Vermont daily transcript. [volume] (St. Albans, Vt.) 1868-1870, 1869-01-16
None But Ourselves. !"
A STORY FOUNDED ON FACT.

l was born on the Green Mountains 0 f
New England. 1 was graduated at
Yale College. l was tutor there for
thres years after my graduation. From
thence l went to Cambridge to study
law. During the last months of my
study l boarded mile or so out of town,
with a very pleasant landlady. who had
four boarders, besides myself and my
chum, Frank Forester, three young
ladies who attended private school at
Cambridge.
l was very pleasantly situated there
three months. l should have been in
Paradise bad | been, like the other men
able to enjoy to the depths of my nature
charmed by their sunny smiles, been
enabled to do and appear my best. But
this | could not do | was the farthest
from being "ladies man." My natur-
al diffideIce amounted almost to a
curse. My mother was the only wo-
man l had ever known, and as her
nature Was like my own, shy and reserv-
ed, we had never dawn near together
had no sisters; had beer brought up
with the boys, had been to school with
boys, and Taught boys; and with them
under all circumstances ! was at ease.
First In rank at school or college, con-
seriousness OF my own powers sustained
me in the company CT men, so that in
spite of natural reserve and diffidence l
got on well enough, and almost always
made friends. But with woman it was
different.
Few men so truly admire, and from
the depth of the heart respect woman,
as l did and there are few-I doubt if
there was another One-sO little able to
make such admiration and respect mani
fest. My natural d ltlidencc in the pre-
sence of even one woman turned to
fear in the presence of two or three,
absol ,te terror. At such time / forgot
my own merits, past triumphs or future
prospects. | remembered only deIec, 9 /;
that / was tall, and smooth faced, and
shy-yes, awkward l then thought to
the last degree-and this thinking of
course on increased the trouble. So
the past summer, which would have
been SO pleasant in the opportunity af-
| fOrded, was to me one of almost tor
ture.
How l envied Frank Forester, his
easy, graceful ways. He hadn't any
brains to spare, but the girls all liked
him. l ne err heard of him but once
after we left the law-school, and then /
heard he married rich wife, and all his
struggle was over. But for myself, the
more l strove to create good impress
sion the more l failed. l acted steadi-
ly and constantly. day after day my
best and at the end of the term was as
diflident and i'll at ease as at the Begin
ming. In their presence never could
do or say anything l wished. Usually,
so great was my terror that l could say
nothing at all; and no mortal can tell
what 1 suffered, day by day, when in
their society, and l could not talk and
tn ~ would not.
| Wei, the term was oyer. | was soon
to commence in distant city-Frank
likewise was to return to his home. Cur
trunks We're packed and ready for { III
departure. But be fore We made the a
nal start, we decided to treat ourselves
to one last week together at the S, A-siue,
and COhasset was to be the place. We
put what things would make us comfort
able Tor weeks time in our travelling
bags, and at dinner babe the family
girls and all good bye. We still reserved
our room, in which we left our trunks,
thinking that it might be convenient ,Or
us to stop day or two on our return.
Upon reaching the city, Frank and l
separated, each to attend to little mat
ters of business agreeing to meet ut the
depot i'm time for the last train.
Everything went wrong with me that
afterno Don, and ccnspired to hinder me,
and the upshot of it was that l reached
the station just five minutes after the
cars had started. was vexed and dis