The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1858-01-06

where the sailing party was TO assemble
Several of the picnicers were alread'
there, and they greeted my cavalier cor
daily, Everybody knew Bob Styles ask
ing if he was going with them. etc H,
told them that he was not
Pressing business engagements, yol
know, and all that sort of thing DuceC
sorry | can't go, though ! had Just tim,
to bring Miss Lee over, and now I'm of
Mr.. Brimby this is Miss Lee Miss With
ergaIl, Miss Lee" and he ratified off O
long string of utroduotions, which con
vinced me that but of the company were
acquainted with the Young lady whom
was personating--n very fortunate thing
for the preservation OF my disguise.
Mr.. Brimby, tall, legal-looking man,
with hook nose, and eye-glass and puffy
hair, seemed to become possessed with my
personeille,' and | overheard him whs.
per to Bob Styles, as he went out
Nice looking girl, that Miss Lee"
Yes" answered Bob, with mischiey.
ous glance at me, "she is nice, though o
little go-ahead sometimes. Keep little
lookout on her. will you,' then lowering
his voice. &" not bad match for you, old
fellow; she is rich"
Is she ?" said Mr. Brimby, his inter-
est deepening.
"On my honor" replied Bob. For
ty thousand dollars in her own right.
Day-day," and he was gone.
Maggie Lee-artful creature that she
ho1 2o1l IL Il Al.
party was TO assemble at another hotel
and thither he had taken her. Having
business in D., he left her there,
merely saying that he would send the car
riage for her at eleven o'clock. She, like
dutitul daughter, kissed him, and bid
him good bye, and before he had gone a
hundred rods, took seat in Bob Styles
light wagon which had driven up to the
back door as old Lees carriage drove
away from the front door, and the old
story of headstrong love and prejudiced
age was enacted over again.
As for lis, Of the picnic excursion, we
had delightful sail down to the grove
but somehow, l could not enjoy it as much
as | ought to have done When l walked
on board the boat | felt awkward, as if
everybody was looking at me- | found
MIR. Brimby, as | had suspected, a young
and rising lawyer. mighty ill Blackstone,
in his own opinion. He insisted on pay
ing for my ticket, (the boat was regular
eao~siVn Paohet,J and purchasing eDougn
oranges, pears and candies to set up
street stand Four or five times | was On
the point of swearing at his impudent of
hclousness, but bit my tongue Just in time
to prevent the exposure. But il was not
with him that | found nay role the
hardest to play.
No; the young ladies wers the difficult
ones TO deceive For instance there was
one among them, beautiful girl Of sew
enteen, Just returned from boarding school
who had not seen Maggie Lee for three
years Of course, she was delighted to
see me. when she found out that / was
Maggie, which, by the way, did not oc-
cur until after we started. She threw
herself into my arms, pulled aside my
veil, and kissed me dozen times, in
manner that made my finger ends tingle
tor an hour. 1t was all very nice, but if
had been In propria personae, | should
have liked 1t better, As it was, felt as
II | was obtaining goods under false pre-.
tences, and that lawyer Brimby might is.
sue 4 warrant for my arrest, at any mo.
ment.
whole knot Of crinolines then sur.
sounded me, on the upper deck of the
boat, to the utter exclusion and conse.
quent disgust Of Mr. Brimby and the 9th.
er gentlemen. l kept very quiet, only
speaking monosyllables in a falsetto voice;
but the others, lord bless you how they
gabbled Under strict promise of Sc.
crecy, the little boarding school maiden,
who had kissed me 20 affectionately, re.
vealed all her love affairsand also became
unpleasantly confidential about other mat.
ters, innocent enough in themselves, bat
not customarily talked of between ladies
and gentlemen
was terribly embarrassed but it would
not do to give it up then. As soon as nv
trick should become known, Bob Styles
trick would also come out; and as news
of that kind travels fast in the country,
he and his lady love would be telegraphed
and followed before they could reach Phil
adelphia, where the Styles family lived,
and where the knot was TO be tied.
The river breeze was very fresh where
we sat, and noticed that several of the
ladies were glancing uneasily at me.
could not divine the reason, until Jennie,
my little from boarding-school, laid her
face dangerously close to mine, and whis-
pered,
My dear Maggie, your dress is blow
ing up terribly high; your ankles will be
town talk with all the gentlemen"
Nor was | conscious of having very
small foot for a man, and had donned a
pair of open work stockings which came
nearly up to my waist, with pair of gar
tiers from a servant girl, in al of which
tolgery my running gear looked qyite re-
spectacle; but the idea of the gentlemen
talking about my ankles, and of being
cautioned thus by young girl who
would have been frightened to death if /
had told her the same thing yesterday,
was too much for me. / burst into sort
OF strangulated laugh, which / could only.
choke by swallowing half of my little hi.
agree lace edged handkerchief. The Young
Id al L.