Litchfield enquirer., 1874-12-03
No- .2583
and then let her go.

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 and then let her go. y.a.roM s'1sndI1s8 There was a "big meetin' 2 jovernt Hamlinford, and the church was crowded.
 There were vehicles of all orders standing | in the road, horses tied in lines along the fences, and the yard itself was full of peO- pie mostly men whose sntwomen-f n-follrB''
 had gone into the house gathered in
 groups talking to each other ,by. way of
 willing ii away the half hour befCrs ser Twice. E .'....' . t-
 ''RuyslandM preach this taorniRT tteck-
 on,"" the chief talker in one, group was
 Ried now, helpin' Desire out of the bug
 gy. She's as pretty as pink, that gal iA Look at her, boys!" -. Desiree stood upon the steps of the fve-. | hicle, poised like bright bird ready for | flight. She hadfn been so pretty and fresh picture in her life. She had put 2 on the pink dress; her cheeks were tinted 1 with warm, delicate bloom, her soft dark iA I eyes glowed under their long rcuElingolI l fringss her childish lovliness was at it's height. She had drifted back into, her s, dreams again; she was so happy in her little flush of excited trustfulness that she f scarcely dared look up as she passed up the aisle, for fear that people 'skOnld s' guess what her happiness meant. 4SAeiee was glad when Bart left her in. her seat, and she had timete tfy to eohtRoE herself.
 She wanted to feel calmer before Mrsr Ruysland came in It quieted her some what to hear the low whisper 6ftEoAvefsA- eH' tipn before and behind her,. It was 9iAOk ah considered breach of decorum to, talk toiyy ones neighbors a little before, ''meetin -. took up," and the good women of Ham '' linford usually avaiBed themselves 0ftheir' ol z aFa FRt r Two good danes in the seat before De-. |; siIee's were discussing a late marriage,
 and Desiree caught occasional snatches Of 'l' their convetsation. -sr-4 2g a.rcH ritaT-- f ''They were married on Thursday, Said one, ''and grand bride she made, they
 say, quiet as the wedding was She's n Ns handsome critter, if she is rather .highq". and notionate, They say they have been no promised to one another for long enough, :, but it was sorter unsettled" e''1H
 fThey say" put in another, "that she A has money. 'T ..- 70. ,t et :(N- TJ''They say so,"' discreetly. .'And they do gay that but for that it might never
 have come off. The old lady was power v ful set on 1t. .NI .a lco'G'qo bnA tfoi There were more murmurs after this, '. but Desiree did not hear anything g def no nite. Her thoughts began to wonder a
 little. It would not be so very long be fore he came. She wondered if she should q l' know his step, and if her heart syoald ora beat in that strange happy way. She , must pretend to be looking at her hymn
 book. She dare not trust herself to meet '' his eye until the first tumult of feeling wy was over. She would wait until she heard X his voice, and then she would raise her
 eyes. So the time passed on, until there came the sound of an entrance-not one ~ l person, but two or three at once, andssaE; little stir of excitement was visible in the good women before her. <" Here they are! She looks rather fine for a minister's wife" I0l .ai"iAalI .en' o Who, were they? Desire knew of no af minister who wss on the point of mar, riage. She began to feel curious too m, They were coming. There was rustic of H rich trailing dress, handsome, proud % looking old lady passed her. , She felt s, quite dizzy; it was Mir. Ryslands mother. < And then came two other people-a tall girl with affair naughty facG, exquisitelyrf dressed in pale violet, with an exquisite rev fan in her hand, and with her walked Ev- erard Ruysland; and Everard Ruysland, meeting strange, sweet, agonized little face turned with a childlike wonder up to n his, lost color suddenly, and plainly start ed. -..
 ''Sakes alive!" exclaimed one of the women, forgetting the bride'a bonnet all at once, ''this little gal behind us is fant. yS imp
 "No, nc" whispered Desiree; but the next moment hand was laid upon her shoulder, and looking up piteously, she met Bart's eyes. .-..r
 Daisy he said, Git has been too warm for you here. You are not well enough to stay. Come with me. And scarcely knowing anything but that this was Bart who had come to relieve her Vol. from herself, she let him lead her away, out into the open air and dreadful sun - shine, which seemed to strike her giddy and blind. ss . ,4-u Fi
 Everyone who heard about Desiree Rieds long after-illness heard that she was stricken with low fever the very day of the ''big meet1n'" at Hamlinford. She was not "'a rugged sort of girl," for all her roundness and bloom, people said; - and really 1t was no wonder that the long D, hot ride to meeting had been too much for her altogether. " .a..
 She was ill for a long time, and Bart was very good to her-so good that in .o her weakness she clung to him almost strangely. His presence always seemed sort of comfort to her; and on the one night when she was at the worst, and s,, they were afraid she would die before 2. morning, she called Bart to her side and bade him pray for her, and when he had finished she whispered strange last mes sage in his ear. ..
 ''If die," she said, ''and he should ev- CT ask about me, tell him that I believed he did not mean to be cruel; tell him that ir I believed it was only because he did not - stop to think.
 , But she did not die. She fingered on, i-' poor soul, for a long while; and at last, when people had almost given her up, be- gan to mend slowly, and vent on mend ing, until one bright autumn day, she went so far as to ask Bart to carry her down stairs out into the sunshine on the porch.
 ''I want to t,:y to get better" she said, land I want to talk to you" ..r..;g. r.d .lgi
 So he wrapped her up and carried her down, and bolstered her up in Q large homtly chair in her old place; and there f she lay, gazing out at the gold and scarlet / of the trees, looking so small and altered,l with her great eyes and her little white woe -begone face, that Bart's heart quiver ed when he beheld her. Dol
 s'Bart," ske said, after while, Il want ai3 to ask you few, questions. - ~-.t-Cr - --~
 He tried to brighten up and smile, but it required an effort; and when he heard the first of these few questions his strength failed him again 74 ag*-s .Ag- .lo.) y ssDid you know that this was coming?" rs she said. quite simply, as if her trust in him taught her that she had no need to ' speak more definitely. a l4 l-l.8 ot sla4 q
 He could scarcely answer for moment or so, but at last he managed to say, s'sYes." oi1 Ja age :. -ts+1 LOO ra She was silent for a Rhile,. and then held out her thin, worn little hand to him.
 -'tCome here, 'she said; and when he came and took it, sitting at her feet, he saw - that she was crying in a tired, weak fash ion. 'I want to tell you" she said-T want to ask you to forgive me" like a child asking. for pardon. "I have not j