Year: 1877

keenly alive to the painfulness of his
position that she had quite as much the
appearance of being the culprt in the
case as he, tam 1 to believe that yOu
are the writer of those articles in the
Farmer and DdiTynldn-those articles
signed Bee p"


"Yes, Ralph" she answered; and
then, as if to apologize, she continued:
you see, l never should have thought
of doing such a thing, but for looking
over your manuscripts. One day, when
| had one of them before me, it occurred
to me that l could do as well as that, if
| only had a chance, aud l had mind
TO try. So, by snatching a few minutes
at a time-I could think them out about
my work, you ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS could,
| wrote the first. 1t seemed so different
when it came to be written, though,
that 1 hardly had the face to send it to
the paper; and l was almost sure it
would never be printed; but after that
was so well received, l felt encouraged
to keep on. 1t was kind of recreation,
you see."


"But there was no reason why /
should have been kept in the dark about
them," said Ralph, glad that there was
something of which he could complain.
You read all of mine before they were
published, you might have been as open
with me, l think"


Eyes, but you know, Ralph, you ridi-
culed the idea of my being able to write;
and | felt trifie hurt about it, and then
well, | think yOU have not been quite
open with me, Ralph, in all things"


Ralph dropped his head and continued
his walk.


"And those lettersw he said, with an
effort, after waiting in the hope that she
would introduce the subject of them;
for he was determined to have a full
and decisive Overhauling of the whole
matter, and know at once, aud for all,
just in what degree he stood committed
IN her judgment.


"Oh, those letters!" she interrupted,
eagerly; 81 know nothing about them,
[ am glad to say. l had nothing to do
with them save the first short note in
reply to your tirst-Augusta wrote all
the Others"


"Augusta?" he repeated, immensely
relieved, for "conceited prig," "brute,"
ETC., etc, had been ranking in his mind
for sometime. They sounded so like
Augusta; and he did hope Matte did
not think quite so meanly of him as
that.


''Yes," Matte continued, "Gusty
happened to come here the very day /
| y
sideriug very much about it, let her
read it. You see, | intended then to
confess the whole to you in a little
while, and should have done so, but for
her-she said it was too good chance
To teach you a lesson. There was moth


ing so good for a man when he had
started out to make fool of himself as
to help him along with it, till he had
gone far enough and then bring him up
short in it. Those were her words,
Ralph-you know how she is always
rating you for what she calls your self
conceit; and she said she would like to
take some of it out of you. She wanted
me to promise to correspond with you;
and when l told her that | couldn't,
and wouldn't, she said then she would
she lives so convenient to the office of
the paper, you know, that she could ar
range all that with the editor without
dif1iculty-and so, after awhile, l con-
sented, more for the fuR of the thing
than anything else. 1 only stipulated
that she should burn your letters as
soon as she had read them, and never
tell me one word of their contents. You
see" she went on, in answer to Ralph's
look of inquiry, hesitating and looking
down at the same time, "I didn't know
what you might be led on to say-I
knew that your mind wasn't Ralph
wiuced) al didn't know but you might
ne betrayed into saying something that
you would regret sometime, and that ii
would be better for me net to know;
and l knew Gusty, although she pre-
tends to scold you, is wholly devoted to
you, so that anything you might say
would be perfectly safe with her"
but had you no curiosity ?" Ralph
asked.


"Lotsp' Matte replied, laughing.
THAT was why made her promise to
burn the letters and not tell me. | was
afraid that | might sometime coax ii
out of her, in spite of my better judg-
ment."


"And do you actually know nothing
of what those letters contained ?n asked
Ralph, intensely relieved. Hasn't
! Gusty told you anything ?n and he
thought of the many disparaging things
ne had written of this sUaunch, true lit
tie woman and for which he now felt al
. most capable of cutting off the hand
that had done it and spurning it from
him.


/ "OnIy one thing" replied Matte,
smiling, in spite of herself, "and that,
she said, amused her so much that she
: must tell me. She said that yOu said
that it seemed as though you must have
; known her for long Lime-far back in
/ the past or something like that. She
said she could hardly refrain from an
swering that she had very distinct re-
collection of yOU in bibs and species OF
underclOthing which she would not des-
I ignate, whether you really remembered
} her or not"


2 Ralph sat with his head bowed, whist
ling softly and thOughtfully for while,
] his fingers pulling at his beard, and
then he said, with half laugh: "Well,
? every man must be a fool once in his
z life, l suppose. Better now than later,
perhaps"


A And now, if any one supposes that
/ am going on to tell all that was said be-
! tween them in regard to this foolish af-
fair, they are mistaken. / might "point
/ the moral" and enlarge upon the fool
f shness aud sinfulness of prizing only
/ that which is beyond our reach and,
5 probably, above our deserts, while We
overlook, or neglect, or undervalue the
: blessings which surround US in our daily
walk; but shall 10 no such thing, for
D have made my story quite long enough;
a aud shall only add that, from that time
forth, Ralph better appreciated his
bright little wife, and that, like the he
rOes and heroines in the old nursery
!, tales, "they lived happy ever after"
\