Litchfield enquirer., 1869-01-07
D. ooNN..4 - seea

sj EiOrthat brief scene. was the fbeg1nnlne of the end! Philipiwasl evid entlY irked hJ her rephlse of one, he regarded iasi mat tractive and inof fensive 'stran ger. and while heWas too;prond to upbraia his betrothed for her want of civility and common hospf taity, iHuldah. every whit es IS proud in hei quiet way, waited to be acccinised before She entered upon Her defence He visited ire: quently at the house of Miss asRageIs. aunt charge him with neglect of his lbetrothed
 He made no secret of ahis admiration |ifoi the fascinating brnnette.i but itfawas, open and candid, as If he were already a married man. Yet Hatdah felt . change, perceiv- ed by no one else, 4qnl lass it were himself. From the night of the wedding. he studi- ouslyi conformed his demeanor to suit what lad s ssssis example ample ei frigid ipropriety oi behavior; a retinences of prQtestation; of seapt and formal caresses. .., If his ardent temperament had hurried him nto many loving familiarities of speech and conduct which had alarmed her modesty and .offsn- Ided her pride, he would atone for the trans gression by severe oiroumspection in the future So said his conduet.sA In words, heneyer referred. to any fancied cause of displeasnre on his part, or on hers. She might have won him back-she had be- Ffevsd, since their parting, by a. brave show of frankness, Q free confession of her love, her misgiyings, and the wretchedness wrought by his m1sooncepGon of her feel |ings and actions but whenever, she would voice failed. Moreover, she reasoned when not in! his presence and agonized by the sight of his altered hearing-was that love worth the keeping which required to be coaxed or driven back to it's rightfhl place? If Philips affection for her was genuine and stable it would outlive, this chill; arise superior to the temptations of fered by temper and pride h time, his better self and juster, Knowledge of her character would triumph over suspicion and the baleful acts of her evil genius. Un- til that hour came she could only wait and srlffer.@!ai4ti .ss. si.sn 4l,.f*3al1 z, La.
 Meanwhile, the evil genins aforesaid was not idle Ethel Page had made up her mihd-Hulaah heard, in after. daysAto be married that. season.. She had squandered the small property, left her by her father, in extravagant dress and in travelling from one fashionable resort to another; her present. purpose. being enjoyment and the exhibition of her charms to the best mar ketable advantage; her ulterior object, 3 handsome settlement in life.F IT Philip Mar ton was "eligible" and the fact of his { DeA trothal was not feathers weight of dis couragement to I the arrogant beauty. Philip was an honorable man-Huldah still did him the justice to believe. ! He visited Ethel because he liked to be anus ed, and much aas he. loved, his betrothed she failed to amuse him nowadays. In deed, the effect of her companiohship was
 rather depressing than enliyening. ...a He arewfug auDIDus as to- yhlS. ability to render her happy; and some nameless bar rier of ooyness or wounded feeling deter err- ed her from putting forth visible efforts to 4dispel his doubts.. Any other man., simi- larlyi situated, would have pursued I, the course he adopted; when, still hoping that matters would right themselves by and by, he kept his spirits up by putting his cares away ava from his thought, with the help. ef Ethels bright smile and yiyacious talk. In dwelling place, and. he alone knew how darkly shadowed his mind and heart. often
 were when he sought this, distraction for both '' It was q commo1 story, one fearful Fly tritei in the knowledge of us all, tha stalo of silent but hopeless alienation. i. It could have but one ending, but an unforeseen incident hastened the catastrophe.
 IeGaa t9 !iHAI t4l a!a1fi 41AisAb sss. -4isaaS t.. The first of March had come, and! Miss Page yet fingered in sdear, charming Marshield," much to the qualification of her numerous beaux and the, chagrin of the native belles.i | She managed to- create
 what she termed "a healthful circulation '' what the sober-minded of the ,othear. sex stigmatized as s'fern1ent"i throughouta the body social all the while she, stayed. In l the prosecution of this landable object, l she called one day, to invite Hd1dahi to d
 tableau partyito be given thed following week, by a relative with whom. she, was sol burning. She brought roll of engrai
 wings with her that Hnldah might select a .character and costume for herself, an al deaf to her refusal to appear at all among
 the performers, tossed off her. hat and
 shawl, and unrollea: the prints, 'fdssily exl
 plaining and entrastiag;as as, she. displayed
 each at arms length, It was not long bel
 fore she saw that she had succeeded in arf
 resting her companion's attention, but not
 by the pictures of pfherieloquenee. h Among
 the trinkets dangling from her, ;watcht
 chain was one which Huldah was cycling narrowly but furtively.si 4twas larger than
 the others, and aram srkable fora variety ot
 design and elegance of workmanship. aUp+ 1 on tno transverse arms OFu MalLeSo cross formed of braided hair on one side, and solid gold upon tue reyerse.s twas hung
 small chased ring, simple in make but very heavy, in such position that the tccir;oss
 must be broken before it could be taken of. | Huldah hadi reason to know it well, and
 to marvel at this woman's possession of #.
 She had given it to Philip upon his last tbifthday, and the hair was cut from hen
 own head, as was also that woven into. the ] slender chain to which she. had made. the ! cross fast before isuspepding it about his
 necs. <, He had, at her. request, hidden il inside his'vest to avoid comments or que$ .tionings, but he had promised to. wear it @Fnext his heart whifs hs 1ivedMor, he added
 sportively, '.while she permitted suchIs ! graoeleas aianerlt te retain the pledge of hSl q lovv.e:saa ,yFomis41 sia4il.so G1io asIi abias
 .g..You are looking at my new treesqreI'
 said EtheI, abruptly and gayly. 'Isnt I
 pretty and odd2 | won it as philope4. like itEdid you?'' la7 fEss' 7a'ns' a''a
 |6iasl think not, P said Huldah steadily. ss.I
 is, as you say, both odd and prettysas.a Md.
 I examine it?"
 fsfs.C Certainly. s replied Ethel, with iaiacrit, ] ]and.detachedai from her chain to a.drop i
 into Huldah's hand. 5s,.w et5ss 4sasa |