Litchfield enquirer., 1875-01-07

in;charge of some ragged hangers on ot
 eqnestrianss then they walked down tc
 the bears den, Nina little nervous, but
 full of expectation of the scene she was tC
 witness. They passed the bench indicat
 ed in the correspondents but there was nothing on it but robin Iedbaeast pick
 ing upthe crumbs left by:some plcknicker George looked at his watch and found ii
 wanted ten minutes of the time, which he
 employed in selecting secure position
 for himself and cousin behind some dense
 iaurestinas close to the den. He could
 not have loud 8 better place for his pur
 pose, for 1t commanded the bench, which
 was not out of ear shot, and yet 1t was
 at the same time so we'll concealed i'll foli
 age that no one would have suspected the ,eavesdropper, or thought of looking fol
 one there. People who blast stones, ol
 tire mines with slow matches. understand
 the painful mental anxiety that awaits the
 explosion; and so it was with our conspir
 ators, who, concealed in the bushes
 thought the time would never come fol
 the qualification of their curiosity. George
 whispered the most ridiculous speGula.
 tons into the ear of his cousin, who wal
 toonervous to laugh, and yet longed to dc
 so. Who might Adonis be, or who might he not be? He might turn out to be the Lord Chancellor, we'll known cardinal,
 the Chief Justice, or even his excellency himself, and as for Ariadne. Nina almost expired from her curiosity to see her. Three o'clock passed, and five minutes more in this state of agony of suspense, and George was thinking of going home, when step was heard coming down the winding walk, the step of man, and the cousins cousins peesr7edd s7 du anzionslys out of the ,ii iHalloo! Why; here's the g,oyernorl said George. almost aloud, in the excess Of hia surprise. What,on earth can the old boy be doing, down, here az -r5. ' sUnclei' exclaimed Nina, at the same time disappointed. s1t is very awkward; he will certainly drive our friends away; besides, if he was to discover us herel and she blushed at the notion.
 By love! that would never do,' observ- ed George, in no little alarm. In fact, the very thought of so unwelcome surprise as this filled him with terror, and he would have gladly run away, but it was now too late. Nina correctly judged, from his pale face and thea anxious expression it wore, what was in his thoughts, and be- gan to cry silentl tly-a woman's great re- source in vexation of spirit.
 < Meanwhile MT. Fitzgerald, senior. strolled jauntily down the path, twirling a cane with one nicely gloved hand, and ar ranging his wig with the other. He was dressed, as usual, with great care, and was so padded and squeezed by his tailor and valet that at & distance he might have well passed for man of five and twenty. It was only when one detected the brown wig and false teeth, and the wrinkles so carefully disguised on his old visage, that speculation as to his age be- came impossible, although some persons guessed 1t at hundred. He wore a dark blue frock coat, white waistcoat, and duck trowsers strapped tightly over his daintlly polished boots. His stiff collar was encircled by handsome white and blue scarf, and his hat was brushed so beautifully that there was not bit offiuff on the whole of it. Altogether Old George was what in vnlaar parldanea is called a tremendous swell, and appeared self conscious of the fact. Somewhat to the relief of his son and neice-perdus in the bushes-he passed the bench without even glancing at 1t, and walked to the bears cage, where he was saluted with 9 rumbling growl that seemed to come from the depths of its occupants stomach. Mir. Fitzgerald, senior, paused before Bruin, and examined the animal critical ly through his eyeglass, the bear returning the compliment with interest. But the old beau soon fell into fit of abstraction over this inspection, and, humming an air from the IfGUiGta, tapped his trowser legs with the cane he held behind his back. The two cousins were so intent on watching his movements that they never noticed a new arrival upon the scene; but at length Nina, happening to look around, could scarcely suppress scream on sec ing her aunt seated on the bench.
 George! George! aunt! anntp was all she could stutter under breath, and 1t is almost needless to say that if George was agitated by the presence of his father. he was now ten times more so by the near proximity of lady to whom it would be impossible to explain the anomalous situ- ation in which he found himself. For an officer of the British army, he displayed a trepidation truly scandalous. nor was it without sundry pinches, and forcible ciutching of his coat tails, that Nina. now brave In desperation, was able to restrain him from running madly away. It was in vain that the cousins cudgeled their brains to account for the presence of Mrs. Vil- Hers in such spot. If there had been a band playing, or an open-air meeting, or any dissipation, religious or secular, go- ing on, there would have been nothing surprising in the phenomenon; but that Mrs. Villlers should choose to come and walk all alone in the Geological Gardens in blue silk dress, and bonnet adorned with rose buds, was indeed circumstance so astonishing, that Nina half forgot her fright 1n admiration of her aunt's toilet. Not so our gallant Hussar. That officer tried to make himself az small as possible by kneellng on the hard clods in the shrubbery, and in th1s attempt he made such a rustic that his father threw A large stone at him. supposing. no doubt, that he was goose, or some of the waterfowl tAat had strayed off the lake. The stone rattled among the branches within foot of young Georges head, and he was ex- pecting another when haply his parent observed the lady on the bench, and ap- preached her with much caution. The old beau was wag in his way, and perhaps thought to surprise Mrs. ViIliers, for he took of his hat and ran his fingers through his wig, then placed the hat be- hind his back, and stole toward her upon tiptoe so carefully as hardly to crush a daisy Tn his stealthy approach.
 ''He is going to blindfold her with his hands. whispered Nina. 5
 .tAnd kiss Her if she can't. tell who he is, answered George in the same tone.
 3 And apparently. if this was his design, the old beau must be successful, for the lady on the bench never moved, but sat. with her face to the lake, and her back to the den, reading book under the shade of her parasoi. She seemed quite uncon- scious of every thing going on in the back ground, and her start was quite natural. when "Old George" with bated breath. laid his hand on her shoulder, and peered under her parasol. Starti did we say? This IS no adequate expression for what occurred. Those who have seen Sir Roge, de CoEerfey dance boisterously in the servants hall, or two billard-balls carrom.
 ing, the one off the other, may have some faint idea of the manner in which Mrs, Villiers rebounded, so to say, of Mir. Fitz gerald, who, for his part, staggered back as ii shot, dropping his hat in his confu sion. For moment they stood staring al each other hfYlch hofuno,, &l,o,o o.1 1S .-