Produced by David Widger A TEMPORARY DEAD-LOCK By Thomas A. Janvier Copyright, 1891, by Harper & Brothers I. Mr. John Amesbury, Senior Warden of St. Jude's Church, Minneapolis, to the Rev. Clement Markham: Vestry of St. Jude's, April 4th. Dear Mr. Markham,--At a special meeting of the wardens and vestry of St. Jude's Church held this day, it was unanimously decided to grant your request for leave of absence from your duties as rector of this parish from June 1st till September 13th, inclusive, proximo, with permission to go abroad. I am instructed further to state that the wardens and vestry of St. Jude's have much pleasure in granting your request, as they feel that your zealous and very successful administration of the affairs of the parish has abundantly entitled you to a period of relaxation and rest. Your salary for the term of your absence will be paid to you in advance. In my personal capacity, my dear Markham, permit me to add that I am delighted that you are to have this holiday. You richly deserve it. By-the-way, a good deal of amusement was caused by the rather characteristic error in the date of your formal application for leave. Were you to receive precisely the holiday that you asked for, you would have to turn back the wheels of time, for your letter was dated _last year!_ II. Mrs. Clement Markham to Mrs. Winthrop Tremont, Boston: St. Jude's Rectory, Minneapolis, May 15th. Dear Aunt Lucy,--We are getting on famously with our preparations for the summer. Dear Clement is full of his visit to England, and I am sure that he will have a delightful time. The bishop has given him a letter of introduction to the Bishop of London, and another to Dean Rumford, of Canterbury, so a very desirable introduction to the best clerical society is assured to him. He expects to sail from New York on the _City of Paris_ June 5th, and to sail from London on the same vessel on September 4th. This will bring him back to New York in plenty of time to get home to preach on the next Sunday, the 14th. He expects to write his sermon on the voyage. It would be delightful to go with him, but this is impossible on account of the children. I have engaged board for the summer at a small but very good hotel in the White Mountains--the Outlook House, Littleton, New Hampshire--and I expect to be very comfortable there. I made a funny mistake in writing for my rooms. I directed my first letter to Littleton, New York. Wasn't it absurd? Dear Clement expects to get some vestments in London, where they make them so well, you know, and he has promised to bring me from Paris--where he will spend a fortnight--two dozen pairs of gloves and six pairs of black silk stockings. Fancy my having six pairs of black silk stockings at once! I shall feel like a queen. The children are very well. III. The Rev. Clement Markham to Mrs. Clement Markham, Littleton, New Hampshire: