Litchfield enquirer., 1876-04-06
From Harper's Magazine. OLD cARDlsToN.
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change of costume. but he wore ruffied shirt ana flower in his button-hole. and his countenance was sedately illumined by the thought of the. festal board below. Z He was not at work, but merely dabbling . a little on the outer edges s-making four shes at the ends of the chapters, number .l ing pages, and so forth. GardIs had gone to the drawing, room; she longed to see herself from head to foot, but, with the ,, exception of the glasses in two old pier , tables-glasses whose purpose had always been to her (and to us) a mystery there
 was no large mirror save the gauze-veiled
 one in the drawing room. sherld lns she es7p dpp it? Eve listened to the fompIer' ana. Tell.
 r T;le,r;so r,--,zfs. A sclssors, chair, a sship, and To! It was done There she was, little figure in quaint blue gown, the thick muslin cape hiding the neck, but the dimpled arms bare almost to the shoul- der, since the sleeve was but narrow puff the brown hair of this little image was braided around the head like coro- net; the wistful face was colorless and sad; in truth, there seemed to be tears in the brown eyes. ''I will not cry," said Gar dis. jumping down from her chair, "but I do look odd; there is no doubt of that. 1" Then she remembered that she should not have jumped on account of the slippers, and looked anxiously down; but the kid still held it's place over the little feet, and going to the piano, the young mistress of the manor began playing gay little love song, as if to defy her own sadness. Be fore it was finished old Pompey, his every day attire made majestic by 8 large stiffiy starched collar, announced the guests, and the solemnities began.
 Every thing moved smoothly, however; Cousin Copeland's conversation was in its most flowing vein the simple little dinner was marvelously well cooked and served, Pompey was statuesque, and the two guests agreeable. They remained at the table some time according to the old Gar diston custom, and then, the ends of wax candles having been lighted in the draw l ing room, coffee was served there in the crocodile cups. and Miss Duke sang one or two songs. Soon after, the officers took leave. Captain Newell bowed as he said farewell, but Roger .Saxton, younger and more impulsive, extended his hand, Miss Duke made a stately courtesy, with dowhcast eyes, as though she had not ob- served it; but by her heightened color the elder guest suspected the truth. and smiled inwardly at the proud little res- ervation. 'The hand of Douglas is his own," he said to himself. s. I The dreadful dinner was over, and the girl had judged correctly: the two visitors had no suspicion of the antiquity of the l blue gown. . ..--
 ''Did you ever see such a sweet little picture, from the pink rose in the hair down to the blue slipper!' said Saxton, enthusiastically.
 "She looked well," replied Newell; ''but as for cordiality-" |. 'Ill win that yet. I like her all the better for her little ways, said the lien- tenant. II suppose it is only natural that Southeru girls should cherish bitter j ness against us; although. of course, she is far too young to have lost lover in the war-far too young"
 (Which is comfort, said Newell dry ly.
 "A great comfort, old man. Don't be bearish. now. but just waita while and see. ...
 "Precisely what I intend to do," sad Newell
 In the mean time Gardis, in the privacy of her own room, was making a solemn fu- neral pyre on the hearth, composed of the blue gown, the slippers, and the pink rose, and watching the flames as it dld its work ''So perish also the enemies of my coun- | try!" she said to herself. (She did not mean exactly that they should be burn, ed on funeral pyres, but merely consigned them on thls as on all occasions, to a gen. eral perdition.) The old dress was but rag, and the slippers were worthless, but had they been new aud costly. he would have done the same. Had they not been desecrated? Let them die!
 It was, of course, proper that the guests should call at Gardiston House within day or two; and Roger Saxton, ignoring fho oF and again. He even sought out Cousin Copeland in his study, and won the heart of the old bachelor by listening whole morning to extracts from the documents. Gardis found that her reserve was of no avail against this bold young soldier, who followed her into all her little retreats, and paid no attention to her stinging little speeches. Emboldened and also angered by what she deemed his callousness, she every day grew more and more open in her tone, until you might have said that | she, in a unit poured out upon his head | the whole bitterness of the South. Sax ton made no answer until the time came for the camp to break up, the soldiers being ordered back to the city. Then he came to see her one afternoon, aRd sat for some time in silence; the conversation of the little mistress was the same as usual Il forgive this, and all the bitter things you have said to me, Gars1is," he remark ed. abruptly. KIT. =. -.
 Forgive! And by what right, Sir" ''Only this: l love you dear" And then he poured out all the tide of his young ardor, and laid his heart and his | life at her feet. l But the young girl. drawing her slight figure up to it's full height, dismissed him with naughty composure. She no longer spoke angrily or bitterly. but simply said, That you, a Northerner and soldier, should presume to ask for the hand of 8 Southern lady, shows, Sir, that you have not the least comprehension of us and of our country" Then she made him courtesy and left the room. The transfor- nation was complete; it was no longer the hot, tempered girl flashing out in biting little speeches, but the woman uttering the belief of her life Saxton rode off in- town the same night, dejected and forlorn.
 Captain Newell took his leave day lat CT in different fashion; he told Miss Duke that he would leave guard on the premises if she wished it.
 ''I do not think it will be necessary, |" answered the lady. sss3 $ l '.Nor do I; indeed, feel sure that there will be no further trouble, for we have | rule since the last disturbances. But | thought possibly you might feel timid.'' I ''I am not timid, Captain Newell" The grave captain stroked his mustache to conceal a smile, and then, as he rose to go, he said: Miss Duke, W ish to say to you one thing. You know nothing of us, of course, but trust you will accept my word when say that Mir. Saxtor is of good family, that he Is we'll educated. and that he is heir to a fortune. What he is personally you have seen for yourself-a frank. kind-hearted, manly young fellow g
 Did you come here to plead his cause?'' said the girl, scornfully. ~ Ar -S
 "No; came here to offer you a guard, Miss Duke. for the protection of your property. But at the same time thought 1t only my duty to make you aware of the real value of the gift laid at your feet"
 How did you know began Gardis. 4 III l. as r.- sfs