Litchfield enquirer., 1874-06-04

out at you from grave blue eyes, in which, behind a cold shyness, there seemed to Turk tremnlous promise to be frankel when she knew you better. She never consented to know me we'll enough to be very frank; she talked very little, and we hardly exchanged dozen words g day; I confess that found perturbino charm in those eyes. As it was all in silence, though, there was no harm. Scrope, however, vetured to tell his love or, at least, to hint at it elouuently enough. was not so deeply smitten as to be jealous, and drew breath of re- lief when l guessed his secret It made me think better of him again. The stand he had taken about poor Angelo's gem, in spite of my efforts to account for it phil osophlcally, had given an uncomfortable twist to our friendship. I asked myself Ii he really had no heart; even wonder ed whether there was not screw lose in his intellect. But here was a hearty. healthy, natural passion, such as only an honest man could feel-such as no man could feel without being the better for it. l began to hope that the sunshine of his fine sentiment would melt away his aver sion to glAing Angelo his dues. He was charmed, soul and sense, and for couple of months he really forgot himself, and ceased to send forth his unsweetened wit to do battle for his ugly face. His happi- ness rarely made him '' gush," as they say; but could see that he was vastly contented with his prospects. More than once, when we were together, he broke in to kind of nervous, fantastic laugh. over his owr thoughts; and on his refusal to part with them for the penny which one offers under those circumstances, I said to myself that this was humorous surprise at his good luck. How had he come to please that exquisite creature? Of course, learned even less from the young girl about her own view of the case: but Mrs. Washington and I, not being in love with each other, had nothing to do but to gos- slp about our companions whenever (which was very often) they consigned us to a t6te-a-t6te.
 ''She tells me nothing,' the good-hum- ored widow said; land if I'm to know the answer to a riddle, must have it in black and white. My cousin is not what is call ed attractive, but think Adina, never theless, IS interested in him. How do you and know how passion may trans figure and exalt him? And who shall say beforehand what fanclful young girl shall do with that terrible little piece of machinery she calls her heart? Adina is a strange child; she is fanciful without being c9pricious. For all I know, she may admire my cousin for his very ugli- ness and queerness. She has decided. very likely, that she wants an intellect ual husband, and if MT. Scrope is not handsome, nor frivolous, nor over-polite, there's greater chance of his being wise " Why Adina should have listened to my friend, however, was her own business.
 Listen to hlm she did, and with sweet attentiveness which may we'll have fatter- and charmed him.
 We rarely spoke of the imperial topaz; It seemed not subject for light allusions. 1t might properly make man feel solemn to possess it; the mere memory of it's lust CT lay like weight on my own conscience. l had felt, as We lost sight of our friend Angelo that, in one way or another, we should hear of him again; but the weeks passed by without his re-appearing, and my eeniecturee as- to bhe eeeseel ou his side, of his remarkable bargain remained quite unanswered. Christmas arrivoted, and with 1t the usual ceremonies. Scrope and l took the requisite vigorous mea- sures,-lt was matter, you know, of fists and elbows and knees, and obtain ed places for the two ladies at the Mid night Mass at the Sistine Chapel. Mrs. Washington was my especial charge, and on coming out we found we had lost sight of our companions in the crowd. We wait eed awhile in the Colonnade, but they were not among the passers, and we sup posed that they had gone home independ ently, and expected us to do likewise. But on reaching Mrs. Waddington's lodging we found they had not come in. As their prolonged absence demanded an explana- tion, it occurred to me that they had wandered into Saint Peters, with many others of the attendants at the Mass, and were watching the tapers twinkle ill it's dusky immensity. It was not perfectly regular that @ young lady should be wan dering about at three o'clock in the morn- ing with very ''unattractive" young man; but ''after all," said Mrs. Washington, ''she'is almost his cousin" By the time they returned she was much more. went home, went to bed, and and slept as late as the Christmas bells would allow me. On rising, I knocked at Scrope's door to wish him the compliments of the season, but on his coming to open it for me, per ceived that such commonplace greetings were quite below the mark. He was but half undressed, and had flung himself, on his return, on the outside of his bed. He had gone with Adina, as supposed, into Saint Peters. and they had found the twinkling tapers as picturesque as need be. He walked about the room for some time restlessly, and saw that he had something to say. At last he brought it out, ''I say, I'm accepted. I'm engaged. I'm what's called a happy man."
 Of course wished him joy on the news; and could assure him, with ardent convie- tion, that he had chosen we'll Miss Wad- dington was the loveliest, the purest, the most interesting of young girls. I could see that he was grateful for my sympathy, but he disliked ''expansion," and he con- tented himself. as he shook hands with me, with simply saying-"Oh yes; she's the right thing" He took two or three more turns about the room, and then sud . denly stopped before his toilet-table, and pulled out tray in his dressing case. There lay the great intaglio; larger even than I should have dared to boast. ''That would be pretty thing to offer ones f0'acee, " he said, after gazing. at it for some time. 'How could she wear it. how could one have it set?"
 'There could be but one way" I said: Gas 8 massive medallion, depending from a necklace. It certainly would light up the world more, on the bosom of beauti- ful woman, than thrust away here, among your brushes and razors. But, to my sense, only beauty of a certain type could pro- perly wear it-a splendid, dusky beauty, with the brow of Roman Empress, and the shoulders of an antique statue. A fair, slender girl, with blue eyes, and sweet smile, would seem, somehow, to be overweighted by 1t and if were to see it hung, for instance, round Miss Wadding- tons white neck. should feel as if it were pulling her down to the ground, and giv- ing her mysterious pain
 He was trife annoyed, think, by this rather fne-spun objection; but he smiled as he closed the tray. '.Adina may not have the shoulders of the Venus of Milo" he said, ''but I hope it will talk more than bauble like this make her stoop."
 don't always go to church on Christ mas Dav. hut have a 6fo-lon0 hahit of