Year: 1875




A very strange story was told me the
other day. In a town not far from Lon
don lived \ young lady who was hand
some, tolerably wealthy and more than
usually well educated. Her father was
an invalid, her mother was an insipid,
cold, heartless woman. Two years ago
physician of London was called upon TO
attend her father in this way the young
lady saw him. He paid no attention to
her--his mind was engrossed with his
professional duties. A few weeks ago
this doctor, after paying a visit to his pa
tient, was somewhat surprised by being
asked by tho young lady to give her the
favor of u private interview. She took
him into private drawing room and led
him to the further end of the apartment.
Doctor" said she, 81 suppose that
gentlemen of your profession arc accus-
toned to receive strange condolences. |
have n confession to make to you" He
supposed that the impending confession
had something to do with her fathers
health or her own, and he begged herr to
proceed. "You will, however, be hardly
prepared for what | am about to say"
she continued, but l wish you to hear It.
1t is now just two years since first saw
YOU. You have scarcely ever exchanged
q word with me, but have learned much
about you. am not mistaken in belev-
ing that you are unmarried"


"No," he said, :" | am not married"


"And your affections are not engaged


You scarcely have the right to ask
me that" said hc


=" Wen, then, T." said She | will not ask
it, but must mako to you my confess
sion. | wish you to marry me. | loved
you from the first moment | saw you. |
said to myself, | will wait for two years
if he then speaks to me | shall know what.
to say. You have not spoken; and now
| speak. l say love you with all my
heart you are necessary for me will you
marry me?"


The Doctor, who although not an old
man, was twice the age of the young la
dy, recovering little from his surprise,
tried to turn the matter off as u joke, but
tho young lady was very serious.


"No," said she, am in very sober
earnest. | know all that you may say or
think as to the indelicacy of my proposal
but cannot help it. | ask you once
more, can you love me and will you mar
ry me ?"


"In sober earnest, them" he replied l
cannot marry YOU"


"Thon | shall die, said she very calm
ly, and she left the room.


The Doctor had heard people say before
this that they should die, and he loft the
house without attaching much importance
to tho prophecy, although wondering
greatly at tho other portion Of the inter-
view.


A few days after this tho young lady
was found dead in her bed. Two letters
lay upon her dressing table. Ono was
addressed to her family solicitor. 1t re-
called TO his mind q promise ho had
made. She had gone to see him and re-
quested him to mako her out paper
transferring the whole of her property to
a person whose ndRa she would not then
give. lie was to prepare the necessary y
paper and send it to her to fill up the
blanks and to sign. She had done this,
and now she enclosed the paper, filed up
and signed. Every penny of her proper
ty was given to the Doctor, and the solic.
itor was instructed to make the transfer
to him, to ask no questions and to take
no receipt. The other letter was to the
Doctor. 81 told you should die" said
she "and when you receive this | shall
b. dead For ten days | have taken no
food and no drink but that does not kill
me, and now have. to take poison. l
have no reproOch to make to you, but |
could not live without your love. When
| am dead look at my heart. You will
see your name there. have two requests
to make of you. Go to my solicitor and
tax what he has for you and then go off
on holiday to Italy for a few months
The other is that you never ask whore l
am buried and never come to my grave"


There was post-mortem examination
made OF the the young lady's body. On
her breast over her heart, deeply imprint
ed in the flesh, were the initials of the
Doctors name. The characters seemed
to have been made there two or three
years before. They were probably i'm
printed by her own hand on the day
when she first saw him.-New York
Grdphic's London Letter.