Litchfield enquirer., 1876-11-16

4Ou dIO mug oo A-4Os
 tsNo indeed. am quite serious, and | have good reason to be, for I have not. found any one so serious and sympathetic with me for a long time.
 sI am sorry you are idle and good for nothing; and | am angry with the others for never telling me of you. But you are not bad, l know. for see 1t in your face.
 '.No, not bad exactly. Perhaps I have not force of character enough to be bad. I think if I had couple of thousand a year should be reputable and esteemed member of society "
 Well, do wish you had. do so like you already
 Allan Falconbridge positively biushed. ,,- Then he took her tiny, almost bistre-hued hand. and touched his lips to It with a respectful grace which might have become the proud gentleman who owned the fal con in, Boccaccio's exquisite, immortal l story. Just at that moment the clack of sharp voices was heard and all the Falconbrldge i women weae at' the gate. Allan Falcon bridge lifted his wide-awake hat deferen- tially to Miss Torrens, and at once loung- | ed away.
 'My love- said Mrs. Falconbridge. sweetly, to linda, and she kissed her warmly. -E
 ''You dear grill" said each of the young | women, enthusiastically. "How good of you to come and see us!''
 ''Yes; but why has your brother gone away-and why did you never tell me of him?" II 'fOh, poor Ahanl'' sighed the girls, si- multaneousiY, shaking their heads. l s'Poor Allan-yes" said Mrs. Falcon 1 bridge. ''He is rather a trouble to his father and to us, Miss Torrens. He is not my son. If he were, think he would not be- what he is. But suppose his early years were neglected. MT. Falcon bridge wants energy" .,ge ....-~,.
 -''I like him." observed linda, in some l thing like imeditative tone. ''I think him, very handsome; and there is some- thing, honest and manly in his expres- sion"
 s lt''Ah, you are kind and charitable, dear Miss Torrens. Of course we all love him.; and there is much that is good ln him. Perhaps if he had any great object in life he might improve "
 While Mrs. Falconbridge spoke thus 1 she flashed an eagle eye on linda. She had already in her own mind fashioned out plot, and she was determined to do her best to put it into successful execu- I tion. If the young, Inexperienced, ignor- 1 ed to fall in love with Allan Falconbridge, I the neer-do-well, nothing could be more certain than that her grandfather's money and estates would never be left to her. l Nor would Mir. Torrens ever be likely to suspect Mrs. Falconbridge ot any share I in bringing about such a marriage, for he l welld knew that there was no being on earth whom she disliked more cordially l than her ,step-son. Why might not the 1 plot succeed? Allan was & good-looking fellow; the girl had been decidedly at ] tracted by him from the very first mo- ment; and badly brought up girls like her always were such romantic idiots. The i scheme seemed to Mrs. Falconbridge apt and of great credit, and she set to work at once to promote it. She began to send Allan necessarily to l MT. Torrens's with messages to Miss Hin- l da. She SontriVed that whenever the girl happeted to visit the Falconbridge house Allan should always be there. She bade Allan lift Hinda off her pony and lift her on; she made him ride with her and drive her pony phaeton; and in every possible way she contrived to throw the pair together. linda delighted in this. She had all that absense of constraint and conventionality which marks Indian so ciety, and is. indeed, It's necessary and in- evitable condition; and she grew to like Allan more and more. For him, he was another Cymon, transformed by bistre- tinted Iphigenia. In truth the md olence of this youth was only skin-deep-at least, it was only the result of bad bring ing p,and of utter dlstaste for the kind of life and thought and ways with which he had always hitherto found himself sur rounded. Hinda was the first woman worth speaking to who had ever spoken to him with interest, respect, or sywpa- thy: and her first words had found their 1 way to his heart of hearts.
 So before long he was, although he hardly knew it, devotedly in love with Hinda Torrens.
 1 For her, she never attempted to anal yze her sentiments. Had she done so the very newness and strangeness of them
 might have taught even her innocent and inexperienced mind the cause and the meaning of them.
 One day Mrs Falconbridge thought things were ripe enough for some inter vention on her part She saw Allan loung- ing homeward along the road, his eyes fixed on the ground, his hands in his pockets. He had but lately parted from
 linda.
 Mrs Falconbridge went to meet him, ingly, on. his. ; He looked down on her a
 little surprised, but he said nothing. La.s.Allan, my dear,' whispered the step. mother, II E, have something to say to
 you. ''S x
 "Indeed. Mrs. Falconbridge? Say on, tfair lady, '.~ --. q. ..You have great chance before you,
 dear. Pray, don't throw tt away.
 '.What should I do with any chance,
 Mrs. Falconbridge, but throw it away What else have I ever done with all my
 chances?" aoat>4
 'sYes; but this is something better,
 think, and more to your taste. con.
 gratulate you, Allan. You have won the
 heart of the heiress."
 I He started; his step-mother felt his arm
 tremble. She welcomed the augury.
 What do you mean. Mrs. Falcon T bridge| he asked coldly, recovering
 himself.
 "Mean. dear? Can, there be he any
 boubt about it? Have you eyes? Is il
 possible you really don't see that Hinda
 Torrens is in love with you?"
 He gave great, deep sigh. "Mrs Falconbridge, I fancy you are
 talking nonsense! Miss Torrens is too
 good girl, and too sensible. to care fol } a worthless creature like me-" 2, Stuff, Allan! Do you think girls only
 care for industrious apprentices and the winner of the Monthyon prize? I tell yor the girl IS in love with you! Her looks her eyes tell it-her very step and atti , tude when she is near you tell it to me-" -l 'If this is so-whlch God forbid fol
 the dear glrl's sake!-wh3t then? Why ] tell 1t to me?''
 Because you must marry her, Allan You must marry her at once! Eiope witl
 her if necessary. You owe your father . and your family good turn; and you car : retrieve yourself and us. You can mak'
 ms all happy for life by marrying thi E girl" .@+e..
 "I don't quite follow you, Mrs. Falcon fn~n-f fl T eI~nI !,