Clayton herald. (Clayton, Del.) 1867-1870, 1869-04-17

ternoon. ohe was very plump ana ra-
ther small, with blue grey eyes, eye
brows like twin arches of jet, shining
chestnut hair. and a skin like white vel
vet, just finished with the softest pink
on either dimpled cheek. And she had
way of carrying her head piquantly on
one side, and spoke with the slightest
possible of lisps, and always wore rose
in her hair, and was altogether precise
ly the sort of little girl mans fancy
would be apt to conjure up, when he
thought of the gloom of his solitary
home.
Violet Purple was born to be married
you couldn't think of her as an old
maid any more than you could think of
strawberries without cream, or satin
slipper without dainty foot to fit it
and whenever she thought of the proba-
bility of that catastrophe, face like the
moustached physiognomy ofMr. Church
Torrington outlines itself through the
misty vapors of her day dream.
But Mr.. Church was so dreadfully
bashful-he wouldn't propose-and poor
little Violet was nearly at her wits end,
what to do in this dire perplexity. A
girl ofany delicacy can't very well ask
man to have her, and Violet had done
everything elsel She had smiled sweet
ly on him, and given him no end of rose
buds out of her ball bouquet, and had
Philop@ned" with him, and sent him
embroideed cigar cases, and returned a
gentle pressure when he had ventured
to squeeze her hand at parting, and,
what, we ask the reader, could a girl do
more?
And still in spite Of all this, Mr.. Tor
ringtun persisted in keeping his love to
himself. In vain Aunt Sarepta took her
work up stairs, and left the drawing
room free to- twilight and the lovers,-in
vain Violet put ON her prettiest dresses
and curled her hair with a special eye
to Church Torrington's taste. And old
Mr.. Purple--whose name wasn't bad
description of the general hue of his
face, began to wonder " what the deuce
young Torrington meant by coming
here so much and keeping better men
away 2" and limited very broadly at the
propriety of Violet's being more gra-
cious to certain banker, u friend of
his, who was supposed to be specially
attracted BY the blue gray eyes and the.
l1er-archeu o.
And little Violet took to crying of
nights on her lace edged pillows, and
declining a second plate of lobster salad
at dinner; and Aunt Sarepta, tall,
square, maiden lady, who had only re-
Gently come up from the country to take
charge of her brothers household, scarce
knew what to do.
"Violet," quoth the aunty, ''what does
all you?'
"I don't know, aunt r'-( Rather lacka-
daisically.
"How long has Mr.. Torrington been
visiting here?"
al don't know; about three years."
Does he care for you, Violet?"
81 don't know, aunt,"-(blushes red
and rosy.)
Do you care for him?"
81 don't know, aunt = (More OF
"Love's proper hue"
"Then why on earth don't he propose
and have donewith it?'
"I don't know, aunt" This time in 8
sort of OF despairing accent.
Miss Sarepta Purple set herself to un-
tangle this Gordian knot of circumstan'
ces as she would have charged at 1
"snarl," in her skeins of mixed yarn
and when Miss Sarepta set herself
thing, she was generally in the habi
of accomplishing it,"
"I'll go and see him myself" was thu
result of a long day of meditation OF
Miss Sarepta's part; "and 1 won't lie
Violet know about it neither"
Mr. Church Torrington sat in his lea
ther.covered easy chair looking out I
difficult case in Estoppels," when hi
clerk announced "a LADY," and on tur
ming abruptly round, he encountered
the gaze of Miss Sarepta's spectacleC
orbs.
He colored scarlet as he dragged fortl
a chair and stammered out some inco
herent sentence or other-for was sh
not Violet's aunt--the aunt of the fai
damsel whom he worshipped afar OF
and in silencel
J "Thank'ee r. said Miss Purple, depos
} itipg herself by the chair as one nigh
set down a heavy runk,-"rve com
, ON business"
5 Indeed ~
Because" eaid Miss Sarepta, edgini
her chair little nearer that of the youn,
f lawyer, "I think it's high time thi
| business was settledr'
"What business?''
"What business?" echoed Miss Pur
! pie, with belligerent toss of the head
'as if the man didn't know well enough
what was talking about-why, gettini
married to be sure ~
MIR. Torrington grew u shade or tw
D paler. Was it possible that this ancien
: maiden still contemplated the probabili
ty of matrimony? Had she then select
4 ed him for her victim? He looked a
| the back window-it opened on blin
t alley which led nowhere; he glanced a
I the door-but Miss Purple's gaunt form
] efiectually debarred that means c
r egress. No-there was nothing but
a sit still and face the worst that fate ha
in store for him.
e "You see," went on Miss Sarepta, :"
n amt blind if am pettinp on in wears