Litchfield enquirer., 1876-04-27


 strong minded, | mist Own,. this venera- l bIe Deb. with her hawk eyes, and nose so prominent that silly wits made jokes abous it, and declared that it was more I than beak it was beaker. Rumor declared that she scribbled paragraphs l for the Man -eGterniHdt0r; but l doubt that, because, oddly enough, considering I her habits she hated women with theories, and abused those who wanted to vote as yenemously as any old bachelor could. Deb WAS given to taking the contrary | side, whatever it might be, and as the list I of her bank stock, railroad shares, houses
 aud lands, and similar pleasant posses
 sions was nearly as long as Chinese drama, people allowed her to take any
 side she pleased, and applauded her there 1 for: of course they relieved their minds calling her bad names as soon as she was safely out of hearing. ss '5h I She and Blanche owned great house, neS+ly as huge as castle in the air, and much more comfortable; and as there was
 nobody but those two, except the tribes of l adherents below the pavement, an odd 1 stiffness reigued most of the time in the
 long suits of gorgeous apartments. Nat l uraily, at set seasons, there were feasts l and gayetles as there had been on the pre- vious night. The lofty ballroom at the
 back of the mansion was thrown open; | Aunt Deb did the civil, but eccentric, ill
 her violet velvets, and Blanche moved l dreamily about, as if her thoughts were
 elsewhere and her soul could not waken till the expected Huntsman's horn had
 blown. .
 Most persons thought the creature as l inanimaEe as she was pretty; Sut Aunt Deb was wiser, or understood her better, l though she never declared her opinions
 even to Blanche, having the agreeable and
 unusual habit of keeping back unnecessa-
 ry information from them for whom she
 really cared. Only sometimes, when her
 charge was more idle and visionary than
 common, her great eyes more absent and her look more abstracted than was exact I ly comfortable for the unlucky wretch who
 chanced to be talking for her benefit, the
 spinster would frown at her and say, with
 characteristic abruptness, ''I wish to
 goodness the horn would blow !' ssf But she never vouchsafed any explana-
 tion of the strange remark, and it puzzled
 every body sorely except Blanche; in- deed, she only dimly took in its signiica-
 tion. 7HuaH
 Bralas enough the girl had for half dozen chattering young women, with their awful accomplishments. Music, langua-
 ges, every thing of that sort, came to her by nature, and so never made her 8 nuis- anoe, but they were all unsatisfactory as far as she was personally concerned. "I wish could discovera new language" she used sometimes to say to Aunt Deb, | in the days while under masters. "Everv one of these sounds only like the echo of something want to hear"
 "Oh, for the bugle," Deb would mutt
 ter, with shake of her head and sigh like the wheeze of a bellows. It was 1 then that she took up the inconaprehensi- | ble phrase. 7' 'r+'
 "I'm sick of harp and piano, complain ed Blanche. ''They don't say what I want; there must be some instrument that wonld."
 1.-The bugle P whispered Deb to her self, and sighed more loudly. ... Blanche did not essay that, but she tired every other instrument, oven 50 violincel1o with stomach like an alder man and 8 voice like whole tribe of Ban shoes. but still her ears ached for the l music she could not find in their utter ances.
 She knew Europe and foreign courts by heart. She had been admired by the Prince of Wales and petted by Eugenie, AId1Adu JULIUS udu ldlu 1uClL COuuGl0S db her feet, and German dukes had splutter- ed beery compliments at her. And now the two were once more settled in the Madison Square dwelling. Blanche was past nineteen. and yet the bugle had not blown. She was pale and 1.-the and grace ful enough to have been a snow spirit, and the youth of Gotham tried in vain to- find a spell which should rouse her into life and warmth. No such magic was within its reach, and when it attempted to sound its little bugle in her ear, she felt irritat- ed, as by the bnzzing of mosquitoes. The youth did not like her in the least, and essayed jests at her expense in it's fee- ble fashion, as it did at her aunt's nose; but the youth adored her money. Colum- bia College may have turned out few mo- ted scientific men, but it Is wonderful how well up all it's pupils are in mathematics, so far as enumerating the fortunes of young women is concerned. tass#4a.f f4fss
 But within the last few weeks the youth, to it's unbounded disgust, had
 learned that it would be labor lost to con the multiplication table further in regard to Miss Deborah 8 charge. Fees golden treasures would probably soon be carried out of the reach of this eountrys income tax. Sir Harry Vane had come across seas from his native isle, followed Blanche over. people sad (and very sick he was on the passage. they might have added); so there was no use for the youth to fntter it's languid graces longer in the unappre- ciative eyes of the ogress's niece. 7' Blanche was remembering Sir Harry thls morning, as she sat absently reading her novel, with it's descriptions of titled people, state dinners, and similar weari- hot ! justice to herself and him, she ought to come to decision in one way or another, to be prepared for the important moment which could not be far of. Yet she felt so hopelessly indifferent that she wished ! somebody would take the responsibility
 out of her hands and arrange the affair,
 1t did not much matter how. While she
 was trying to get away from the trouble
 of thought, up came Mercury. Mrs. Spencer and Sir Harry Vane were down stairs, and Mrs. Spencer had scribbled on her card: "I'll wager my brightest ! diamond that you had forgotten we were i to go to the studios this morning. Sir Harry VOWS that it is against all rules of etiquette and humanity to intrnde upon you the day after your ball. but I don't
 know either party he mentions You promised, and am here, like fate or a dress maker Olll. NOW don be year getting
 ready. else I'll make love to the baronet" Blanche summoned her maid, and dress ed in so brief space that I wish other feminines would take example by her, all the time regretting that May Spencer
 wonld not be 90 good as her word But she knew that at heart May loved nobody but her odd, bookish husband, and was bent on Sir Harry's meeting with success in the errand which had made him dare sea-sickness, not to mention the bears and
 savages which the children of Albion are taught to believe prowl at their own sweet wall about the streets of the New Worlds cities. .4gsas4y #s .s4s-s.s ...-..4e. -.
 Blanche went down stairs, smiling as ! amiably as if she were not sorry they had
 come to remind her of her promise; and
 as Sir Harry looked at her he mentally l acknowledged that it would be difficult for the blood of kings and queens to pro-
 duee any thing so beautiful All the same | tznv AlR. ! |.