The Portland daily press., 1865-12-11
Monday Morning, Dec. II, 1855.
Ef w s
TFron, London Society.l
Green Mantle.
A TALE OF OLD MANcHEsTER.

'.i lle5itiiilfs = q f12 TT Hli.e
There were good many of us at home; no
lack Of mouths to feed, and not much to put
into them; SO when had finished my school
days-an event which occurred tolerably
early-I was packed offto Manchesterto serve
an apprenticeship in Manchester ware
house. VISA asgHE irfI f5f#g-ss
had plenty of work there, and some little
pay, and when my father had found me cheap
lodgings in the house of an elderly couple, and
arranged the payment with them so as to
leave me small sum for pocket-money, he
bade me be good lad and attentive to busi-
ness, and left me to my fate. 4 ila1si-ss
My home was too far distant to admit of my
visiting it oftener than once year, when l
obtained brief holiday for the purpose, and /
was terribly lonely in the busy populous town.
L knew nobody and was shy of making ac-
quaintances; my companions in the ware
house were off-hand, rattling fellows, little
suited to my taste; SO subsided into my
quiet lodgings, read, or rather devoured, all
the books could lay my hands on, and grew
up a solitary in the midst of thousands. One
passion had, and that was to hunt up every
relic of antiquity 1 could possibly travel to;
and there was not an old hall nor an old
church within circuit of twelve miles that l
had not made pilgrimage to. tr7 ii =
The vestiges ofosd Manchester claimed par
ticular attention, and haunted the neighbor-
hood, of the "college" and the "old church."
Il was too shy to think of asking to enter any
of them) until knew every chink and Granny
in their weatherbeaten faces, and came to look
upon them as my most intimate friends
Some of them were public-houses, and ven
tured timidly, and at intervals into these,
calling modestly for glass ofale, and peering
into the odd hooks and corners, ducking un-
der the heavy beams, and trying often vainly
to look through the old green glass which OBJ
scured the long low windows ,sg.i. $50
Long before my apprenticeship had conclud-
ed, found myself permanently installed in
the Office, or comting-room as it was more
grandiloquently called, and that, no doubt,
was the fittest place for me; as years passed
on, became, by translation from stool to
stool, packing clerk, invoice clerk, and book
keeper, obtaining an advance ofwages with
each change of position, until book-keeper,
l was munificently paid at the rate of one
hundred and fifty pounds year, and had
reached the summit of my ambition. lrsa
During my brief visits to the library at the
old college, picked up sort of acquaintance
with one ofits constant frequenters the musti-
est old book-worm in the lot whom found
there when went in and left there when l
came out, and should have believed to live
there but that knew no candles were admit
ted and that at night the books would be use
less to him without them. He was a strange
figure, dressed in suit of rusty black, with a
neckerchief twisted round his throat in sort
of wisp, pair of great google spectacles up
on his nose, and with two, three or four folios
usually ranged round him, one for reading,
the others for comparison or reference. had
the good fortune once to hand him ponder
Gus tome which had slipped from his knees
whilst be was intent upon another placed up
d. on the stand before him land after that time,
fby chance he glanced, which might happen
once in q month perhaps, whilst was in the
reading room, / was sure of kindly nod at
least before he looked down again. b5aa
Once, in difficulty, ventured to refer to
him, and / was no little astonished by the
flood of erudition poured in consequence upon
me- He knew everything that had been writ
ten upon the subject, and gave me the key to
my puzzle Immediately, together with half
hundred references wherewith still further to
elucdate it. Afterwards our relationship be-
came almost that of master and pupil; and
may say that we became in some sort friends,
though our only place of meeting was the
library. iahIGi3t s'aad e
The rule in our office was that every one
employed should be there and at work at nine
o'clock in the morning; and accordingly at
twenty minutes before nine, precisely, pass
ed the church in the old church tower on my
way to it, believe that every clock in the
back street of Strangeways in which lived
was timed by the church clock as passed.
From long habit this comparison had become
anecesity, and the only temptation ever had
to omit it was occasioned by the passing the
same spot, at my precise moment, ola young
lady dressed in a green mantle, whom met
morning after morning, and whose fresh, pleas
ant face got to look for until fancied that
missing it would almost cast gloom upon
the day. 1t was long before did miss it !;
month after month, through the long winter,
wet or dry, hail, rain or snow, at twenty min
utes to nine l met Greenmantle, as called
her in my own thoughts, opposite the old
church tower. Very soon knew her as well
as any old house in the city, or out it, and
could describe every fold in her dress and
every feature in her sweet face, but i had no
one to describe them to at that time, and am
not going to begin now. :. iis.9l esia4
l was a young man of five-and-twenty then,
but as shamefaced as a girl; if fancied that
Greenmantle looked in my direction, / color
ed to the top of my head, believe, and hast
ened onward; if she passed without appear
ing to notice me, was miserable for the day.
Gradually put together little history for
her, but as it was incorrect except in two OF its
more insignificant particulars, it need not be
detailed here. She had usually roll of mu-
sic with her,so knew she was a governess
somewhere, and that was all could make out
with certainty. wanted to know all about
her, who she was, where she lived, what rela-
tives she had, and above all | wanted to know
her. had got to love her be ore had ex-
changed word, or even anod with her. Her
face was the index to all goodness, and felt
that must win her or die. If was as sbv
as girl, / was every bit as romantic, and ac-
tually upset all the neighbors' equanimity by
startit.g from my lodgings ten minutes before
nv accustomed time, and so persuading them
that every clock in the street was ten minutes
behind time. but missed seeing Greenman-
tie. ran back. indeed, just in time to see her
skirt disappear in the distant crowd; but that
did NOT content me, and for weeks became
rue timekeeper again. Then tried being
lot =; left my lodgings at the accustomed
1%, honr indeed: but / lojtered upon the road
nOJ 4, eenmantle passed me almost at my
own street end. fingered and watched, but
She went on until could distinguish her no
Ionrer. Then turned and ran-ran at the
tor Of my speed to the office, which l reached
five minutes after njn0, in time to tnd every
one from the master downward, speculatlng
upon my being seriously rnwell, or possibly
defunct. Thus things went on till midsum-
mer: met Greelmantle without appearing
to recognize her, every morning, and spent
hours every evening in visiting places in
which thought it possible to meet with her
but. except at the precise spot, at twenty min
ntes before zine, never had the luck to find
her.
had even begun TO speculate upon the
possibility of ofobtaining days holiday, in Or
der to discover where she went to, and posi-
bIy even, where she lived. / dwet upon the