Connecticut western news., 1874-08-07

, of it, on the tap and some of it, il E stray glasses, found it's way from time
 to time into the room where we had oul merry games.
 How it came about, never knew nol inquired; but l have always suspected that Feb Mansur, now grown to be { ) pretty "hard boy" as he must forgive me for saying, had a hand in it-per
 haps to be square with Punkinetta fol
 old-time notifications. Be that as il
 may, she somehow got too near the
 cider barrel. While we were sailing
 about the room in "grand prone.
 nade," my partner, who, like myself,
 was schoolmate of Punkinetta, quietly
 directed my attention to that young lady's appearance. A moments obser- vation convinced me that she was al- ready more than half tipsy. There was no mistaking the limp, lasy languish of her motions, and the old, silly, sweet smile. We knew the signs too we'll.
 70 myP groaned my companion. "What shall we do with her? What will young Henderson Cher lover) do or say? If we could only get her out of sight somewhere, and he not find it out! We mast get her out of his sight somehowp
 Meanwhile, Punkinetta growing more dizzy, and appearing more and more foolish every minute, barely kept her feet. But my fair partner, and another young lady and mutual friend, watched their chance, and managed to get to her without attracting notice. Together we laughed and cajoled her out of the room into the hall, and closed the door partially. The girls then laid hold of her without further ado, and started her up the staircase. She was melli- f1uously good !! Tipsy or sober, Punkin- etta was always good-natured creature. But now she kept laughing all the while, an easy, idiotic laugh. .
 It was very disgusting episode under the circumstances, certainly. Once at the head of the stairs, the young ladies disposed of their festive companion somehow. Special measures were taken to divert Henderson. We thought he would not find out what had happened; and the girls tried every artitice they could suggest to put him on the wrong track. In their anxiety to conceal the truth, I am afraid they were not overscrupulous. Henrietta had " nearly tainted, but she was in good care, and would soon be down stairs again ; and Henderson was obliged to put up with that, though he appeared much concerned, particularly so as he finally had to go away without seeing her that night.
 The next day it all come out. Her friends fbs went for nothing, as fbs generally do. Henderson left town before night. I thought we had seen the last of him and should not have blamed him much if he had kept away. He held to his promise, however; but he would not enter the neighborhood again. The "knot was tied" :" in Port land, and the pair immediately started westward for Illinois-a State where there are fewer apple trees. ,-...
 A few months since I learned that Mrs. H., the ''Punkinetta of my story, was dead, else this sketch would hardly have been written, even though with tear of grace. But the dead are far beyond our foolish tongues and pen.
 Poor Henrietta She was my earliest and sharpest temperance advocate, though the example was negative one. From her misfortune came the lesson and the after-warning to me and to all her old playmates.
 Whose fault was it that the life of that young girl seemed to have no pur- pose but to stand as loathsome ex- ample? Let us all remember that ''Touch not, taste not, handle not" involves the good of future generations as well as our own.