Litchfield enquirer., 1876-10-19

minute. when of mt the machine, and tieked out: Just iD time. Traingstopped.
 Church excursion. Might have been har-
 rowing All right. Mamma on board.
 Somebody intoxicated.
 Will you have some water, now Thorsdaie water Is the sweetest and cool
 est in the world he said. I felt thor
 oughly ahamed of myself. as I turned
 my lead aside, and gulped down the wa
 ter. I was about thanking him when see
 ing my confusion, he offered me his hand
 and led me into little partition on one
 side of the office. Your bower" he said.
 l peeped into kind of closet some six
 by eight, and ventured in, when he shut
 the door softly after me, It was the
 merest bin of a place, roughly put togeth-
 CT, though there had been apparently
 quite determined effort to make 1t com
 fortable. There was a stone pitcher, tin
 basin, looking glass, and a pretty
 bunch sof flowers in an ale bottle. On
 the walls were pasted variety of p:ct- ures. views of scenery in Norway and
 Sweden. taken from the illustrated pa-
 pers. and occupying whole side was a
 carefully drawn map of a city, with its
 broad streets and lanes, it's public build
 ings and churches, with parks and foun-
 tains and boulevards; and over that again,
 surmounting 1t, was strongly colored
 wood-cut, evidently taken bodily from a
 circus-poster, of a nondescript animal,
 half-horse, half fish.
 'You can use the brush and comb with impunity," said MT. Thor. from the office:
 'They are immaculate, bought for the
 occasion, with the company's money, and
 may be found in the inventory under the
 head of office furniture; likewise the looking glass. Intention this simply be- cause 1t will be one of your duties to keep the accounts of the office. As I didn t
 know1now tall you might be, the glass will probably be hung either too high or too
 low. Ton will arrange everything to suit you. The key to the closet you will find Tn the soap dish. It is brown soap. Thorsdale, though bountiful in soap is undiscriminatlng, saronaceously I am afraid; and l am even forced to admit that nail-brush fitted for lady has been beyond our powers. The key, too, is dreadfully large, though medieval in style. Ipurloined lock and key from one of the depot doors, but no amount of fl- ing the wards would get the creak from It. Oh l must not forget 10 tell you | that you will please hit the door a kick when you want to shut it. ."
 Ao 4SAAOhC ny uSeQ GuG DruS0 vigorously, arranged my hair, and then looked at the flowers. When felt that there could be no excuse for my remaining longer immured, I stepped out in the of- flee MT. Thor was apparently dozing over his table. His hands supported his head, hls faxen hair streaming down over his shoulders. Even in thls position. his tall stature was manifest.
 ''So much obliged to you, Mir. Thor, for all those kind attentions on your part. in my boudoir. They are exceedingly grateful to me and-and I am quite dis tressed-very sorry-that at the start should have made such an absurd dunce of myself, MT. Jahn Thor and pray tell me about that train 1; is it all right, now?"
 "Oh y he said. rubbing his eyes, as if awaking from dream. ''It was woman at the other end of the line, who gushed back. Now to think of telegraph wo- man sending the word intoxicated when 'drupk' would have been much better, and SIX letters shorter; and what does she mean by taking up my time by sending me stuff about church train, and her blessed mamma, just as if Providence was especially careful of church people and fond parents on a railroad? She skips letters when she is the least excited. If COW IS run over, she sends me news about it, in spasms. And now she wants to know who 1t was sent the reply to her; she recognizes new hand at the bellows.''
 felt somewhat hurt at his having ta- ken no notice of my apology, but I meek ly replied, ''I trust you will excuse my rather hasty expression"
 "Miss Brown, have no doubt that we shall get on quite pleasantly together. You know that 1 am master here by seni orlty. Tomorrow is Wednesday, and mostly quiet day; some three trains are off. Ton will want some rest Probably your household arrangements are not yet completed"
 ''lndeed they are. sir. l have secured quite good clearinghouse, and trunk to unpack is not much"
 "l shall have no use for you tomorrow, though you had better come at sundown. On Thursday you will commence work in earnest. We might as we'll understand one another at once, Miss Brown. The office will expect you whole time and at tentlon; and holidays will be few and far between. Thorsdale may have it's faults, but there are no barbecues, nor picnics, nor bands of hope, nor Sisters of Wash lngton, nor woman's rights, nor tSte days, nor festivals here. 1horsdale has no time for pleasure, but works on silently, un- ceasingly, toward it's great destiny. After a while, do not gainsay 1t, may come Thorsdaie's period of relaxation. but not until the arms of Thorsdale, the sea- horse, red on a white field, shall be emtlazoned on the flag of this good State, and men shall give to the Thors that proud posi- tion they once assumed, thousand years 0 in ho pfr of tI,ax xyIly placed their blazon on the walls of your closet p
 1 was somewhat startled at this unlock ed-for vehemence on his part, and could by no means exactly understand what he | meant. ''Do you allnde to that picture half horse, half fish-which is lacked over some map or other, in my closet ?" I ask ed, considerably astonished.
 "Yes; I cut it out myself from circus. poster that decorated one whole side of the depot. Of course, such an animal | does not exist''-
 ''I shonld suppose not" interrupted, 1 unable to suppress snile..
 Though 1t was once carved in wood," he went on, ''and was one of the urna- l ments of the triumphal car in which a | very bad circus band made it's entry into | Twoboysboro. They did not honor Thors- dale. have an antique seal left me by | my father, precisely like it. My father | was only blacksmith, but he treasured | that old seal. He told me it was centuries | old. and had come down to him from his | grandfather. The sea.horse is, then, our crest; I tattooed it on my arm when was boy. can show you a rock, overlook ing the lake, where I chiseled this same | device deep into the stone There it was that my poor old father used to spend | sometimes whole days, waiting for me to come home, for was absent from him many year. He used to tell me that our lake was like his native ford, where he was born, and where my poor mother came from. That rock is my landmark, and It IS where my wharf must start from, some of these days. Thorsdale Thors- dale! Just here he seemed quite to ignore my presence, and was apparently talking to himself. ''Dale ! dale !" he | continued; ''that final syllable has di- minutive sound, and Is impossible when