Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1908-11-25
OLD SINCLATR'S
STORY
992S?G2 SS2E
Copyright, by Shortstory Pub. Coz
By FRANK BRANDRAM.

1t had been the affair of young
Wilkes that had taken me to the club
| that evening" When | met him, wan
| dering aimlessly about in half-frozen
| condition, knew that there was some
| thing unusual on his mind, and as
was his chosen confidant, counselor
and confessor on all occasions, 1 sim
ply dragged him to the club smoking
| room, determined that he should I'M
bosom himself.
"Now, Wilbur" I said, $50 ahead
and tell me all about it."
"Sh!" said Wilkes, 1--WE are not
alone"
'Nonsense!"I exclaimed, yet speak
ing in a low voice, cts only poor old
Sinclair! He doesn't count anyway"
"Old" Sinclair was a gentleman
called old by reason of obvious, indis-
putable and respectable age. He was
known certainly to have been a mem
/ Der of the club for over 40 years, and
| it was often said that he never failed
to put in a nightly appearance there
| during those four decades.
Wilbur's trouble proved to be real
| iy unnecessary misunderstanding with
a young lady, with whom l happened
| to be acquainted, and my opinion,
therefore, was quickly formed and
my advice promptly given:
GO to her at once, my boy, and ex-
plain to her as you have to met"
With an expression of thankfulness
and relief Wilbur lighted his cigar,
and we were leaning back to enjoy
| the luxury of our shelter from the
/ storm without, when the silence was
suddenly broken by an unexpected
voice:
Gentlemen"
1t was spoken sharply but in high
bred tone, and came from "Old" Sin
clair, the only occupant of the room
besides ourselves.
"GentleGen!" he repeated, as we
turned in our seats, 81 trust you will
| not think me capable of eavesdrop-
| ping, but really could not help over
hearing your conversation, without
moving away"
The look of senile Oblivion had van
ished from the old gentleman's face
He seemed bright, alert, and agitated
by some deep emotion.
Certainly, Mr.. Sinclair" replied,
"pray do not apologize"
81 heard the story of Mr.. Wilkes,
and your reply, and l wish to heaven
1 had had such a friend, to give me
the same advice!"
"Pray, allow me to explain" he said,
with the air and manner of Grandi-
son: 81 hope 1 shall not bore you
with my little story, but the case of
Mr. Wilkes and my own are parallel
in certain sense. In certain sense,
not parallel. Mr. Wilkes, in his I'M
fortunate embarrassment, has nothing,
so far as l can perceive, for which
to blame himself. I, on the other
hand, was wholly to blame for the
misunderstanding which separated
Ruth and me.
"She had many admirers, of whom
| was one-certainly not the least
| devoted. We had known each other
from childhood. She admitted me to
her friendship and confidence to a
greater extent, perhaps, than she did
any other of her admirers Still, she
never gave any sign that she really
| cared for me in the way that | de-
sired, and one night I returned to my
rooms from an entertainment at which
she had made me furiously jealous.
81 sat brooding for an hour or more,
inflaming my mind with thoughts of
Ruth's Inconsistency and heartlessness.
"At last I determined to write to
her, to tell her that my heart, my
life, were at her disposal, that I was
content to wait for years, if need be,
but that | must have some kind Of an
answer within "a hours, or that there
after we should meet as strangers.
"I carried cut my resolution.
went to my writing-table and took up
a sheet of paper. In those days, gen
tlemen, we wrote on large letter
sheets, of rough white or blue linen
paper, which we then folded and fas-
tened with sealing wax or waters,
writing the address upon the outside
of the letter itself. Envelopes were
only just coming into fashion.
at occurred to me that | had a
small sample of choice French note
paper, then something new, with en-
velopes to match, imported by friend
and given to me as curiosity 1t
was like satin in finish and of beauti-
full, delicate tint. There were only
two sheets Of the paper and two en-
velopes, inclosed in the original box,
a tasteful Partisan affair, tied with
gilt cord.
"On one of the two sheets l penned
my letter, which I read carefully over,
and then, as though fearful lest even
the angels in heaven should look down
and gaze upon the message sacred to
her eyes, turned it face downward
on my desk, while for few moments
1 leaned back in my chair and smoked,
in dreamy reverie.
"Then inclosed my letter in one of
the envelopes, replacing the other