Litchfield enquirer., 1872-10-24

J dear; only" But here MF. Corporal f1ounced away.
 In time, however the day passed, and the next, and on the fourth the family re- turned to their homes.
 'tAny letters for me, Nan?" said her father.
 'Iots for you, dear papa" said Annie, fetching them; and-and'' growing all in a moment flushed and agitated-'s one for ma.'' Mrs. Corporal read it through with ever increasing gravity.
 'Did you know this was coming, my 1 daughter?" she said, at the end. ''Yes, ma," faltered Miss Annie. "He was coming to you himself; but I felt as l If couldn't bear it, and so told him to write"
 ':A most important letter." said Mrs. l Corporal: Git is but right that you should hear it, father" And ma, adjusting her l spectacles, read as follows:
 ''DEAR MADAM,-Kind and truly like mother as you have always been to me, it is yet almost with trembling that I write 1 to you now. would fain, from coward ] ice, use little circumlocution, but am un- | skilled at 1t and must therefore say at once that I am dovotedly attached to your daughter, and she well, that she has refer | red me to her mother'"
 l ''To her aohots' said Pater, with little jump. -ar.. .. ''TO her mother. 'Dear Mrs. Corporal, you know have no inheritance, but am strong, and very much in earnest, and Annie is willing to l put up with my income, and thinks she knows how to add to 1t. And indeed I love her as I never loved before. [He was then twenty-three. If you think l best, we are prepared to wait Q while, but 1t IS our own conviction that early mar riages are desirable. Dear Mrs. Corporal. believe that next to the necessity of being Annie's husband is the hope of calling myself your son. - "'Yours in great suspense, FREDERICK PONDERIT. 1 "'P. S.-Dear MT. Corporal, I count upon your influence with Annie's moth | er.'"
 "Good Heavens!" exclaimed the head of the family: ''and there are yet two daysr'
 Father" said Anne, piteously, edo plead for me. See how solemn she looks! Do speakl''
 "My child, said the mother, drawing Annie toward her, "are you sure you love this young man we'll enough to live with him, if need be, in poverty?"
 Stop" exploded the father, growing desperate. ''Young woman, do you know that this chick of yours has not cent to rent house 'with?'
 'He has five thousand dollars" said Annie; 1'and you know I have five thou "Five thousand straws! Do you think I will allow"
 "My love-" said Mrs. Corporal, '.you are getting excited: sit down and com pose yourself. Anne, confess that I should greatly prefer the husband of my child to be a little forehanded; but if you truly love him, there is no power in mon- ey, or in the lack of it, that can influence mo to interfere with your choice. All I ask of you is to wait a year. to test the quality of your attachment ''Oh, thanks, mother, thanks r and Annie rushed, sobbing, from the room, shortly followed by her mother.
 tha1', III 1ssdz," muttared tho sIichted ps, p''teHt, Whats dOne in week may ha 1 undone ln year. Tno oa.--r--1:-a anapesi | never was treated so I never treated any one so; wouldn't Good gra- cious!I l did: when I proposed to Elizabeth's father I did it almost in that identical way, and if any one had told me her mother | would be hurt, shouldn't have known | what was meant. We'll, well,' I'll think SO mnch could be said on their side" Half in dread of what the twelve hours might bring forth, and half in joyous an- ticipation of freedom, MT. Corporal began the seventh day of his experiment. ! Through much inconvenience, chagrin, and constant sense of mild suffocation, as of a lobster submerged in lukewarm water. he had faithfully kept the condi- tions of his bargain, and he was rewarded by finding on the dinner-table letter after his own heart-or,to speak with cor rectness, after the heart of his eldest daughter Julia.
 Here's good news for you, mother" :" he announced, with burst of triumph. ''Mr. Alfred Stringer, of the house of Stringer and Stringer, has proposed-tO Dae--for the hand of my daughter Julia My duck, you will be one of the richest women, and belong to one of the best fami- lies, in Philadelphia, and freely give my | consent"
 ''HoldI" cried Mrs. Corporal, rising with stern demeanor. 'tDoes that man have the insolence to propose to my daugh- ter? Alfred Stringer-a man suspected of dishonor in business q man known to be drunk at evening parties, man who has wasted and stalled his nature in the deepest flirtations till he is thirty-five years oid-to dare attempt to gain the fresh heart of my daughteri Tell him, No! and never let me hear his name again "
 ''Elizabeth!' cried the father, aghast, you are beside yourself! You can not mean what you say"
 'T forbid you, husband, I forbid you, children, ever to breathe the name of that man in my house. It is enough; the sub iect is dead" She arose and left the room. ...r5... .- ---,....
 ''There, 'soliloquized Mr. Corporal, ex- ultation mingled with his anger. ''Now that she mag call tyranny, and that is just the thing never would do Why, she gave me no time to speak, or even to think! As if either parent could have a right to give or refuse to give child in marriage without the concurrence of the other! It's monstrous! And yet-and yet I have known good men to do it, and good wo- men to acquiesce in it; and as sure as l live 1t never till this moment struck me as an insuferable assumption. Well, we'll, well. l must overhaul my whole theory, if ever had any, on these subjects. Betty, come here.-Why there go again! Why should call her to Iae?- Elizabeth, my wife," (sitting tenderly down by her side), "can it be possible that have made you suffer all these years the sense of helpless ness and subordination that have endur- ed for week?-I who love you so dearly, who would give my life, or my health, or my peace of mind to save yours?' z
 "My husband, ''said his wife, with shin- ing eyes, have never doubted your love. and have never blamed you for what was amiss in our relations together. ] know how nearly impossible it is for us to act, or even to think, in a direction vary ing from the current of our age. But feel very sure that of late this current is changing, and know that you, with your fgenerous heart and keen sense of justice, will be among the first to take the new di- tion. sx.His.f 5.,.3~esE yt