A MISTAKEN OFFERING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVI, Issue 10968, 24 January 1899, Page 3

A MISTAKEN OFFERING.

WE have all I 6 up Pos e, n our li ves mado blunders-little blunders, big blunders, and so forth, till one reaCheS the pitch ° irrest Liars from the consequences of one that for the was-I had foolishly Xwed mvs she js an angel-almost. ' ' 15 ~ Tl,« ~°, IIU1 ° lei *. » nd what miles awav To little more, and how dear hey Ire " S".riUw^W4a^rk™™ abhors ignorance. Still, as I wis sav mg, Phylbs isa deal, quite a' dear, and to brink" ift that * Was totter « h° Mink. I believe, as a matter of fact that 1 did propose once or twice; but of oouno know shed say "no." Sho'e so sensible But for one awful, terrible moment at the t me I m going to tell you about, I thou* ? ■JjMw going to forget herself and say af.Srj ii th °. truth > ono is a ]'«!« bit von 1 M r i ßta »r forf - Not wily afraid, to know, but-wolF, I , don ' quite know how to explain it. Everything will seem tc be going swimmingly, and you think you're setting on quite well, and being rather clover, and all that; and then you Took up, and you see a something in her eyes which sobers you down again. She doesn't laugh at you; her mouth never moves, except perhaps at the corners now and again, when it makes a funny little upward curve. It's in her eyes. Somewhere right at the back of them there's a kind of glistening twinkle that' makes you feel that you're a fool. Now Laura is not like that. She is clever, and knows all about books, music, and Ibsen; and she hardly ever smiles. But Miss Strangerford just sits curled up in her chair and chatters about nothing "in particular, and says funny things which mako you laugh, and dresses very smartly, and even sometimes smokes cigarettes; and yot directly one begins to talk about deoper subjects sho stays quite quiet, and keeps that funny look in her eyes, for all the world as if she was laughing at you to horsolf. Of course it can't be because she doesn't understand those things; in fact, I'm beginning to think that she understands more than I gave her credit for.

Last summer, clown on the river, we got on awfully well at first; it was later on that I camo to tho conclusion that it would bo a mistake to carry matters-further; and as sho had just—well, not exactly refused—but put me off for the second time, I thought it boiler to let the matter drop. Then I met Laura. I took her down to dinner at tho Hammonds. She knew Phyllis slightly, and wo began to talk about her, and from that we drifted on to art, pictures, and books, and tho music-halls, and all that sort of thing. ■ Laura adores' music-halls. Sho says that sho thinks tho colour-schemo of a ballot most instructive, and has como to tho conclusion that it is unconsciously based on tho primitive principles of colour-music. Of course, I can't go as far as that, becauso I'm not clever; but I agree with hoi entirely, and am sure's she's right—l like them mysolf. I saw a good deal of nor after that dinner, and last week we practically became engaged. Naturally I wanted to give her some souvenir to commemorate tho day— the ordinary volar ring, but something with a latent meaning in it. Laura is great on latent meanings, so I knew she would appreciate it. On the morning after tho engagement I went to Snmerlou's the jewellers, oH Piccadilly, and explained what I wanted. Dickson, their head man, spotted tho idea at once.

" You want soinothing with a pretty sentiment in something original." I asked him what he would suggest. I couldn't think of anything myself, but ho showed mo a design which ho declared would lie just tho thing. It was a sort of brooch with two hearts, one a ruby and one a diamond. The ruby was supposed to bo mine, because Diokson explained that it signified passionate devotion. The two big stones were bound together by a true lover's knot in diamonds—a copy of an old pattern, ho assured me, and very pretty it looked. 1 told him to finish it up as quickly as possible, and to put an inscription on tho back, with tho dato, and 1 gave him my card to slip into tho box when it was sent home. " What inscription, sir V" ho asked, as I was leaving tho «hop.- , Of course, directly he asked mo that I was stuck. So I just told him to put tho usual sort of thing, and to send to tho young ladv at once, together with my card. _ Two days later, among my mornings letters I received a note from Miss Strangerford asking me to go to ton. I had intended going to see Laura; but on getting a telegram to put mo off, decided to go and seo Phyllis. . I was shown into her boudoir, the room in which she always sal unless her mother had a function in progress, and found her as usual curled up ill armchair, smoking a cigarette. I may be wrong, but 1 can seo no harm in a girl smoking a cigarette provided that she smokes it properly and enjoys it. It struck mo that she was looking extremely pretty. and for one fleeting second I almost unshed -that Laura smoked. Also, if Laura has a fault—which, mind you, I'm not prepared to admit-still, if she lias a fault, it is that she has quaint ideas on the subject of hairdre«in No* Phyllis is always beautifully "coiffe," which shows off the shape of her head and neck to advantage. ~,,,„ For my part I felt a little uncomfortable, but Mi* Phyllis was not in the slightest discomposed, there wns another tan there, and ho glared at mo a little, but 1 treated him with deserved contempt. After about ten minutes of desultory clatter, ho mumbled something about its being late, and took himself (iff. Miss Phyllis watched the door close behind lira and then, suddenly turning to me, she stretched out her hand, and said: "My dear Gerald! How can I thank

