ined, and then turning to Quimby, asked,

"You remember my speaking about 'C' and wondering whether a gentleman or
lady?"

"Oh, yes!" Quimby remembered, and fidgeted on his chair.

"He proved to be a gentleman."

"Oh, yes; exactly, you know!" responded Quimby, looking anything but
elated.

"It must be very romantic and fascinating to talk with some one so far
away, a mysterious stranger too, that one has never seen," Miss Archer
said, her black eyes sparkling. "I should get up a nice little
sentimental affair immediately, I know I should, there is something so
nice about anything with a mystery to it."

"Yes, telegraphy has its romantic side--it would be dreadfully dull if
it did not," Nattie answered.

"But--now really," said Quimby, who sat on the extreme edge of the
chair, with his feet some two yards apart from each other; "really, you
know, now suppose--just suppose, your mysterious invisible shouldn't
be--just what you think, you know. You see, I remember one or two young
men in telegraph offices, whose collars and cuffs are always soiled, you
know!"

"I have great faith in my 'C,'" laughed Nattie.

"It would be dreadfully unromantic to fall in love with a soiled
invisible, wouldn't it," said Miss Archer, with an expressive shrug of
her shoulders.

Nattie colored a little, and answered hastily:

"Oh! it's only fun, you know;" at which Quimby brightened, and Miss
Archer inquired gayly,

"_Pour passer le temps?_"

Nattie nodded in reply, as she took a message from a lady, who had only
a few words to send, but found it necessary to ask about fifteen
questions, and relate all her recent family history, concluding with the
birth of twins, before being satisfied her message would go all
right,--a proceeding that made Quimby stare, and afforded Miss Archer
much amusement.

"Oh! that is nothing!" Nattie said, in answer to the latter's
significant laugh, when the customer had retired. "Some very ludicrous
incidents occur almost daily, I assure you. Truly, the ignorance of
people in regard to telegraphy is surprising; aggravating too,
sometimes. Just imagine a person thinking a telegraph office is managed
on the same principle as those stores where they at first charge double
the value of the goods, for the sake of giving people the pleasure of
beating them down! It was only yesterday that a woman tried to coax me
to take off ten cents, and then snarled at me because I wouldn't, and
declared she would pa