. . . , - - -,. '. 4’. ' L ‘ L... ' . \. * ' VTHE’EVENING GAZETTE " ' ,'-. DRIFTING. They were as suitable a pair as ever were married. They were both young; they were both good-looking, they were. neither of them too rich nor too poor for worldly considerations to be a bar between them, and by uniting their properties, which were only divided by a fence, they would both be as well off as either desired. They had known- one another, boy and girl, all their lives, had played in one another’s nur- , series, had hunted over the same coun- " try, danced in» the same ballrooms,‘sat in the same corners, and had been so mutually interested as to be quite frank, without ever‘ being sufficiently familiar to breed 4 contempt. They might have gone on in this way to the ends of their lives if people had not in- terested themselves in their welfare. It was done in this way. Their mutual uncle and aunt had met, and Mrs. Cross- lands had said: ' “It’s a pity Frank and May dun’t make a match of it.” To this old Martin Kirwin had re- plied: ‘ ‘ “It is, indeed.” “Do you think there is any under‘ standing between them?” “They seem to understand one an- other ’very well 2 ” “Do you think Frank's affection-s are placed elsewhere?” “I never heard of such a thing. How about May?” . “She is, I am convinced, heart-free! - Did it ever dawn upon you that they were in love with one another?” “It certainly has.” “I have thought the same thing fre— quently, and now that you say so, I am convinced that it must be so; but having known one another so long it has never occurred to either that their love is reciprocated', and each fears to lose a friendship by making any ad— vance.” “I think, Mrs. Crosslands, there. is a good deal of sense in what you say. I will pump Frank!" “And I will question May.” “And then we can compare notes.” “Certainly—but I am sure there is only one way to arrive at the truth!” “And that. is——-” “For you to assure Frank that May is in love with him, and formeto pro- test to May that Frank is eating his heart for her.” “A very good idea.” That is how Frank and May came to be engaged. They each declined to believe the story told to them,.and, by the way of disproving it, agreed to put it to the test. It was a curious comedy. May treated Frank more coldly the warmer he pursued her, and Frank, thinking he was safe, finally proposed to her, and she, for pure pity for him. and because she was such friends with him, and. also because she was inex- perienced and half thought it would be fun to be engaged, accepted him, and they both played their parts in the second act of the comedy to perfeo~ tion. The colder Frank felt, the more attentive he forced himself to be, and May, pitying the good fellow she knew him to he, did all she could to make him happy, until the inevitablequarrel, as she thought, would come about and re‘ lease her. But, not being lovers, they did not quarrel, and so both drifted into what each dared not, for very shame's sake. withdraw from. The announce- ment of the engagement.broughtheaps of congratulations to both, and every wedding present that arrived seemed like a new black seal on the band that bound them together. Frank could not face being called a “cad,” and May had not the courage. to treat anyone badly. There were only two people who knew the truth. One was Jack McCregor and the other was Bessie: Harcourt, but as neither of these two knew of the other’s existence, Frank and May became Mr. and Mrs. Tre- mayne, and drove away amid a shower of rice and slippers to spend their; honeymoon at Harlesden lodge, near; I’angbourne, on the banks of the river ' Thames. _ It had been a beautiful day—as fair :1 day as ever smiled on a bride— and "the evening was delightful. Their luggage had been taken upstairs, and they had managed to get rid of all traces of the ceremony. Indeed, as Frank said, no- body would ever suspect them" of only ' just being married. They dreaded the presence of the servants, and according- ly, agreed that it would be pleasanter to go in search of some inn where they could dine comfortably without being . stared at. — It sounded frightfully un- . , conventional, and May wasalittle afraid it would not. be quite right, but they had been accustomed to indulging in harmless jokes together, and so it was - arranged. Frank told the staid butler that he and Mrs. Tremayne were going out and that they would let themselves ' in and no one was to wait up. May came down in a blue serge, and a de— . , liciously fresh blouse and straw hat, ' and Frank was soon punting her up the - river. They found an old-fashioned inn, and the dinner he ordered was ex- cellent. The consciousness of their