Litchfield enquirer., 1869-12-30

calm and re-assure her when she awoke te
 ind herself so strangely lodged and cloth.
 ed, but she needed no more calming than
 . child too young to know it's motheraftom 1 any other woman. She looked around with
 . wondering gaze that was almost infau.
 tile. and her eye resting upon Astley, she
 sat up in bed and asked him in his own
 language for food. It was evident thai
 she had no recollection of illness and nei
 ther anxiety nor curiosity as to her pres
 ent situation. -.
 She ate the food which was brought tc
 her with appetite. and would have risen
 from the bed. apparently unconscious that
 she wore DO garment but shroud, haG
 not Astley persuaded her to lie down and
 sleep. +44 ...e. ~ : He left her sleeping, and went to anoth CT room profoundly puzzled. Here was this beautiful woman, ignorant, and al most helpless as child, thrown upon him
 for protection, as it was clear that she die l not remember anything that would lead te the recovery of her friends. It was possi ble that her senses had left her altogether
 never to return i the lovely creature might be harmless idiot all the rest of her life. Her speaking English was another puzzle. She might be an English woman; her
 beauty was certainly of the Saxon type, ol she might have learned the English Ian.
 guage; .butjf so, how came that knowl. edge to have been retained when all else seemed to have gone? ii''5ai'] t'9@i ''l His pcrplexity was interrupted by the entrance of the cause of it. She stood at the door wrapped round in one of the bed coverings, looking at him with . sweet, childish, vacant expression that was touch. ing in its helplessness. '.Imust call her something, he thought, as she stood ap- parently waiting for him to speak; her name shall be Mary" '6 17 a'' 'l'''7 "Ars you better, Mary, and will you sit in this chair?'' :s~f5,e r'+sT,sca e,,.'er ,g, She paid no attention to his inquiry. but took the profered seat, and began rocking herself to and fro. It had such a .rhostly effect to see her sitting there by the lamp light robed in the long white drapery. with hor haantifn1 face still nala. m ionoer deathly, rocking herself to and fro in si- lence, that sensation very like fear thrill ed through him. He took up book, the first that came to hand; it was an English one, and offering it to, her, asking if she would like to read. v,s '-'-, ., : She took it with childish smile, and laying it open on her knees, began to fut- ter the leaves backward and forward. plav. ing daintily, with them. < m 1~ e @,-.r|s, - .
 Good heayensp' said Astley to himself,
 " she is mad, imbecile, at any rate; must do something with her." sis..' s----ssA-''1s t&
 But it was impossible to think with her before him. and, taking her by the hands, said: ''''. t- 5'''S '
 l' !" Now, Mary. you must go to bed. and tomorrow t5 T. ,r,str l-,r!.- =,
 She did not wait for the end of the sen . tence, but rose at once to go, letting fall the coverlid that had enyeloped her. and walked quietly into the inner, room. 52g I., . Astley fastened the door, and felt as if he were going mad from sheer bewilder. ment. She must have clothes the very first thing, and were these to be obtained
 without taking some one into his conf dence? 8" l-1~o" S'aii-s3 '.ii' -o a'asi45 :. Even if he Knew where to go for them he knew not of what woman's clothes should be. It was evident that some one
 must be told of the extraordinary adven- ture, and it was evident that it must be g woman in whom he confded, as he reuuir- ed practical help of 2 kind no man could give him. .a .9ssi.a 24o. ta-. t..eitio3ll j., The morning dawned before he could arrange any settled plan, and finally he decided that he could not if he would rid
 himself of the charge. of her, therefore she should remaln in his house, and he
 would tell all to the one acting as his l housekeeper, who chanced to be absent al
 the time, but whose return he was expect. 1 ing that very day. He would bind hergto
 secrecy by the most solemn, oath heY could
 devise. and if she failed to keep it, why, at anyrate he was in terrible scrape, and thit
 seemed the best thing to be done. The woman returned early in the day, and Ast.
 ley at once told all, and employed her as
 sistance. To his great relief she agreed
 at once to do all that lay in her po wer fo1
 the unhappy young girl, and a few ar I engagements made, .sAstley left the hoase
 for the day, determined to shake of the
 unpleasant impression which the whole
 thing had made upon him. FLi444
 Returning at night, he found Mary com fortably clothed and looking less pale and l ill. His housekeeper told him that she
 had been dressed like child, having ap parently no idea of assisting herself sat all It would be impossible to describe mi. nutely how intelligence dawned and grew
 swiftly in the poor girls mind. It was
 not 8 gradual growth from infancy, but
 came in fitful snatches. The greatest
 change came first, when her face bright.
 ened from it's sweet, blank vacancy of ex.
 pression at Astley's approach, and then she began to wait upon him like a loving child, and he, with infinite patience, taught her to read and to write, She also learned to sew, and was not unskillful in such womans craft; but what be taught was learned quicker, best. ge.I .gaI 5S-- Two years passed, and Mary had de veloped so rapidly that she was much like other women in knowledge and acquire ments, but she had no memory of any thing before her trance. uAstley told her the whole story, and urged her to- try to recall something of the time befors;s but | it was in vain; her memory was gone. And the present time was so happy that she cared little for the past She was some thing belonging so entirely to him, even her life she owed to his care. and loved him so intensely. there being no one in the world whom she knew orioved beside, that he could not fail to be very happy; and the mystery of the. bond between them enhanced its charm.
 ] 58 E54ssI3sE eyaH ,aoG.1 al.4t 5o assa