Year: 1872

y


"Certainly not. | never, to my know
ledge saw you before this instant"


"And yet remember you very well
indeed. Try again"


| tried, but could not discover the
faintcst resemblance in the features before
me to any one had ever seen or known"


81 am Harry -, your precocious
pupil, as you used to term me-"


After heartily shaking hands, askel
him if he was still lawyers clerk.


"sir," he replied, laughing, "do you
know what you are saying? And are
you aware to whom your are speaking ?
The mayor Of this most ancient and loyal
city IA lawyers clerk, I'm surprised
at you the ideas simply absurd 7"


Aud again we cordially shook hands.


"But whatever can his worship the
mayer of this most ancient and loyal city
want in this dirty local:ty?"


"To tell you the truth, his worship
the mayor is one Of few misguided and
perverse persons who do not willfully aud
easily forget old friends. Am l not stu
pid, and foolish, and ignorant to confess
so much ? | have just been to see an old
man who was kind to me when boy


Quite right, Harry, quite right


"And, you'll scarcely believe it, but |
am trying to make converts to this novel
vulgar, and detestable doctrine. Respect
ability shudders at the questionable fail
ings of his worship the mayor But
never mind, never mind, Harry can stand
it, if 'his worship the mayor cannot


But Harry -"


"But me no butts but come along with
me and sec the place where the mayor
dwelleth."


With that he took my arm, and half
an hours walk brought us to the suburbs,
where stood one of the pleasantest villas
possible to imagine.


"Come ill., come in," exclaimed Harry,
"the mayoress would never forgive me, if
l were to allow you to escape from US.
She knows you well by report. for she is
constantly saying that had it not been for
you and hcr.-for you anil her, mind
should never have been mayor of this
most ancient and loyal city. And what
she says is true"


Although | had dined hours before,
could not resist the temptation of spond-
ing an hour or two with my friends for
who could tell if ever we should meet OH
this side the grave?


Dinner dispatched, | was entertained
with the personal history of"his worship"
during the interval which had elapsed
since my former acquaintance with him.
give the narration as nearly as possible
in his own words.


"When you left our most ancient and
loyal city was one Of the clerks in the
Office of your friend and mine, Lawyer
Smith. The old man was childess, as
you know, and as he got older he seemed
to bestow upon me all the affectionate of
a father, and by y-and-by had me articled
to himself without premium or fee, even
paying for the stamp. Shortly after |
passed my final examination and had been
admitted, the good old man died, leaving
an immense fortune to his niece, whom he
named sole executrix As knew more
about the estate than anybody else. the
legatee and exccutrix at length began To-
fancy was a portion of the property
bequeathed to her by her uncle, so | al
lowed her to have her own way. for once,
and we become man and wife and the
result is that, a second time, | am chief
magistrate of this most ancient and loyal
city"


"Small beginnings make great end
ings," says the proverb. In the expert
ence the maxim has been verified in a
number of instances, although not always
to such an extent as in the present case,
where the mayor Of an important "most
ancient and loyal" city was, in his early
years, in a free night-school, merely a
precocious pupil.


JAMES PIrTs.