newly acquired state made them afraid of attracting attention, so they dined “Let us stay here awhile and listen to the nightingale.” Frank, who, though he didrnot love May, was not in- different to the presence of a. pretty girl, pulled on his coat and lay down on the cushions beside her. Neither spoke. They were not thinking of one another. Each tool: a different personality in the other’s mind, and when their thoughts strayed to more lawful paths they both dreamt the other’s silence was due to reverence and adoration, and each was sorry for the other’s infatuation. It “as Frank who spoke first. “May,” he said in his kind, gentle u ay, “what are you thinking of?” “Of the beauty- of the night. Is it not ideal?” - “It is, indeed—~an ideal night for.—” “For a woman to be with the man she loves!” “And for the man to be with the girl he adores.” “May,” he said, “when did you first come to love me ?" “When did I first come to love you, Frank ‘3” May repeated, slowly, to gain time in which to think of an answer, “when—when—well, after I heard you were in love with me.” She felt it was not avery satisfactory answer, and so she hurriedly went on: “You know the song says: ‘I love be- cause my love loves me.’ ” “And from whom,” said Frank, rather surprised, “did you hear I loved you?” “From my aunt.” “I wonder who told her?” he said, refiectively. “I know. It was your uncle.” “Indeed!” cried Frank. “Yes! But tell me when (lid you come to really love me well enough to ask me to be your wife ?” “When I heard you were really in love with me.” “And who told you that?” “My uncle!" “Your uncle! Do you mean Martin Kirwin ?” “I do.” “Did you ever hear how he found out?” “Of course, your aunt, Mrs. Cross- lands, told it to him as a. fact.” “My aunt! This sounds like aterriblc conspiracy,” cried May, sitting bold up- right. “It does.” . “Frank, you don’t love me, and you have been fooled into marrying me.” “What nonsense, my dear May, you are talking.” But Frank’s voice was evasive, though his words were kind. “I am not talking nonsense, Frank. I see it all. You married me because you were told I loved you!” exclaimed May, rather hysterically. "That is why you married me, her bridegroom’s answer. “Frank, you and I have been great chums for years, more like. more friends than anything else, and pals don’t tell lies to one another. Will you give me a plain answer to a_ simple question?” “I have never told you a lie yet!” “Did you ever love any other wom— an ‘3” “I did.” “Ah! Did she refuse you?” “No. I never gave her the chance,” said the young man, bitterly. “Will you tell me her name?” mur~ murcd May. “My dear May, men, even men who have pals, and gentlemen, do not men- tion ladies’ names in connection with flirtations. I might as well ask you if 93 \V [1-3 you ever loved any other man, and ex- - pcct you to tell me his name.” “I will be quite honest with you, Frank. I did. love another man, and I think you should know his name, under the circumstances—but that is, provid- ed you tcll me the name of the girl with whom you were in love.” Frank 'hesitated an instant. He was ' a little slow in gasping the situation, , but he was curious, and he thought if ‘ he refused it would impress his wife- with the truth of the fact that he still . i loved another woman. He hit upon ai wise compromise, however, and said: “My dear May, I think it will be wiser, ' easier for us both if no names are men— , tioned on either side.” May assented, but her sensibilities were touched, and she sobbed a littleg as she cried: “My poor boy, we have 1 both been fooled, but what is to be done? What is to be done?” “May, this is a very bad business, but what is done cannot be undone,” said". Frank, with martial seriousness. “All the law of England could not free us now without a terrible scandal, which would not only make us more miser— able than we are, but would ruin the lives of two people whom we love, alas! better than each other. I do not in- tend to make a blackguard of myself, and I do not intend that you shall bring disgrace upon yourself.” 