Litchfield enquirer., 1876-10-26

with anxieties, and in moment of care lessness might be the cause of sending whole train of Cars to destruction. It was the place for a man and not for a wo- man. 'fhorsdalaswould have to get along without lln. And Mir. Thor? We'll, in time.-time does so much,-I said, I would forget all about them both. Go away must, and the sooner the better. So ended my conrt-martlal, and taking 8 last look at the lake, with a very proud and stiff gait, holding my head very high though it was splitting with Q genuine headache, homeward l marched.
 s'Thor was here an hour ago, Miss Ma ry," said my hostess, ''and seemed kind CT disap'inted like. to find ye eout. He's brought killin' lovely cake, with a 'su- gar steam. engin' atop of it, trimmed with flowers. The children has been hiying areound it like flies; likewise bottle. of wlne,s I do so hope your temp trance girl. Stakes what a lot of men as has never draw'd sober breath since they left Smoilersville, all hollering them selves red in the face. Them kind of cakes, they say, is good to keep, and this un might do for your weddin.' Crar out there, you children. and let Miss Brown have some showing at her cake. It's mighty hard to keep children's fingers from picking at the frosting."
 ''Please divide the cake among your it- tie ones,, said. II am not feeling very we'll. Would you oblige me very much by not letting any one disturb me want rest and quiet" t
 Souls alive and are you as bad as that? Kettridge must have hurt you wus- ser than you will allow" felt really too wretched to make reply, and, mounting to my room. went to bed. I went to sleep, feeling dreadfully broken down, and dreamed that wandered all night through gloomy thickets, picking flowers out of Bass's ale bottles, which all turned to thorns, and pricked my fingers.
 Next morning, I took a roundabout way to the office. There were two doors to the station. one of them close to my cluset. l looked in and saw MT. Thor, with his head supported on his hands and his tawny hair streaming down. cough ed purposely, but there was no answer. I passed in and opened the door of my little room. and uttered cry of surprise at it's altered appearance. It was decorated from top to- bottom with garlands of flow CTS. To suspend the festoons of leaves, nails had been driven into the walls, and so smothered were the engravings with greenery that they were completely hid- den. Sea-horse, however, being partly on the ceiling, still held his own. My ale bottle was gone, and was replaced by a pretty little jardiniere filled with ferns and creepers. The map of Thor, where was 1t? searched for it in vain. At last l found it, torn and crumpled and thrust ignominiously into a corner. I quickly had the map in my hand, and snoothed it ont, and, in order to replace 1t, mounted on a cracker-box which did duty in my boudoir as an ottoman. My lugging about this piece of furniture, l suppose, awakened MT. Thor from his reverie,
 'I'm so glad you have come, Miss Brown" heard him rise. "I wanted to have some person to condole with, after yesterdays asinine, proceedings. I hona you are well agaln. Tkat accursed band. how 1t must have disturbed you. I had almost fight with Watkins he wanted to have the whole concern stationed un- der your window. See the conquering hero Tor heroine comes,' played on big drum and ophicleide, would have given you brain fever. I never was so irritat- ed in my life. tried my best to keep them out of your room in the office, here, but could not. suppose they have dec- orated 1t. The young man who took your place yesterday, and the Smoilersville lady undertook the business. have not looked at it."
 .'Pray look in, MT. Thor, sad, half- amused at his solemn and abashed mien. ''It Is indeed a perfect bower, now. How | have merited all this kind attention, cannot divine" He stood at the door a moment and glanced around.
 "That map is strangely out of place" !" he said, after pause. Away with such nonsense l am well over it all, now," and here he made a step towards coming in.
 Please do not. Please, Mir. Thor. Some one threw the plan into the corner; has torn it, I am afraid. took the trou- bic to hang it up again"
 He stopped just then, as with out. stretched arms, both of my hands holding fast to the sides of the door, barred the entrance.
 eff it stays there," he said bitterly, Cit must be constant reminder of as stupid a folly as sane man could have been guilty of. Why keep it? Thor, with it's paper streets, it's mock avenues, it's sham distances p
 " Pray cease, MT. Thor. Is not this room mine, at least for the present ?" Here I locked the door. ''What did the railroad people determine about the place? Did they promise anything?"
 ''Yes," he replied gloomiIy, ''they have decided on cattle she'd"
 "A cattle-shed !" I exclaimed, conceal ing with difficulty my own chagrin and disappointment. I recovered myself quick ly, however, and added, "A cattle-shed {? That is something, much better than noth- ing. Some-some of the greatest cities of antiquity, you may remember, owed their foundation to cattle.mart."
 ''Allow me to correct your history, for once. Rome's great forum, when Rome became nothing. was degraded to a cow pen" -- +s .-- ....
 ''It is worse than folly to draw any par allel between Rome and Thorsdaie. A cattle-shed ! Why, that is just what was wanted ]" Following the lead of my san- guine temperament, went on tumultu- ously "Wise, practical railroad men! A cattle-shed means drovers and butchers, men from Maine to Texas. with fat, greasy wallets. It means hotel, bank, mar ket, an exchange. printing office, news paper, a church, 8 Sunday-school. It means paved streets and sidewalks. It suggests mayor, aldermen, lawyers, doc tors, speculators, politicians. It means a wharf and steamboats, and timber rafts, and a lighthouse perched on Thor's Rock shining of nights across the lake. It means that at last the nucleus is found, providing you only believe it as do."
 Mir. Thor seemed to stagger for mo- ment under my load of words, and then said, "Miss Brown, you look honest. It would be the most cruel thing in the world, if you gave utterance to anything you did not implicitly believe.
 ''Mr. Thor, replied, with conviction, ''though women at.iny age are prone to romancing, I give you my honor that have pictured nothing which do not be- lieye may be accomplished, providing you will work manfully towards the end in view. Please reach me down the map" I added, unlocking the door. . I.s ,