Litchfield enquirer., 1843-01-19


 good deal like what we used to call Prince
 cloth, when was girl, but it's got nor or gloss. But that aint telling my story.' There was hardly young man in thes
 parts that did n't shine up to me at som
 lime or other, aud that your father knows Asklel.s lie was a kind brother then, as h( nas been ever since, and, though say it tt ms face, trs no-dtsgrace, between two suci oto rheumaticS as we are now. He took ar amazing deal of pains to find out all abou the young men that took a shine to me, ane ne came pretty near the mark generally though he wasn't always right, as that ac count in the Philadelfy Post has shown, afte 50 many years.'
 Now if this had been said at almost any other time, father would have gone into al argument with his sister, but he did n't fec
 Ake II now. could see that his eyes glis tened Tn the fire light, as his memory. dwelt on the old times that aunt Sally had been raknS up and now began to put that and that together, and to catch notion of what the horrid accident had to do with the glan. ces between my father and aunt After a minute, she went on:
 Forty years ago this winter--it may be more, for perhaps can't rightly remember, there was great sleighing party contrived oy the young men. It was in that party, !nat nad my first regular invite. I'd been nelore a good many times, to be sure.-- sometimes I'd been taken along as one of me children, and sometimes your father had put me under the buffalo skin in his sleigh, when he kind of wanted to coax some shy glrl to ride out with him, and knew she would mt go, if the ride looked altogether 100 much on purpose. Sometimes too, the girls in the set older me than would agree to ride ont with some spark, and then up and ask me to go too, for spite to their 6eaux. Didn't the fellows use to wish me further! But didn't care for that so that had the ride. This, though, was my first regular sleigh ride, where young man had harnessed up his horse on purpose to treat mo 10 jaunt. and to get chance to throw out hints about how pleasant short jour- ney was together, and how we might like longer one, and all that sort of nonsense, that the young men were just as good at forty years ago, as they are now.'
 can truly and honestly say that never na1 pleasanter frolic in my life. The bells jingled, and tho snow flew, and the laugh rang clear, and Josh Bemis looked as It there never was handsorner man. felt proud of my beau, and as proud of his horse as if it had been my own, and as proud of his driving as if 1 had held the reins, and as cheerful and happy as ever an artless, un- troubled and innocent young girl could on a harmless trolic. To be sure, though my ears were too well covered from the cold to Feel the frost, Josh did make them jingle little. Oh, you may smile, Fanny Arbuckle. but when you are as old aS am, you will own, like me, that there is nothing in after lie ever puts a woman in such happy iutter. as when she hears for the frat AiIne, nat there never was woman yet, who :onld keep it longer than till she met some- body to tell it to. .
 Well, when we got to the stopping place, he older girls who had been courted till the business had lost all it's freshness, and the beaux who had been paying attentions till they did it just as much of course as doc tors horse stops before the house of an ail- ing family, they begun to throw out their jokes and hints and twits. Perhaps they thought it leased us; but know that tho kind of half drended the gauntlet that knew l had to run from my young acqualn- tances, should have been dreadfully dis appointed and provoked if no body had said any thing; and ] guess Josh felt pretty much the same. We had n't been in the house over a minute before one of the girls got the whole story out of my bushes m d corner, and then she turned to the rest, and such tease as they put me into l had forty minds in minute - first that never would speak 10 Josh again - then that l would run right out and walk home alone ten miles through the snow-and then that certainly would pout so at Josh that he ne- yer would trouble me more. Just that ml- mute heard great haw haw haw! in the bar.room, where the fellows had all gone to order in refreshments. Then 1 knew that they were plaguing Josh too, and when he came in with the rest, he was try ing to look as if he had heard nothing in particular, and did nit care for anybody But he could n't help looking as if somebody had caught him, running away with a sheep upon his back--and of course, as all the rest were against us. we were obliged to help each other face them out. We couldn't help it-and on the whole, guess we didn't want to. Seeing Josh and were the young est couple, and rather the most awkward our sleigh was brought to the door last, and when Josh handed me in, he put his face in' to my hood, and-'
 Fanny looked at the speaker at this pas. sage
 buckle. can tell you. Well that ride passed off. nicely. Your father, Zekiel, tried t6 plague me little after we got home. but fixed him out in short order with the kitchen tongues. Iknew just as well as could be that it was match of your fathers coaxine on, and that he was tickleder than !, if tla was possible, for young Joshua Bems. Esq was thought match for any body, if 'an oc vagrant and inebriate, named Bemis.' thai'' what the paper says, did get killed the other day, on a railroad. An well 7 continued aunt Sally. with n sigh. after moment'' pause. We are all born but not buried, a: the saying is.'
 I shal leave you to guess of whom dreamed. Fanny, that night. Time passec