1895-]
again by the discovery of his correctness, in some point or other,
that could scarcely have been known to any but an eyesight ob
server. And yet would a man of high rank live, unattended, in
a paltry little country hotel, too, of a watering place, a public
resort ?
After spending a week or two in daily listening to such anec
dotes as those that have been spoken of, my desire, and I be
lieve it was participated in by all the rest, to know who “ Mr. P.”
really was, knew no bounds. From his stories one would have
imagined him to be a lawyer, a railway official, a physician, or at
least a daily associate of one of these professions. Sometimes I
imagined that he might be a politician, a State Senator perhaps,
but seeing that half-a-dozen at least in the Senate bore the same
initials I was as much at loss as ever.
The appointed term, of my stay in the little watering-place
approached, and I was wretched. Had it not been for the medic
inal waters, which I drank every morning, I probably would have
fallen into a “curious” consumption. The man with the
whiskers—he of the initials J. P. —had made me miserable. He
was as courteous, as much respected and anecdotical as ever.
One day, however, while six or seven of us were sifting at the
table, and just as I was thinking of announcing my departure on
an early day, one of the party, who had taken up a newspaper
from a neighboring city, remarked that visitors had at last begun
to return from the country to the city, and read a long list of
arrivals, including Senator Evartson, wife, and daughter, at the
American Hotel, in that city.
For the first time, as this list was read, I saw emotion depicted
on the usually unperturbed countenance of the mysterious “ P. ”;
that countenance I had so long watched with interest. “Poor
J. P. has an attachment to Miss Evartson, it is clear,” was my
cogitation; and it was confirmed by his announcement, shortly
after, to return to the city by the next day’s coach. More deeply
interested in my friend of the initials than'ever, I quickly formed
and made known my resolve to depart by the same conveyance.
After I had taken my seat, at an early hour the next morning,
on the top of the coach “J. P.” made his appearance, but to my
surprise his cheeks were as bare as my hand, His whiskers were
completely gone. As I was wondering over the cause of this he
jumped up beside me on the coach, the driver snapped the whip
at his horses and we were off for the city. With the impression
The Mysterious Stranger.