Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1858-05-21

leased her. In an other minute he hadgone.
And so they parted with wrung hearts, fear
ing, as many young have feared, that the
hour-glass of time, or the scythe of death,
would stand between them in this life.
CHAPTER III.
Stephen Sellon pulled his hat over hscycs,
and bent his steps towards the little inn,
where his worldly goods were packed ready
for transit, in depressed and remorseful
state of mind. He was miserable enough,
and though he bit his lips and clnched his
teeth, it was hard work to keep the tears
from starting. 1t was in vain that he in
wardly exhorted himself not to feel the wiring
ing pain at his heart; that he repeated to
himself, at first mentally and afterwards
aloud for greater effect that hard, wise say
ing of Queen Elizabeth, "Time will comfort
us, and why not do for ourselves Times Of
tice?" Nature, not manhood, was upper
most. His dinner was dispatched, and then
he crossed his legs, and gazed moodily into
the fire. lie folded his arms tightly across
his chest, thinking of her. Then he opened
the window and leaned out, with some ro-
mantle idea that the wind would watt her
breath to him, or that the same moon should
look down on both. He had not naturally
genius for sclf-tormcnt, quite the reverse
but in love a man will do such things. In
his minds eye he beheld her as his wife
and again, he saw her fretted and worn ,strug
Cling for her father with adverse circumstan
ces ,and sinking quietly but surely, while his
boy added his mite of torture, and commence
ed 'Angiol d'amore' a song he had often
heard Margaret sing he turned away as if
'ho baA haa, stu supnnvta1 npfni Fp1-
ness, and he tried to recall her actual words.
No vow had been given, though much had
been implied. SO, being driven from the
window by the organ, he turned and faced
his friend, the fire, watching ring after ring
of the pale blue smoke ascending, until he
fell into a sort of doze, then started up,
looked at his watch, got his luggage together,
and hurried off in time to catch the night
train for town.
lie got into an empty second class carriage,
placed his carpet bag under his head, spread
his plaid on the seat, stretched himself out at
full length, and tired in body and mind, fell
asleep and woke up in London. The sharp
morning air, the murky atmosphere, the
huge pile of houses broke on the eyes as he
yawned and shivered with the uneasy, un-
washed sensation, which nights travelling
generally leaves. There was not more time
than sufficient to swallow a cup of hot cof-
fee, and reach the southeastern terminus for
the down train to Folkstone.
A merry little French peasant woman was
waiting there, with her three children to re-
turn to la belle France. Her colored hand
kerchief, gay earrings, and the foreign ap-
pearance Of the party, had of course secured
her the usuaLamount Of staring with which
Britons always favor strangers. Stephen
handed her into the carriage he intended to
occupy, and then her small, dark, black-eyed
children.
At each station they put their heads out Of
the window, and exclaimed, in high pitched
voices, and the most curious accent. 'How
far is it from London, portair?' Either
their thirst for this knowledge was unsuitable,
or they understood the question and not the
answer, for they repeated the experiment at
every opportunity, to the intense delight Of
the guards, The little vivacious woman chat
ted away to Stephen; she told him all her
history-why she had been to England, how
she had found the people kind, but sad and
not only ignorant, but absolutely unteach-
able, in matters of the cuisine
Three days from that time Stephen was al
Marseilles, and was engaged there at sea
mans wages, to work under the engineer in
the Peninsular and Oriental steamship Ava
| II s,;led and no sned on bis wav. If his hea RI
nas % hoa,u h;s sn;r;t was God: his hol;ef !,
Margaret's faithfulness was very considera
BILE his belief in his own was amazingl,
firm.
1t was, perhaps, dozen years after this
that a lady, warmly clad in silks and furs
walked down the principal street of Vendor
one winters day. She carried a small rol
Of music under her CLOAK, and stopped at on
| OF the large clOlstered houses that ndnked tn