Litchfield enquirer., 1873-12-25

have mercy on his people and purchase q. new one; and planning how the change
 could be brought about. So she hesonpht Carl's assistanee, and with good deal of
 oautio1 and some Iesitati0n they sek to work cbnaa ating kheir plan. But aIasl
 faf Ter hepss Gerald Clinton wlas aiz ther very wi1fu1 or exceedingly obtuse;
 he was Iimpervious to hints, or overtures: and Carl, in . serio-comic air, assured Laura that cit was good punishment for her pridel"
 The day came; and Laura watched Gerald as he was presented to the 'sdis tlnguished speakers" and noted the glances from the ''well-bred," gentlemen as they cautiously scanned him from head
 to foot-saw the slight sarcastic twitch- Ing of the mouth of Hon. MT. Moore; the
 unconscious elevating of the eyebrows
 by Judge La Salle; the reporters ex-
 changed amused looks, and one of them actually struggling his shoulders, as Ger
 aid passed to his seat upon the stand
 among the speakers.
 Judge La Salle's speech was long and prosy. He was followed by Hon. MT.
 Moore, whose varied style was most pleas
 ing and entertaining, abounding in pa-
 ihos, and rich in historic items. He was A1ooC1Ou tO W4oA 11NC1y luI0I0St.
 But strangers became uneasy, and the reporters supplessed 8 desire to yawn,
 put on an air of ''durancevile, ," and push ed aside their notes when MT. Clinton was
 introduced. He stepped forward, and for an instant his magnetic eyes swept over the assembly in searching glance; a charming in it's modulation, thrilled his
 hearers with delight.
 He had conquered, rand, conscipSas of his power, the young orator held his all- dience entranced. Fired with zeal for his subject, his expressive face pave to- ken of the truths he uttered. No word was indistinct, no sentiment 0eutnaYroDos. His rhetoric, irreproachable, acted. upon the listener with alluring witchery. fine reporters resumed their notes, and eager
 iy listened to catch every word falling from his lips. This happy reaction was
 not lost upon the people of Waverly, who
 really appreciated the speakers talents,
 and were proud that he bore off the palm. Next morning the dailies of B. were profuse in their laudations of the s'gifted
 young orator of Waverly," publishing his
 speech entire.
 One day in September, Laura Tracey
 was busy among her flowers, while hel thoughts were intent upon the new joy that filled her heart and beamed from hel
 happy face. For yester-eve she had sal
 with Gerald Clinton, while the stars ap-
 peared one by one, and he had told heI
 how really Ire loved her, and asked her to
 be his wife. And she had told him yes,
 with the soft moonbeams resting on them
 in blessing, and none but God and the
 angels to witness their plighted VOWS. That morning they had received the sanction of her parents; and Carl had claimed a share i'll congratulations, by announcing his engagement with Stella Prince.
 So Laura was thinking of Gerald as she bent over the pansies and only saw his eyes looking at her from their gold and
 purple blossoms Suddenly she turned, and met his real smile of loving admin ton. After few commonplace remarks, he asked: ssDoes it never occur to you, dear Lau. "a, that you waste valuable time over yonl aewsrs2,' --saz.zelzasF .,a-- 1-75s.
 70 Geraldi 1t cannot be that one sc |Tond of poetry and music as you are, can be blind to the beauty in fowers?" an q she passed her plump white hand over the shining pansies caressinglY.
 ''To what would you attribute the blindness, were to tell you I dislike them; that, more than once, when the bou- quets have been placed in the church, ] have been tempted to request that the practice might be discontinued?''
 ''I am afraid would say that you had left uncultivated very essential feature of your nature. Or, better, that an at tribute of your nature had received an
 erroneous training, which, if properly dis. ciplined, would add beauty to your char
 acter and refinement to your tastes" ''On the contrary, Laura, consider il a monopoly of time that chould be spent more proftably. Then the practice oi
 carrying bouquets into churches is an ev. idence of pride, as each church vies with the others, making 1t a rivalry and desire to make Q parade entirely out of place in the house of God. Possibly that much may be true;
 though. if conducted as it should be, that IS, each society acting independently o1 of the other, 1t would have an elevating influence, i'll my opinion. For flowers
 certainly have taught me many 8 lesson of'profit. When child, felt nearer to God and heaven while reading our Say tours words, Behold the lilies of the field, etc., because they taught mo that
 Christ himself was cognizant of their
 beauty, and was not indifferent to their
 influence. And never can believe but that God placed them here ty beautify the world, and contribute to our enjoy ment. AS do not think He designs us to live like automatons, simply to per- form certain amount of labor, regard less of surroundings, but has given us
 flowers with other objects to please the eye and render our earthly sojourn a pleasant one, if we will allow ourselves to enjoy it. Besides, they are fit emblems of life. They spring into existence to bud, blossom, distil for time a fra grance, perhaps, then wither and fall in decay. But germ is there, from which arises new life, new form, typical of the resurrection, think. True. if fol- lowed out to the letter, my figure, you might say, would be imperfect;yet it bears semblance to completion which like to consider in this light And now, Gerald, you will not he vexed with me if tell you believe it to be pride that stimulates you in some extreme ideas and measures which you adopt?"
 "Pride!" and he laughed outright.
 ''You are the first person, Laura, who ey- CT accused me of pride in my compost ton, he sad, good-humoredly; and, pass ing his arm about her, they entered an arbor and sat down. 'sNow explain. fa.
 "Well, to begin, you take pride III con- stitutine yourself different from other people, and relish the idea of astonishing one with your peculiar assertions and sen- timents. You enjoyed my look of sur prise when you told me you dislike flow CTS. because you knew my wonder was born of the idea that, in cherishing such dislike, you dare confront world -conce- ded senhment-that flowers form an es- sential part of nature worthy of admira- tion. h fact, you are inordinately proud of what you fancy yourstronghold against that trait sf t..s- ~as.srE..s. Proceed, he said, as he saw her hesi- tate. as if fearing to give him pain. .'sYou know, darling" drawing her nearer te
 him, 'tthat 1t is our duty, even as it shall
 be pleasure, to understand each othe1
 thoroughly. And I know your heart too
 we'll to fancy yo could wish to wound me. ~ v | e lT