Litchfield enquirer., 1877-10-11
FOUNTAIN VIOLET.
A STORY IN TWO CHAPTERS.
 CHAPTER I.

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 Grace is 8 sweet name. have been all ways curiousiy fond of Grace. A trio of sisters thus called. popular in antiquity.
 were no less distinguished for personal att fractions than for purity of life and man.
 ners. At the state balls of Olympus. of
 which they were among the chief orna- ments. there is reason to infer that these young ladies, eschewing the ehaperonage l of their mother, Madame Venus, whose
 visiting. list was mixed and comprehen- sive, or of their father. Signor Bacehus, 1 whose too conyivial habits occasionally gave uneasiness to his friends. placed
 themselves under the protection of the ladies Diana and Minerva; and thus, with
 the powerful safeguard of innocence and
 wisdom, braved in security the social
 perils of the time.
 Modern history has chimed n melo- diously with the records of old. Observe that. in mediaevai times, little is heard of
 any Graces. They withdraw Into mod est shade It is u circumstance that tells
 immensely in their favor. Your true
 Grace was flower too pure and doiieate for the parterres of that garish day. On- l ly when the painted and bedizened queens l of the garien were swept from the scene | did the GFaces reopen their er-lidded
 leaves to the sun. and steal back, lovelier
 than ever, into the welcoming world. l And we'll have tue Graces since vindi.
 cated their claim to popular esteem. l fearlessly appeal to all accessible archives in proof of what allege. How faithful is every Grace, usually, to the traditions of her name! How rarely have we to de- plore the coming to serious grief of one so sweetly called Was ever Grace divorc- ed, expect, peradyenture, from lunatic | lord 2 Has society once had to blush for a kleptomaniac Grace Doth she smoke or tipple? Is she behind gloatlng over | the dovticides of Huntington, or heard l lamenting that her sex Qarge as is it's pres sent latitude) forbids that pastime in l which horses skins are battered, their mouths spoiled, their tempers ruined, and the laws for their supposed protec- ton openly violated, under the name of Polo' Never. Where Grace is. cruelty and self are not. Love, peace, charity in- separably companion her, and all these are comprehended in her delicious name. Grace Darling was an appellation worthy of the young heroine who bore it. But when changed Grace Fairloeks (which became the wearer wslD into Grace Sweetlove (which became her better). | fatter myself that, in point of melody. Miss Darling had to yield the palm.
 The espousals of Gratia Fairlocks and myself, Adolphus Sweetlove. could not be stigmatized as mercenary. Neither of the contracting parties coveted the others wealth. Let me be frank. We had be. ween us no money at all. or less. For al- belt Miss Fairlocks enjoyed net income of one hundred and thirty pounds year, she had impignorated that revenue for three years to come, in consideration of an immediate payment of e220. for the sole purpose, 1t world appear, of losing this latter sum in certain undertaking which, on the eve of floating triumphant ly into the market, stuck in the mud, and that of so clinging character that the di- rectors are not, to this day. purged of the consequences of the immersion. T
 My own peculiar resources m.s. were e. even ysn ltheitruth, slightly in debt. sud. at the epoch of my marriage. I had at my com mand just e35 sterling For the better comprehension of the following singular tale, must recur. very briefly, to the cir cumstances of my ante-nuptial life.
 On the death of my parents, which oc- cured during my absence on service in India, found myself in the somewhat unusual position of scarcely possessing blood relation in the world. could, in- deed, boast (but rarely did) of an uncle, my mothers only brother. Mir. Lewraft. But this gentleman, for all legitimate av- uncular ends, might as we'll have flourish ed in another age.
 MT. Lewcrafts country seat, Fountain Violet. was perched upon bleak hill, ov- erlooking the entrance of western har- bor renowned in past days for sending forth many a hardly mariner, sometimes to defy his country foes, sometimes its excise, for the very formation of the rocky sea-face, and the character of the adjacent country, marked it out as spot express ly designed by the foresight of nature for an important ''run."
 Wherefore "Fountain Violet no man knew. Fountain there was none; not even a hedge or bank in the wind-swept down under which violet could nestle. The edifice itself, was, as to it's interior. dark and draughty. full of echoes. strange wind-whistles, and melancholy croakiDg sounds, as if the aged mansion. conscious of tendency to collapse. were debating with itself whether it should try yet an-
 
 My uncle had acquired this cheerful property for very moderate sum; the man. sion, in addition to it's other attractions. having the reputation of being haunted. Mir. Lewraft was understood not to dis countenance this rumor. Owing, it was whispered, to some grievous wrong or dis appointment in early life, the lord of Fountain Violet lived the life of misan- thrope, and was more than suspected of being miser too.
 An avenue of stunted lines, respresent- ing almost the only vegetable life of the domain, communicated with narrow path winding down the cliff, and ending in little sheltered cove just within the \ harbors mouth, of size sufficient to con- tain any vessel up to 100 tons. Herein lay the link that still connected Mir. Lew craft with the outer world. He had al- ways loved the sea, and wooed it in all it's changeful moods with the serene indul- gence of lover. From harbor punt he had proceeded to stout fishing whefry, and at length became the master of a splendid 45 ton cutter yacht, now sungly berthed in the little natural harbor just described.
 On board this vessel my uncle was known to spend the greater part of his very ample leiSuf0. what he dld there, even at times when it was manifestly inn possible to put to sea, was subject of much speculation to the seafaring youth of the neighborhood, who, weatherbound themselves. devoted their ldia. hours to vain efforts topenetrate the proceedings of the "Ogre, for by that agreeable title was the ford of Fountain Violet popnIarly known partly from his mysterious prowl- Ing ways. partly from che fact that Eths unsparing dentist. Time, had. with cruel pleasantly. punched ont every alternate tooth to Mr. Lewraft's head, thereby im- parting to the conntenance an aspect of greed and ferocity.
 Work of sOme sort was at all times go- ing on in the Cockatoo Gossip afiirined that Mr. Lewcraft had conceived a theory connected with tho stowage Of ballast, which. when perfected. would be likely to worka compkte revolution in that essen-3 fIQl faaknro HScA Amhl A