The Plymouth weekly Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1860-1869, 1869-06-10


| stood to be excellent friends-nothing
! mOreI
Not one of Miss Lucy's devotees ever
thought it worth while to look upon Hen
| ry LaugfOrd with eyes of green indigna-
| ton. He was in no degree rapturOus about
| her; she often snubbed him. An infini-
| tesmal quarrel between them had once
| been detected. Besides, he was not a resi-
| dent only visitor, whose opportunities
were thus limited.
Moreover, it is fact that no two persons
| were more profoundly convinced of their
absolute indifference to one another than
| Miss Brandon and Mr.. Langford them
selves
They had given much private thought
to the subject (there was the danger) and
had satisfied themselves that they were
as everyb ody understood, excellent friends
nothing morel
Nevertheless it happened that Mr. Lang
ford was suddenly overcome by sense of
shame at his want of family feeling in So
long neglecting his Winston relations. So
ne endeavored to repair old errors by fre
quent visits, and established an extensive
acquaintance in the neighborhood. He
grew fond of social gayeties He cutivat-
Ell all Winston. At every important
gathering he was made welcome.
At last the winter came, and everybody
knows how delightful the winter is In a
New England country town, where the
thermometer never by any excess of eX
altatiOn gets more than an occasional de
gree or so above the 0; where frozen noses
.re to be met at every corner, and are
deemed neither uncommon nor unOrna-
mental, while frozen toes are accepted al
most in the light of a luxury; where ice
cream is indssOlubly associated with break
fast, and where for many months life is
but perpetual shiver MIR. Langforti,
anxious TO experience all these JOYS, came
up to Winston In the middle of February
10 remain two days, bringing with him
baggage sufficient for three weeks, to
which term, after much interchange of en-
rreaty and tXpOsfulatiOn, he was induced
o extend his visit.
The first time he met Miss Brandon he
tempted her with the suggestion of a
leigh ride. Said he, "a sleigh ride in
winter is seldom amiss," and was there
upon sharpely criticised for admitting the
possibility of such thing at any other
eason However Miss Brandon consent
ed. She would ride with him the next
afternoon.
In the morning Mr. Henry Lsngford
'gravely inspected the family stable, but
found nothing therein equal to his own
dea of the magnitude of the occasion.
At the public stable he WAS more success
ul AT first he contemplated the luxuri
us magniicepce of a span, but an ire
sistible impulse subsequently induced him
20 settle upon a single courser. zone
horse may be driven with one hand y IL
is difficult to imagine what impelled him
70 seek with such pertinacity as he did
for the narrowest sleigh in the collection.
At four O'clock p. IN the light hearted
young pair dashed away, as full of good
natured glee as the sleigh was full of them
and they fitted very compactly Miss
Brandon, knowing the country more init
rlately than her companion, undertook to
point their way, a manner of proceeding
quite agreeable, in view of the male crea-
lures total ignorance Of Localities. They
glided on, turning hither and thither, un
Til ere org they left the clustering cot
tages of Winston quite distance behind.
For while both chattered and laughed
with a vigOr that put them into precious
glow; but by-and by Mr.. Henry stopped
short, in an unaccountable manner, and
lett Nj Mss Lucy to do the defamation, con-
tenting himself with watching the sparkle
Of her eye, or the pretty curve of her lip,
as she threw out incessant little smart
sprinkles of feminine wit Presently he
observed with wonder a faint suspicion of
a fiutter trembling through him, and at
tributed it to their rapid motion, recollect-
ing similar sensations in earlier youth,
caused by swinging.
He must have expressed something odd
in his countenance, for, of 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 occu-
pied in making muff of HIMSELF that
the notion of excellent friendship" so
far as ne and Lucy Brandon were con-
cerned. 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 cOur-
age and bold step:
Miss Lucy" (rather shakily) care you
comfOrtable?"
"Oh, perfectly"
" N OF cold."
"No, indeed"
Now what he wanted was, that she
should say she was cold; and he con-
sidered himself little ill-used because she
did not But he would not be bereft of
mis- idea Sd gathering reins III one hand,
he cautiously disembarressed the other,
and, sweeping his arm around the back of
the sleigh, caused the vagrant member To
enclrcle the big bundle of butftlO bandages
which confined the gentle form besi.le
him. Not word of remonstrance, but
a silence dangerously Ominous, If he had
known it. IncOherently mumblng
repetition of the inquiry concerning com.
fort 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 hin, and discon-
certed him horribly. But with desperate
lmpudence, he remarked quite caree sly,
and looking earnestly at Il point i'll the
road at distance of "a half a mile aht ad-
Please shut your eyes minute" Down
went the lids
The calm was over. First came a
torrent OF reproaches, very limited as to
duration, but of crushing weight; then an
intrusive little tear, whica had better have
stayed away; then a dead silence Mr.
Henry LangiOrd was sorely afH ctej. "If
she did not want me to kiss her." thought
he "then why did she shut her eyes >"
As he could make nothing of it, he en-
deavOred to effect quiet pacificatiOn, but
all encouraging response was withheld.
Hardly a word was vouchsafed him, and
the few he got were by no means of n
character to fill hum with rapture. In the
midst of his anxious argument, there came
a cry from the side of tue road.