Whig and tribune. [volume] (Jackson, Tenn.) 1870-1877, 1876-02-19


giving herself the benefit OF the doubt
and concluding that she had always be
/ haYed with eminent propflety.
! Then she went on with her survey.
A sad faced woman in shabby mourn
ing, holding fretful baby in her arms
and grasping the dress Of = little girl
| who was persisting in the attempt TO &c
her head, and as much Of her body as pos
! sible out OF the window: two men talk
I ing business, in tones audible from ent
to end Of the car: another woman, elder
! ly and mstherly, with piece of knitting
work on her lap; small, nervous man
who jumped up every moment to look 70
a bundle which he feared had been lef
behind.
These were all compromising" though
Nellie. ttIl Harry mere 20 look IN iuE
now, he would not feel much dread of my
flirting"
One. two, three stations had been pas
the car Was filling slowly; all the new
cOmers being as unintereStins as thOss
| whom she had been mentally Criticising
! There being no other resource she tool
up her book; how provoking! 1t Ta'
not the one she had laid by TO take with
her, but one she had already read. Tur-
ming page after page, she tried TO inter
est herself in 1t, but in vain,
She knew the plot too Well--sould al
most have repeated the declaration which
the hero made to the heroine after she re-
| covered from the fainting at, in which
she had heard ALI his tender asseYeTatlOns.
! Then, too, novels were dull affairs when
one had been confined to ones room for a
! week with a cold, and had read them all
/ the while to wear away time.
| Closing the book, she Inspected her fell
! lOW-traYelers once more, only to hRd
them no more pleasing than at first
| What should she do, look at the scenery
! There was nothing transpOrting-no fun
| intended-ia viewing landscape from
the window Of train going at full speed.
! So, after a few glances AZ waltZing trees,
/ gallOping fences, and distant hills, which
! were hurrying away after one another
! like nock of frightened sheep, Nellie
| turned away discOntentedly.
The train was stopping once more; one
or two sleepy looking lOunsers stirred a
little as it drew near, but no one came
forward. -
Stay! she Was mistaken; a passenger
with pOrtmantoau in hand at that instant
stepped upon the near platform; a second
more and the train had gone laundering
on. Just glimpse did Nellie have OF the
newcomer, but that was enough to rouse
| her curiosity, and she longOd TO haVeSR-
other glance, nay, a good, long, furtiye
look. But he had disappeared into the
smoking-car, no doubt.
why must men smoke" the yOun z
lady queTied, though, whether her guar
dian angel replied is more than l can tell.
1 only know that one of her principal OBJ
jectiOns to Mr.. Britton Was that he es-
eheNed cigars and meerchaums. For the
moment she had forgotten that, | sup
pose.
Half an heur moreno increase of pas
sengers-to Nellie it seemed as though all
the world were stubbOrnly intOnt upon
I l.. a. n IL. -
opened, but only TO admit the train-bOy
with his basket of herrOrs. Again, it
WAS the conductor bent on one of his
purposeless journeys through the car on
which he goes looking neither TO the
right or left, and resembling nothing so
much as a sleep walker.
What's dreadful fascination there seem
ed to be in watching him pass through
one door to reappsar AT the other in a few
moments, like the handful of men who
cross and recrOss the stage of a theatre,
and are supposed TO represent an army.
No amount of knowledge or experience
will ever serve to convince i locker on
that he does not walk completely round
the train on terra &rma, instead of comm 2
back through the car. Who ever saw him
come backg But to leave him and the
awful mystery which enVelOps him and
his jOurneyings, and come back to Nellie.
After all she was net to be disappoint-
ed; At last the stranger entered, and walk
ed leisurely down the car till he was op
poSite her; she felt that he was looking
at her; would the fates favor her by Civ
ing him seat hear 'byI The one in front
of her was Yacant-hOw she wished that
il were turnedi He took its so far all
was promising, though, as yet, she could
only have the satisfaction of studying
the back OF his head, but then it was a
very handsome head, thickly covered
with jetty clustering hair. In course of
time the unknown turned partly in- his
seat, and rested his arm upon the back,
giving Nellie an opportunity of inspect
ing his profile. How hendsome he WAS
-Oliye-sklnned, and with sHch head and
mOustache Not so young though as she
had thoughr; thirty at least, perhaps four
or five years older.
He made no attempt to attract her no.
tice, and, as the minutes went by, she
began 20 wish that something would hap
pen; but nothing did happen.
Now, my little heroine did not intend
TO do anything naughty. Indeed, she had
given up all hope. ola romantic adveu-
ture, and had fallen to thinking OF the
kind of dress which she would wear Vt
her cousins party.
In the midst of her cogitations, an i'm
pertinent sunbeam; in search of mischief,
came through the window straight into
her eyes. The sensation was not pleas
ant one, but to have demonstrated with
the sunbeam would have been useless; 50
she determined to adjust the blind in such
way as TO shut the Intruder out.
The blind stuck fast-it would not have
been worthy its honorable position as n
blind of passenger car on the - road
if it had done otherwise. One which
would have gone up or down, or in any
direction, at the vOlitiOn of passenger,
would have been spied out by the vigi-
liant conductor, and subjected TO some
process which would have placed it on
the invalid list i'll the shortest possible
order.
Nellie tugged desperately, az the i'm
minent risk of disloCatinG her small
wrists, but the stubborn bliud resisted
all her efforts.
The stranger, after watching her fu-
tile attempts, leaned over with = smile
and an ''AllOw me, and reduced il TO
subjectiOn.
Nellie, with all her faults, and they
may have been many, bore no reSem-
hlanCe TO the typical American woman;'
that being, abhOrred of all right-miuded
men, who demands seats in the ears and
stages, and the largest portion of the side
walk, and who takes numberleSS f2VOrS
from the masculine half of humanity,
with never a word of acknowledgements
No, Nellie thanked everybody on prin-
ciple, and he smiles like rain, or rather
like sunshine, ON the just and on the un-
just. so, for his trifling service, the
stranger received "Thank you and the
sunniest of sl2nces.
lie would not have been mortal if he
had not, after that, striven 10 open a con-
versation. lie was mortal. and in = very
short space of time the pair were chat
ting merrilT.
Sinful Nellie she forgot her promise;
had no thought Of what Harry's displeas-
ure would be could he but chance to see
her; remembered nothing, in short, which
u was her boundsn duty to remember.
But then, how could she helpity Would
not you or have done the same, provid-
ed either of us had been eighteen, pretty,
charming and in quest of hero?
And the stranger Was fitted to be a he
! rolf good form, a handsome face, and
superbly fitting clothes entitled a man to
that distinction.
How so adorable being should have
been picked up at little way-statiou, al
first puzzled Nellie, but that was soon ex-
planned
He had been out on a fishing excursion.
making the tavern at the station mis- head
I quarters, for want of better accOmmoda-
tiOns; now he was on his way home to
New York city. His name was Lester
/ Nernsly-"Nhat a pretty name,'' his
hearer thought. ''How ugly Edward Brit
/ ton sounded in comparison
Much more did he eonfide to her, much
/ that it would not interest us to know.
| From it Nellie gathered that he was
| Wealthy-the pOssesser of large fortune
/ left him by his father-that the past half
/ dozen years he had spent in travelling,
/ ana that, to borrow his own phrase. he