New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1909-05-19
HER LUCKY MISTAKE,
BY OSCAR COX.
downright. 1909. by American Press Asso.
nio


ciation.l
Miss Buckingham took up two notes
and read them with a bored expression
on her beautiful and aristocratic coun-
tenance. Then she threw them down
and on her crest stamped paper wrote
two replies. One was declination to
a proposal of marriage, the other an
invitation for a proposer to call, init
mating that he would be accepted. Ad-
dressing two envelopes, one to Hamil-
ton Gillis, No. East Forty-eighth
street; the other to George B. Hilliars.
Union club, city, she laid both notes
and envelopes on the desk before her.
Then she darkened the room so that
she could not see any Of them, mixed
them, took up one of the notes, put it
in one of the envelopes, sealed and
stamped it, tore up the other note and
envelope, threw the pieces into a
wastebasket and sent the other to the
mail without looking at the address.
Her intention was to remain ignorant
of the man she had chosen till he pre-
scented himself.
This was a dangerous thing to do,
for the reason that Miss Buckingham
had a number of suitors, and she
wrote an illegible hand.
The next evening card was handed
to her bearing the name Of G. B. Hill
lier. She glanced at it, gave a slight
shrug, fingered her back hair before a
glass and descended the stairs. On
entering the drawing room she found
very different man from either of
the two to whom she had written.
A great many things flashed through
her mind in an infinitely short space
Of time. First, she had written one of
the notes evidently the one that had
been mailed) to George B. Hilliars, and
it had fallen into the hands Of Gusta-
vus B. Hitler. This was not remark
able, since both men belonged to the
same club. Second, how was she to
escape the results Of her blunder? Mr..
Hitler was one Of her many suitors, a
sutton she loved and by whom she had
supposed herself to have been Tilted.
Her pride rebelled against admitting
that she had sent for him to eat hum
BILE pie, and she did not wish him to
know that she had intended to accept
another.
"Mariany' he said, advancing, but
stopped, repealed by her expression.
Marian be began again, what
does this mean? Have you led me to
believe that you had seen your glazing
injustice only to give me additional
pain?',,
"How did you happen toto GET
'sYour letter? l returned today"
''No, no; l didn't know you were
away. I mean What right have you
to- She baked again.
"Marian!' he exclaimed.
'No, no; didn't mean that"
There was short pause, after which
he said, when we parted last I told
you that could not brook
Brook! 1t was who could not
'tYou? The Objectionable words were
spoken to me-
'What words?'
what words? Why, in reference to
that note wrote you to which you
deigned no reply. sent another ask
ing for the cause Of your silence. You
replied that you would not address a
note to man at his club because a
friend of yours had done so and her
note had been shown to others
c"And do you mean to tell me that a
trivial thing like that caused you to-
refrain from favoring me at the next
cotillon?"
"A trivial thing like thatv'
Eyes. Shouldn't have profited by
my friends experience?'
He stood looking at her in astonish-
ment.
''Then the next time," she added, 81
met you on the street you didn't speak
to me-"
"How could when you walked by
me with your-without looking at
me?'
Judging from your previous treat
ment of me, supposed you intended
to cut me-"
"Did you expect me to bow to your
shadow? Could speak to a girl who
would not even look at met"
"You men are so''-
$50 what?'
Irritating"
Anything else?"
Stupid"
There was long silence, which was
broken by the man: ST believe you are
right. I've been stupid There is
something about the feminine makeup
that renders a woman obliyious to the
frightful imputations she casts upon
man. You argued that, because some
contemplate cad had betrayed con-
fdence, under the same circumstances
an honorable man would do the same"
Miss Buckingham was silent. A
faint glimner of the fallacy of the
syllogism began to dawn upon her.
Il suppose ought to apologize she
said, sbut I'm not going to do it after
tha wav vo11 fraatod mo