3 “Can nothing he done?” ' “Yes. We have always been very good pal-s. We are both in an awful mess. We must face it together. We must go back now—and in the future we must be, like pals, friendly one with another.” The month of honeymoon was draw- ing to an end. May and Frank had led, as far as the world knew, the life of ideal lovers. They had spent their! time in playing lawn tennis or in boat- 'WHY .LATIN_ IS USED. Good Reasons for a. Doctor’s Writing a Prescription in a Dead Language. “Why doesn’t the doctor write his prescription in English instead of Latin?” asked a man of a druggist, whose reply the New York Herald pub- lishes: In the first place, Latin is a more ex- act and concise language than English, and being a dead language, does not change, as all living languages do. Then, again, since a very large part of all drugs in use are botanical, they have in the pharmacopoeia the same names that they have in botany—the scientific names. Two-thirds of such drugs haven’t any English names, and so couldn’t be written in English. But suppose doctors did write a pre- scription-in English for an uneducated patient. The patient reads it, thinks he remembers it, and so tries to get it filled from memory the second time. Suppose, for instance, it called for iodide of potassium, and he got it con- fused with cyanide of potassium. He could safely take ten grains of the first, but one grain of the second would kill him. That’s an extreme case, but it will serve for an illustration. Don’t you see how the Latin is a. protection and a safeguard to the patient? Prescrip- tions in Latin he can’t read, and con- sequently does not try to remember. Now for a. final reason. Latin is a language that is used by scientific men the world over, and no other language is. You can- get a. Latin prescription filled in any country on the face of the earth where there is a drug store. “7e had a prescription here the other day which we had put up originally, and which had since been stamped by druggists in London, Paris, Berlin. Con- stantinople, Cairo and Calcutta. What. good would an English prescription be in St. Petersburg? » PRACTICAL. Value of a Good Eur for Music Apart from Music. It is probable that a good ear for music has some value apart from music, but it- is not great. In the management of, rapidly moving machinery a. mu- sical car, which quickly detects varia- tion of pitch, and, therefore, of speed— for the pitch of the. sound depends 0n the speed—is of considerable use. A farmer with a good ear can detect at once if the thrashing-machine is im- properly “fed,” for its speed increases and the sound it emits is of higher pitch when an insufficient amount of corn is supplied, and in the same way the electrician can tell if an electric motor is running at its due speed. With a musical ear the physician more read- ily interprets the sounds elicited by percussing the chest, and the potter more easily separates the sound from the unsound. It is a moot point whether the musical are naturally the better readers and speakers, but there is no doubt that they improve more quickly when taught elocution, for they can appreciate the pitch of their own voices and so correct their errors. A good car includes an acute appre- ciation of time or rhythm, and this is of use to, for example, the stroke of a beat or a drill-sergeant. A DEEP SILENCE FELL. The Figures Seemed to Warrant a Thea- ter-Goor’s Demand. “I beg your pardon,” said the man with the slightly bald head, who sat in a parquet seat near one of the boxes in a downtowu theater the other even- “but would you mind looking at the figures on this check and telling me . what they are? I‘m a little near- sighted.” . The youngest member of the noisy box party, an amiable-looking youth with highly plastered hair, suspended his conversation, says the Chicago Trib— une, with the interesting blonde in the green dress a moment, leaned over the front of the box, and, in answer to the questioner, who had risen to his feet and was smilingly holding out for his inspection the check end of a ticket, he said: “Certainly, sir. $1.50.” “Well,” rejoined the questioner, “that’s exactly what I paid to hear this play to-night, and I'm going to get the worth of my money or I’ll lift my voice right now and raise a fuss and make a scene! You‘ll oblige me by tell- ing the rest of them.” He was not disturbed again during the evening. * The figures. are Cook Rides a Bike. A lady living in the upper part of New York wanted a cook who would go home at night, and put an advertise- ment in the paper setting forth her needs. Among the applicants was a negro woman of huge proportions. The lady looked at the negress and thought of her little kitchen. She did not want l to state the real reason, for fear of giv- ing oirense, so she said: “I’m afraid that you would not get here in time in the morning you live so far down- town.” “Don’t you fear about that, honey,” said the. negress; “it won’t take ! me no time to come up on my bike." *THE' ”.MUTUAL'. L lNSURANCE C . , , RICHARD A. McCURDY President. ' alemen Assets. Liabilities Surplus Total Income OF NEW YORK. 39,, Q’ B Yea _ ingllecillfllfi. ' Total Paid Policyvholders in .1895. . Insurance and Annuities in forCe. Net gain in 1895 $221,213,721 33 194,347,157 58 $26,866,563 75 $48,597,430 51 $23,126,728 45 $699,074,453 78 - $61,647,645 36 NOTE—Insurance merely writ/en, Is dlscarded from this Statement as wholl mls ' V actually iSSUed and paid for in cash ls Included. v leading, and only Insurance I have carefully examiner] the foregoing Statement and find the same to be correct. CHARLES A. PRELLER, Auditor. From the Surplus- a dividend will be apportioned as usual. 