate position he said,
when the opportunity came; ''but yoY
must see, of course, that under the cif9
cumstances l cannot repeat the offer
that 1 made yesterday evening, an Of
| fer that l should not have-that is to
say, had I been informed, as l should
have been, of the circumstances, l
| should not have-er-put us both in
this painful position"
| Sir Humphrey spoke at civic ban
| quets.
81 hope you will let-er-bygones be
bygones, and remember me as a
| friend"
Clarissa heard his speech to the end
| in silence She had expected it. Now
| it was her turn. She had long ago
realized the perfect self-conceit of the
| man. He had thought that she was
| ready to throw hC1;self into his arms,
should he choose to open them. She
had decided that to be tricked and de-
ceived by girl would be an invaluable
| lesson to him.
She was only acting for his good.
She raised her eyes and looked at
him steadily.
Then she told him that her father
| was indeed in prison. He had been
there nearly all his life. 1t was one
of the largest and most important pris-
ons in England.
He was the governor of it.-London
| Sketch.