Year: 1869

| TO Stanu near her TO realize that she was
anything but immense.


She had nice little features dark, sharp
| eyes that l loved to gaze into-and high
color, easily heightened, which was often
criticised, though / must confess I liked 1t
much. once heard young lady &C
knowledge that Marie was pretty, though
she Nas mean enough to add that it was
| in an Insignificant way


But l waste too much precious space
about her pers0n1ael, which, after all, can't
interest everyone-or perhaps anyone.
| The girl took me by storm. had been
heart-whole for series of years, and had
come to regard myself as, in measure,
| impregnable. But this time fell at the
| first assault.


heard her read-for we met first at a
sort of literary and dramatic club-and
she read well. She had an excellent voice,
and though rather schoolgirlish in her
manner, l thought her angelic. My love
was like red, red rose that evening, ex-
element having lent her considerable ex-
ira in the way of flushes. | like red-ex-
cept in Deckties and ringlets Yes, I was
smitten at the first glance. joined that
club-was introduced to my charmer, and
worked the thing shrewdly until became
her escort to the club regularly on each
Friday evening.


| must here explain that was then a
little more simple than now am. did
not know that / had fallen in love with
her. Had l suspected it I would have
avoided her, for L was not exactly circum-
stanced for anything of that sort just then
No, imagined, you see that mine was
merely bit of friendly interest.
My attentions to the girl soon attracted
other attention and remark. Friends be-
gan to plague me about her, and to affec-
tionately inquire as to the exact date of
the wedding. Friends always do under
such circumstances. But l didn't mind
their teasing I was firmly fixed in the
belief that mine was a friendship of the
most Platonic kind, and it never occurred
to me to reflect what the girl herself might
think.


But somehow or other all this relates to
the commencement of my love, when l
started out to tell of its untimely demise.
l must hurry over matters little.


discovered my feelings by suspicion
that she loved another, who / knew adored
her. 1t would serve no good purpose to
explain any further than merely to re-
mark that l was mistaken. But learned
to know my own feelings by the misery I
was in while under the delusion that my
rival was successful one.


I resolved then to avoid the girl-to
break with her. kept my resolution like
any young man would. Went to see her
badly affected with "the blues" and in less
than two weeks had come to an explana-
| ton, learned that she did not dislike me
in short, we became affianced


1t was not very prudent of me, for my
worldly circumstances made long en-
gagement certainty. But then love and
prudence harmonize about as well as oil
and water.


Wekept on our course for many months,
| f1attering ourselves that our love strength
ened with time. My pecuniary prospects
began to brighten, and | commenced to
household goods, etc.


But the affair came to an end, with a
most wondrous abruptness And here is
where | expect and deserve to be laughed
at. For l myself have to acknowledge
that more crazy trick have never heard
of.


| 1t will here be necessary to let the world
know that was not perfectly immaculate.
| do not believe that | was much of an un-
mitigated reprobate, either, but | confess
to goodly array of faults. | never was
careful enough about appearances, and
army life had formed acquaintances for me
that some of my other friends would have
styled common"


With this explanation, / will state that
two of my former company comrades had
arranged to give ball, and had made me
sometime before promise to attend 1t was
under mental protest that did so, for the
style of people who would attend it, 1
knew, would be quite unsuited to my
tastes. But was yielding, and they ex-
acted my word to 60, and also arranged to
have partner for me.


1 never attended that dance and yet it
was the cause of my ruin. Let me try to
give lucid explanation of transaction
which can hardly myself, even now, un-
derstand.


Late in the afternoon of the day before
the time set for the ball referred to,
received the following note from my
.fGncee:-


Mon cheer dna0nt-I am delighted to
tell you that l have been favored with an
invitation to the affair of HIS tomorrow
evening, and have accepted for you and
myself. You must be at our house by
eight. J0nodiS .fdele. MARY"


Being modest, Miss Stubbs, it will be oh
served, always put her tender passages in
French. understand that young ladies
OF the present age generally do.


Well, of course, such an invitation
amounted to command It was already
late in the afternoon, so it behooved me to
write an acceptance to my beloved, and a
letter explaining and declining to my
other friends; and this must be done that
evening, to have the notes reach their
destination the following day.


The fates were certainly against me. I
had just seated myself to write my billets,
when was interrupted by the visit of an
old friend-a former fellow-officer in the
service-whose residence was in the coun-
try, and who was only to be in town till
the next morning. We became engaged
in an animated conversation, which
lasted till supper time, my unwritten notes
/ having been utterly forgotten.


Then my visitor insisted upon my taking
supper with him at his hotel, and spend
ing the evening with him.


This I could not refuse to do. We &C
cordingly supped together, and then ad-
iourned to the billiard room, where we
played few games, and also INDUCED in
number of potations.


was not in the habit of drinking, and
it did not take very much liquor to affect
me. I certainly was not intoxicated, but
my head was far from clear.


Towards nine o'clock we were debating
the policy of setting out to theatre, when,
In drawing forth my handkerchief, the
note had received from Mary Stubs fell
krxv Il