} 7 'confess that I was considerably taken " "Did you want to get rid of him T I asked. "I'd have come sooner if Id '"'1 "think; continued Phyllis, without noticing my interruption, " that you are the most generous and forgiving person in tho world. 1 believe 1 blushed. "Really, Phyllis," I protested, lam sure that anything I-" „ ~ ... " It's perfectly sweet of you, said Miss Bt Twas°iid." said I, "that you were offended with me; but you are not, aro you, since you've asked me to come V - (Mended !" said Miss Phyllis. My dear Gerald, whatever made you think that. You're a deer. See, I've got it on. 1 did sec and to my horror I realised tor the first lime that the glistening object which 1 had been admiring so much in lhylis chiffon was the brooch I had ordered for " Thai " I gasped, " is a memento of our —of my engagement !' ~ "Yes," Mid Phyllis, -miling. "I consider myself really engaged now." "You don't, mean to say," I stammered, " that you— do I" she inlor-uptcd. „.. --.„ "Oh but Ido !" she inlorupted. ht'«h really I do !" and her eyes sparkled. Phyllis has very full eyes, though perhaps that remark is beside the point; at any rate, I was hardly in » condition to notice them

then. is a mistako somewhere, o I ex■•There is a mistako somewhere, I explained confusedly "l-that is >"<»-* mean lam engaged." . . , "Naturally," said Miss Phyllis,raising ner eyebrow,. "We arc both engaged-isnt it % C gr'.aucd in spirit. What on earth Somerton's could have teen up to surpassed my comprehension. I know 1 registered a mental vow that I would never pay then bill by way of revenge. , , But," I managed to ejaculate at last, with more force than politeness, n 1 m engaged to someone olso, not to you. _ This speech, blunt and plain enough » >« way, seemed to afford Phyllis infinite amusement. She curled herself up more tightly in her chair, and fairly quivered Will, suppressed understand V I explained. "I'm engaged to Miss Ainesly-Laura A.n«ly and—of course, I'm awfully sorry, but that was sent you by mistake. Phyllis managed to subdue her laughter. " My dear Gerald, please don't look like that," she said, wiping the tears from her eyes with an absurd little pockot handkerchief "You needn't look so woebegone, even if you did think I was going to accept vou. You hopeless person, don tbe alarmed. I promise not to marry you. Can t you see You went into Somerton's and ordered this brooch, and told then to send it direct to tin lady's house. It never seems to have ocourred to you to mention her namo; and as they had made something for me.it your order-m ages past, they naturally concluded that this was i for me too, and sent it on by a Wimf with your card. I knew it. was *&«*»• so I sent my moid down to inquire 1 «»" not difficult to guess the truth. Oh I" said I, lamely, „ " There I here you are, you silly Wjr . she said, holding out the brooch I Hon away to Laura with it, and forgive me for playing a practical joke on you; ( but you did look such a picture of dismay I

. "^ on ' t „J keep it, please ?" said I BtupidUy.'' OUgU t0 m * Penalljr f ° my Phyllis looked at it longingly. "It's awfully good of you, Gerald, and it's very pretty; but I don't know that I ought to. I vo been engaged since Wednesday, you see, to Captain Mahon." . "The very thing I" I cried, turning to the inscription on. the back. " I was engaged on n- day too: M*' here's the date?" Phyllis looked. .. "It does seem to fit in nicely " she said. May I really keep it ?" "Please do," said I, "and if he says anything, toll him it was a premature Christmas ottering. "Gerald," said Phyllis, "you're a dear, stupid old thing; but for goodness sake be more care ul in future !" And she held out Her hand for mo to kiss. I am glad the mistake happened after all for lam very fond of Phyllis. And _V Captain Mahon, or whatever his name is is a very lucky man.-Home Chat.

ON THURSDAY NEXT, "THE COLONEL'S STORY."