Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1867-01-17
from the Northern Lights Magasine.l
The Lost Maiden.
A LEGEND Nv Moo York AND CHICAGO,


&C, has taken to novel writing, and the
following from his pen entitled the Lost
Maiden" is as thrilling as the style in
which its is written Is humorous
Twuz midnite in Moo York A wild
storm ragged vilently over that city, witch
frekently occurs in the full Nv the year,
In q neat but unpretendin boardin-house,
in seklooded street, sat, in her room In
the second floor, in the rear Nv the
house, maiden, DER whose head he'd
flowed thirty-three summers. Time he'd
not touched her litely. Her cheeks wuz
sunken, wrinkles yawned hidjusly across
her forehead and lurked maliciously
jist at the corners of her mouth her
hair wuz scanty and thin; the pale red
contrastin onfavorably with the white
skin NV the skelp, witch showd through
pretty generally; her neck wuz like the
swans not much and her arms were
skinny, and her shoulders scraggy. The
only handsome pint about her wuZ her
teeth, and them wuz good. She he'd
good taste in teeth, and bought the best
she could find. They cost her forty-two
dollars and a half; onto witch she he'd,
at different times, expended twelve dol
lars in repairs so they wuz ez good eI
new.
Mabel Montressor wuZ a high minded
seanstress and whoever sed she wuz
handsome lied in his throat like base,
false-hearted traitor ez he wuz, and in
his mouth likewise, that bein where men
oil 10
In her infancy she wuZ said to hev bin
the homliest child in the village in Moo
Gersey into witch she wuz born, and wat
country prodoosis homlier? Exc an
swers. In her girlhood her vital ener-
gies wuz all expended in her hands and
feet, and in womanhood, she he'd CROWD
thinner and thinner, when she he'd ought
to hev crowd thicker and thicker, and
r!ce rersa, witch is Latin for totherwise.
In addishen to these charms, she he'd &C
quired habit Nv squintin, and wuz
afflicted with perpetooal cold.
Mabel wuz SEWN, witch she contin-
yooally did for hvin and ez she piled
the needle, bitter tear, (Which is to say
spose it wuz bitter, coz all the writers
speak Nv EN- ez sich) fell onto the fabric
witch she wuz maxim. Suthin wuz
wreng with her. Some great grif wuz
preyin onto her-some untold woe
some desire onatainable-suthin allied
her. The faster she piled her needle, the
faster the tears few, ez though she wuz
a thin pump. and her right arm the
handle thereof.
At this critikle pint. while her tears
wuZ flowin faster than ever, Their wHz
terrible peal of thunder, and ez she
! started in terror from her seat, she OBJ
| served sitting in front nv her on the
! tother side Nv the table-a man She
would hev shrieked, but terror tied her
| tongue How did he get there No
door he'd opened, and Nv his presence she
wuz unaware until he dawned onto her
| eye-site. Wat wuZ he there for No
human bein wearin pantaloons he'd ever
seugh her presence afore and enable to
solve such staggerer, she sunk back
onto her seat and sobbed vilenter than
ever.
The mysterious introoder wuz pleas
! ant-lookin, middle-ageS gentleman,
dressed scroopulousy in black, with pa
| tent-leather boots and white vest, and a
white hat with Grape onto it, and a gold
| chain hung over his vest, and q cane
witch he carried rather jauntly than
otherwise. His C0untenanCe, to yoose a
mercanteel phrase, wuZ fair to middlin.
1t wuz ondeniably handsum, tho his eye
glittered Crooelly, suthin like frozen
mill pond in winter. Sich eyes by the
way alluz indicate disagreeable death
under EN-, and his lips too thin for gen
ooine good humor, kept q wreathin
| themselves into a smile witch hedn't
nothin in it; SIGH ez rattlesnake might
smile ez he charms bird, or a tiger ia
dulge in when he's satisfied he heZ a sure
thing onto the unsuspectin gentle gazelle
witch is approachin his lair And he'd
Mabel Montressor bin behind him, she
would hev observed that he wuz at
great pains to keep curled up under his
coat a genyoone tail with barb onto
it, and that his boots wuzn't shaped iist
as they ought to be,
| maiden !" sed he, in gentle winnin
voice, at witch word she started, for that
wuz the secret Nv her troubles, maiden,
know what grieves thee"
She spoke not but looked at him
fixedly.
II know wat greet Consoomes thee
and he added to himself, land it haint
got much more to prey on cept hands
and feet" 81 know why thou weep
est"
"Speak on" sed she.
"Thou woodst hev beauty, thou
| woodst be even as other maidens are,
fair to look upon; thou woodst hev thy
hair es black ez the ravens wing, with
out buyin dye. witch thou canst not af-
ford at the present prices Nv maxim
shirts; thou woodst hev a plumy face
and q general plumptitood all over +;
thou woodst hev your feet rsdoost and
the materials wasted In EN- placed where
1t wood show to better advantage; thou
woodst lose them freckles, witch is neither
yooseful nor ornamental thou woedst
hev youth and gay attire to adorn thy
yooth, and gold galore, and silver and
precious stones, ct settry.
"Yoo weep, Mabel, becoz last night at
church 700 saw each maiden hev her es-
cort, and they went orr two and two ez
| the animals entered the'ark, but nary