The weekly north Iowa times. [volume] (McGregor, Iowa) 1857-1867, 1859-08-03
McGREGOR IOWA, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST g. 1852

3, 1859.
Not one of Miss Lucy's devotecs eve
thought it worth while to look upon Harr,
Langford with eyes of green indignation
He was in no degree rapturous about her
she often snubbed him. An infinitesima
quarrel between them had once been de
tected. Besides he was not resident, only
. visitor, whose opportunities were thu
limited.
Moreover it is fact that no two person,
were more profoundly convinced Of theil
absolute indifference to one another thar
Miss Brandon and Mr.. Langford them
selves. - sS
They had given much private thought I,
the subject (there was the danger y and hal
satisfied themselves that they were, as every
body understood, excellent friends nothing
more
Nevertheless it happened that Mr.. Lang
ford was suddenly overcome by . sense o
shame at his want of family feeling in 80 Ions
neglecting his- Winston relations. So b,
spSslgassI 4. ioEseeir e!d error BY tsape9
tance in the neighbsrhood. He grew fond
ofsocia1 gayeties. cultivated all Winston
At every important gathering he was made
welcome.
At last the winter came, and every body
knows how delightful the winter is in New
England country town, where the thermom.
eter never by any excess Of exaltation gets
more than an occasional degree or so above
the 0; where frozen noses are to be met
at every cornor, and are deemed neither un
common nor unornamental, while frozen
toes are accepted almost in the light of 9
luxury; where ice-cream is indissolubly
associated with breakfast. and where fol
many months life is but perpetual shiver
Mr.. Langford, anxious to experience all
these joys, came up to Winston in the mid.
die Of February to remain two days, bring.
ing with him baggage sufficient for three
weeks, to which term, after much interchange
OF entreaty and expostulation, he was in.
duced to extend his visit.
The first time he met Miss Brandon, he
tempted her with the suggestion of sleigh
ride. Said he, "A sleigh-ride in winter is
seldom amiss," and was thereupon sharply
criticised for admitting the possibility Of
such a thing at any other season. However,
Miss Brandon consented. She would ride
with him the next afternoon.
In the morning Mr.. Henry Langford
gravely inspected the family stable, but
found nothing therein equal to his own idea
Of the magnitude of the occasion. At the
public stable he was more successful. At
first he contemplated the luxurious magnii-
cence Of span, but an irresistible impulse
subsequently induced him to settle upon a
single courser. Zone horse may be driven
with one hand y It is difficult to imagine
what impelled him to seek with such peril
nacity IS he did for the narrowest sleigh in
the collection.
At four o'clock P. n. the light-hearted
young pair dashed away, as full of good
natured glee as the sleigh was full of them
and they fitted very compacty. Miss
Brandon, knowing the country more init
mately than her companion, undertook to
point out the way, . manner of proceeding
quite agreeable, in view of the male crea-
lures total ignorance of localities. They
glided on, turning hither and thithef, until
ere long they left the clustering cottages Of
Sss1Svs. Ys1ltSs
xh|s ~ shstssEsd! !e sd lsSehsS ysh T,ar
but by-and-by Mr.. Henry stopped short, in
an unaccOuntable manner, and left Miss
Lucy to do the defamation, contenting him.
self with watching the sparkle of her eve,
or the pretty curve of her lip, rs she threw
out incessant little smart sprinkles of femi-
nine wit. Presently he observed with won-
der faint suspicion of flutter trembling
through him, and attributed it to their rapid
early youth, caused by swinging.
He must have expressed something odd
in his countenance, for, Of a sudden, Miss
Lucy cut short her fun, and subsided into
dim oblivious tranquility. Just one min
ute after, It flashed upon Mr. Henry Lang
ford, that he had for the past six months
been steadily and uninterruptedly occupied
in making muf Of himself; that the no.
ton of excellent friendship" so far as he
and Lucy Brandon were concerned was
utterly absurd and degrading to think upon;
that the truth was he loved her dearly, and
that he ought to have known it long ago,
and should, if he had ever before been alone
with her, as he now found himself Having
settled all this to his own satisfaction, he
took courage and bold step
Miss Lucy" (rather shakily) "are you
comfortable ..... -,
"Oh, perfectly"
"Not coldP'
mo, indeed" .-.-
Now what he wanted was that she should
say she was cold, and he considered himself
. little ll-used because she did not. But
he would not be bereft of his idea so gath
ering the reins in one hand, he cautiously
diSembarrassed the other, and, sweeping his
arm around the back of the sleigh, caused
that vagrant member to encircle the big
bundle Of buffalo bandages which confined
the gentle form beside him. Not word OF
remonstrance, but silence dangerously
ominOus, if he had known it. IncOherently
mumbling a-repetition Of the inquiry con-
corning comfort, ETC., he permitted the Arm
to venture upon faint suggestion Of a
squeeze. This time the little face, now
sadly flushed, came round square upon him,
and disconnected him horribly. But with
desperate impudence he remarked quite
carelessly, and looking earnestly at a point
in the road at the distance Of halfa-mile
ahead-"Piease shut your eyes = minute"
Down went the lids.
+ I
The calm was over. First came torrent
Of reproaches, very limited as to duration,
but Of crushing weight; then an intrusive
tear, which had better have stayed away !;
then dead silence. Mr.. Henry Langford
was sorely afflicted. ''If she did not want
him to kiss her." thought he, 'then why did
she shut her eyesy'' AS he could make
nothing Of it, he endeayorcd to effects quiet
pacifcation, but all encouraging response
was Withheld. Hardly word was vouch-
safed him, and the few he got were by no
means of character to fill him with
rapture. In the midst Of his anxious argu-
ment, there came cry from the side of the
road.
Harry pulled up and saw a melancholy
looking woman, not well clad, nor strongly