Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1873-10-09
A ROMANCE In A NUTSHELL.
IFrom Cassen's Magazine.

A. BertOn! Who can she be? Sure
ly ought to remember her, since she
seems to recollect me so well; for it is
an awkward thing, this, to get a letter
from lady, written in familiar sort of
way, talking of "old times" and
"years ago." asking my advice, and
wanting me to go and see her, and /
unable to remember.
By the bye, suppose it is a lady.
Let me look again at the letter; yes, it
must be. The handwriting is certainly
not a mans, neither is the composition.
Listen to this for instance CT am
emboldened to write to you on the
strength of old times, and because, if
you are as kind-hearted, generous, and
indulgent as you used to be, you will
readily forgive an old friend, whose
recollections of you are so happy and so
pleasing. Do you remember the time
we spent at that most primitive of all
villages? how you taught me German !?
Young lady, did say? Well, of course,
it must have been young lady. 1
wonder what she was hke--tall or short,
dark or fair What was her name,
too ? She signs herself, ga Berton."
Let me see, what names begin with A
Annie, Arabella, Alice, Avice, Adele
ali, wait-I have some faint notion of
some one, very long ago-twenty years,
and perhaps more, and think she was
called Adelaide Berton; yes, that
sounds like a name have heard before.
But where did see her Primitive
village, sea-shore, and young fellow
of one or two and twenty? Yes-I have
it surely / went to Vignelles once,
when it was nothing but collection of
fishing huts, long before it became a
fashionable watering-place OF course
/ did, and it was there 1 saw Adele Ber-
ton. How could be so stupid as to
forget it? How could forget Adele
Who was she? Why, simply the love-
Hest girl ever saw. / wonder what
she is like now? Describe her to you
tell you all Adopt it !? With pleasure,
as far as can, only let me collect my
thoughts little, and think how it all
came about-it was so long ago. Yes, i
begin to recollect now dare say it will
come back to me as tell you. Shall
begin at the beginning?
1t must have been at least twenty
years ago that received letter from a
friend, asking me to join him in Al
giers, where he had gone for his health,
and giving me such description of the
place as he thought would tickle my
artistic fancy. / did not care much
about going, but / wanted a change
SO wrote and told him that perhaps /
would come and 1 did actually set out,
and got as far as Calais. There 1 ran
against an old acquaintance, who per-
suaded me to remain day or two, and
there, as Calais and Algers were equal
~ Indifferent to me, / came to a halt
at the commencement of my journey.
Eventually might perhaps have gone
ON, if had not taken long walk to a
charming, unsophisticated little village,
called Vignelles, buried In a valley
close to the sea- ashore. Everything was
so picturesque that 1 Immediately .,aid
to myself, "This is thousand times
better than Algiers or Calais, and here
I'll stay"
1 had been walking nearly all day,
and was hot, tired, and dusty, and the
place seemed intensely inviting. As it
was nothing but cluster of fishing-cot-
tages, it seemed to offer but small
chance Of accommodation but luckily ]
did succeed In making arrangements for
bed and board In one of them, and the
next week found me quite settled down
as an amateur fisherman in the most
rustic and patriarchal little spot you
ever saw.
have seldom seen handson az women
than the fish girls of vignelles, with
their broad, full chests and muscular
limbs, bright black eyes and thick, way
ward hair, to say nothing of their rich
brown compilations and glowing cheeks,
that would have shamed many a young
lady whose hands have never touched
anything rougher than silk, and whose
notion of work is crochet or Berlin
wool
1 had spent two or three weeks at
vignelles, and was fast becoming ac-
,ustomed to its rough, almost savage
e, when fortunately made acquaint-
with brother artist, who, though
:, older than myself, was most SYM
&c in taste and feeling, and with