Litchfield enquirer., 1874-06-11


 teapot what she meant; but l understood her more promptly-and yet believe Il gave long whistle. Scrope stood staring at her as she thurst out the crumpled note: that she meant that ,Adina- that Adina had left us in the night-was too large Q horror for his unprepared sense. His dumb amazement was an almost touching sign of the absence of thought which could have injured the girl. He saw by my face that knew something, and he let me draw the note from Mrs. Waddington's hand and read 1t aloud:
 "GoOd-bye to eVeyythieg! Think me crazy ifyou qOiU. / could neVer erptGin. O7al2J forget nae and 6elieUc that / Gm happy, happy, happy! Adino Beat" l laid my hand on his shoulder; even yet he seemed powerless ito apprehend. ''Angelo Beati, said gravely, ''has at last taken his revenge!'
 "Angelo Beatir' he cried. "An Italian beggar! It's @ liep'
 shook my head and patted his should CT. 'He has insisted on payment. He's clever fellow"
 He saw that I knew, and slowly, dis tractedly he answered with burning blush!
 It was most extraordinary occurrence; 1 we had ample time to say so, and to saysO again, and yet never really to understand It. Neither of my companions ever saw | the young girl again; Scrope never men, 1 toned her but once. He went about for week i'll absolute silence; when at last he spoke I saw that the fold was taken, that he was going to be a professional cynic for the rest of his days. Mrs. Washington was good-natured woman, as have said, l and, better still, she was a just woman l But l assure you, she never fOrgave her step-daughter. In after years, as grew older, took an increasing satisfaction in having assisted, as they say. at this cpl sode. As mere action, it seemed to me really superb. and in judging of human nature often weighed it mentally against the perpetual spectacle of strong impulses frittered in weakness and perverted by prudence. There has been no prudence here, certainly, but their has been ardent, | full-blOwn, positive passion. We see the one every day, the other once in five years More than once I ventured to | ventilate this heresy before the kindly | widow, but she always stopped me short, '"rhe thing was odious," she said; 'I thank heaven the girls father did not live to see it.''
 We didn't finish that dismal day at AL bano, but returned in the evening to Rome. Before our departure had an interview with the Padre Girolamo of Laricc1a, who failed to strike me as the holy man whom his nephew had describ- ed. He was @ swarthy, snuffy little old priest, with dishonest eye-quite cap- able, believed, of teaching his handsome nephew to play his cards. But had no reproaches to waste upon him; I simply wished to know whither Angelo had taken the young girl. I obtained the informa- tion with difficulty and only after a sol emn promise that if Adina should reite- rate, ViUG VOce, to person delegated by her friends the statement that she was happy, they would take no steps to recov- | CT possession of her. She was in Rome, and in that holy city they should leave her. Remember" said the Padre, very softly, ':that she IS of age, and her own mistress, and can do what she likes with eh?' She had less than he thought, but evidently the Padre knew his ground. It was he, he admitted, who had united the young couple ill marriage, the day before; the ceremony had taken place in the little older circular church on the hill, at Alba no, at five o'clock ill the morning. "You see, Signor," he said, slowly rubbing his his yellow hands, ''she had taken a great fancy!' I gave him no chance, by any re- mark of my own, to remind mo that An gelo had Q grudge to satisfy, but he pro- fessed the assurance that his nephew was the sweetest fellew in the world. l heard and departed in silence; my curiosity, at least had not yet done with Angelo. Mrs. Washington, also, had moro of this sentiment than she confessed to; her kindness wondered, under protest of her indignation, how on earth tho young girl l,oAI III. T. staircase were very bad indeed. It was, therefor, at her tacit request that I re paired to the lodging of tho young pail, in the neighborhood of the Piazza Bar berini. The quarters were modest, but they looked into the quaint old gardens of the Capuchin Friars; and in the way of smells, I observed nothing worse than the heavy breath of great bunch of pinks in 8 green jug on the window still. Angelo stood there, pulling one of tho pinks to pieces, and looking quite the proper hero of his romance He eyed me shyly and trifle coldly at first, as if he were prepar- ed to stand firm against a possible blow ing up; but when he saw that I chose to make no allusions whatever to the past, he suffered his dark brow to betray his serene contentnent. I was no more dis posed than l had been @ week before, to
 
 tery,-h1s character was as great an enigma as the method of h1s courtship. That he was ill love don't t pretend to say; but 1 think he had already forgotten how his happiness had come to him, and that he was basking in 8 sort of primitive natural, sensuons delight in being adored. It was like the warm sunshine, or like plenty of good wine. I don't believe his fortune in the least surprised him; at the bottom of every genuine Roman heart, even fit beats beneath beggar's rags, you'll find an ineradicable belief that we are all barbarians, and made to pay them tribute. He was welcome to all his gro tesque superstitions, but what sort of a future did they promise for Adina? ask ed leave to speak with her, he shrugged | his shoulders, said she was free to choose, | and went into an adjoining room with my proposal. Her choice apparently was l difficult; waited sometime, wondering how she would look on the other side of | the ugly chasm she had so audaciousIy l leaped. She came in at last, and I imme- diately saw that she was vexed by my visit. She wished to utterly forget her past. She was pale and very grave; she seemed to wear frigid mask of reserve. If she had seemed to me a singular creature before, it didn't help me to understand her to see her there, beside her extraordi- nary husband. My eyes went from one to the other and, suppose, betrayed my reflections; she suddenly begged me to inform her of my errand.
 | ''I have been asked" said, ''to en- quire whether you are contented. Mrs. Washington is unwilling to leave Rome while there is a chance of your-" hesitated for word, and she interrupted me.
 .'Oh my repentance, is what you mean to say?" She fixed her eyes on the ground for a moment, then suddenly rais- ed them. ''Mrs. Washington may leave Rome," she said softly. I turned in silence, but waited 8 moment for some slight message of farewell "I only ask to be forgotten!'' she added, seeing me stand. | Tova is so;d r., In s.-.. ,,o.oo1,o,,oo 4I,,.