4"- cub. - Repel; 6f the, Examining Committee. * ing. “I beg your pardon,” he repeated, , fillies u the Mutual Life Insurance tompaiy of New l’srx, February 11, 1896. At a meeting of the Board of Trustees of this Company, held on the 18th day of December last, the undersigned were appointed a Committee to examine the annual Statement for the year ending‘ December 31st, 1895, and to verify the same by com- parison with the assets of the Company. C The Committee have carefully performed the duty' assigned to them, and hereby certify that the Statement is in all particulars correct and that the assets specified therein are in possession of the Company. In making this certificate the Committee bear testimonv to the high character of the investments (f the Company and express their approval of the system, order and general transacted. a H. C. Von Post, Charles R. Henderson, James C. Holden, accuracy with which the accounts, and vouchers have been kept, and the business in Robert Clyphant, Wm. P. Dixon, J. H. Herrick. Committee ROBERT A. GRANNIS, Vice-President. WALTER R. GILLETTE, General Manager. ISAAC F. LLOYD, Second Vice-President, WILLIAM J. EASTON, Secretary. HENRY E. DUNCAN. Jr., (£01. Secy. * ALBERT KLAMBOI‘H, A53. Secy. i FREDERIC CROMWELL, Treasurer. lOHN A. F ON DA, Assistant Treasurer. WILLIAM P. SANDS, Cashier JAMES TIMPSCJ, 2d Asst. Treas EDWARD P. HOLDEN, Asst. Cashier. EMORY MuCLINTOCK LL.D., F. '1. A., Actuary. JOHN TATLOCK, .13., Asst. Actuary. 3; CHARLES A. PRELLER, Auditor, WM. W. RICHARDS, Comptroller. HENRY s. BROWN, Asst. Comp. JOHN C. ELLIOTT, Superintendent of Domeétic Agencies, EDWARD LYMAN SHORT, Gen. Solicitor. ‘ th : - - . . . 111 e (Offee room and almost forgot mg on the river while the fine weather 1 The lady regrets now that she did not they were husband and wife in the , . amusement they derived from the nov- l‘l'Sted' It “ as only when they had i ask this wheelwoman whether she wore bloomers or knickerbockers. elty of the situation and the innocent MEDICAL DIRECTORS ELIAS J. MARSH, M. D. GRANVILLE M. WHITE, M. D. been confined to the house for some WINSTON. M. D. jokes they made about the other guests. They had coffee in the garden, where they sat till Frank, who was always at- tentive, where women were concerned, suggested that it was getting chilly and they should be starting for home. When . they got on the water the Wind'fell, and the clear, round summer moon lit up the blue night and the dark river, and threw the shadows of the trees over them. It was an ideal scene for two lovers. The water lapped against the side of the punt, the old weir rumbled softly in the distance, and the corn - crake in the meadows sprung his rattle, ' while their own voices awoke the birds in the branches. Presently May said: “Stop a moment; I hear anightingale ! ” ' Frank drew in the pole and let the "punt drift. days that time began to fall heavily on 1 their hands, and they longed for the society of anybody else in the world but one another. It 'thus came about that one day when sitting in the morning room Frank said: “I think, May, you might write and, ask Jack McGregor to come down and ' spend a few days.” May looked up from her fancy work. “Certainly, if you wish it; but, as I shall have to ask somebody to meet I him, you might divide the labor, as you E have nothing to do, by writing to himl yourself.” . “Very well. 'Whom do you think of asking?” ' * "‘Miss Harcourt, if you approve. She’s always so jolly and bright.”—Pick-Me- Up. Call It Quits. Among the advertisements inra Ger- man paper there lately appeared the following: “The gentleman who found a purse with money in the Blumen- strasse is requested to forward it to the address of the loser, as he was rec- ognized.” A few- days afterward the reply was inserted: “The recognized gentleman who picked up a. purse in the Blumenstrasse requests the loser to call at his house.” SlmplyJT‘ollow Custom. Farmers in Mexico use oxen one color in the morning and of another colonin the afternoon. They have no reason for doing so beyond the fact that their forefathers did. it, and they con- clude it must be the right thing to do. Jenn vv Montana, New Haven, General Agt. for State of Connecticut . CANIEo Local Agent.
Norwalk Chronicler