Litchfield enquirer., 1880-08-12
THE CHRISTMAS VISITOR AT
ISL. P0LYPODIUM HOUSE. sa-r /


Never I'D tue annals of Pciyp0tiiui.:. Hbtse hal
the brass p,at it,n ashc door shore with such
| brilliant sustrc. + Never (wrli. hardly erc-)
| had the doorstep ,eeh hearthstened to such
marble whiteness or the toiicloth IN the hall
| beeswaxed to such alarming slipperiness.
Warm smells of a oakley description pervaded
/ the lower regions, aud even found their way
prelnatrrelriin;e the drawing. room, where the
TWO Misses iim.,ernel sal in eager expectation.
| Here, too, the evidencesof festive preparation
| were obvious to the leas: acute observer. The
chiniZ covers had been removed from the
i,Urse-hair efars:n pale -b4ue rosettes adorned
the legsLof the terrestrial and celestial globes.
! and of the ancient cottage plan Even the
bust Of Cicero ni,tter the sdels,ard was dec
ora.eG with garland OF paper roses But the
cfnvhing glory of the room was its antitna.
| CAESARS. Antimacassars had always been a
| leading feature at 'Polypodiunl House Acad-
| emy. Ill-natured people, unable to conceive
devotion to art for it's own sake, had been
| known to remark that the parents paid for the
| materials, the young ladies did the work. and
til,. Misses Pimperuel kept the antimacassars
but be this as it might, it is certain that the
| antinlacassar manufacture was carried on at
| Polypodium House with extraordinary vigor.
There were some of soft clinging wool against
| svLch you leaned back Inxuriously; and spite
iul hobby ones, which hurt your head when
you sat down. and stuck to your. coat c,jllar
and hung down yuor back when you got up
again. On the mantlepieee stood miniature
of chubby faced young man, with stubby
red hair; and ever ii hung an oil painting rep
resentihg the two Misses Pimernel in early
yoath, with very short-waisted dresses and
| very tall tortoise-shell combs. They were
| depicted seated On the same sofa their arms
| lovingly entwlaed together. and the youngest
| Miss Pimpernel gazing upwards with rapt
affection at the eldest Miss Pinpernel's tor
| tose shell comb And here, on the selfsame
| sofa, sat the Misses Pinpernel again. Miss
! Pamela was perhaps a shade fatter, and Miss
| Penelope a shade taller and thinner than in
| the old days The short-waisted dresses had
succumbed to the changeful influences Of time
and fashion, and the Misses Pimpernel had
| scarcely so brilliaLta complexion, or SO much
of it, as they appeared to have had at their
pictorial age, but all else was unchanged;
the sofa, th. tortoise shell combs the hair in
little punches of frizzy ringlets on either side
of the head. even to the pose of Miss Pamela's
| disengaged hand on the arm of the sofa and
the little lace handkerchief which in the por-
trait she held daintily niPped by It's middle
| between her thumb and second finger and
which she now held in like manner, daintily
niDped between her second finger and thumb,
| all seemed so little altered that one might al
most have fancied that having taken their
| place on the sofa for the purpose of the por
trait the sisters had remained there ever since.
| On the present occasion, however, Miss
Pamela's eyes were directed towards the eftigy
of the chubby youth on the mantelpiece. Her
sister, meanwhile, was employed in knitting.
occasionally stopping to listen as if for some
| expected sound. After a few moments gaze
| at the sandy youth, Miss Pamela exclaimed.
| pressing the small lace handkerchief with both
hands to her left side. .
| Dear Peter how long to see him you
are sure he said tonight, Penelope ?" ap
my dear child, how can you he so absurd ?
| Here is his letter. Read it again if you feel
| any doubt on the subject though you must
have done so quite six times already. He dis
tinctly says he hopes to be with US about sew
en- O'Clock on Tuesday evening. the 23d. This
| is Tuesday, is it not? and it is now quarter
to seven. ....
Thirteen minutes! Only to think that in
a few short minutes he will be hegS!" Here
Miss Pamela again pressed the small handker-
chief spasmodcally against her left side, as if
that was the spot referred to. ~
Now, Pamela, my DEAR" said the elder
sister, in warning voice, and holding up her
knitting needle by way of emphasis, beware!
You know what DIR. Dott said. You must not
let that sensitive organization of yours run
away with you. or he will not answer for the
consequences. Dr. Dott will not anwer for
the consequences; remember that, Pamela"
80, bother Dr. Dott !" said Miss Pamela.
Excuse me, my dear Penelope, and don't
look SO dreadfully shocked. You know what
a silly impulsive creature am, and to have
an only brother returning from India after
twenty years absence is enough to bou1eUerser
anybody, I'm sure. Only fancy twenty years!
It's quite a,romance, isn'tit2 New Penelope,
even You, with your strong common sense,
you must admit that it's quite romance"
"Well, no, dear, l don't think should go
quite as far as that. 1t is romantic to certain
extent, perhaps; but don't think should de-
scribe it as quite romance. "}a3... - p f
Miss Pamela playfully whipped her sister
with the small lace handkerchief 1857
20, of course, most precise Penelope! AL
ways correcting poor little me. We'lEsay it's
almost romance then? Romance or not. my
dear, believe in your quiet way you are
nearly as excited about it as ann
''If you mean that shall be glad to see our
long lost brother, Pamela, do not deny it
but as far as allowing myself to become e.
cited on that or any other subject, l should
hope"
Blu. what Miss Penelope would have hoped
was not ,destined tobe revealed to the world
for at this moment loud rat-tat-tat was heard
at the front door. ,i;~T ~naeapE a,4eT
'"Tis HRl'' exclaimed Miss Pamela, and
rushed to the door, closely followed by her
less impulsive sister. The door being opened,
there appeared a rather shabby little man, of
chubby appearance, and wearing his hat
which appeared good deal too large for him,
very far back. on his head. Miss Pamela made
a swoop at him from the top step, and flung
one arm with the lace handkerchief) over his
left shoulder, at the same time hiding her face
on the other. +f@
"Our own, our long lost brother l" she muir
INJURED. ''Twen-ty ye-ars!"
The shabby little man submitted passiveIy
to her embrace, though with look of some
slight surprise, and murmuree,S like an echo:
''Ah, twenty years !" .s +.. ..-s-.t,
'.When you have quite done, Pamela, my
dear,p interposed Miss Penelope, with dignity,
II also will embrace our brother. Still the
same impulsive being, you see, Peter! Just
the same playful child you remember twenty
years ago"
'Ah, yes" said Peter, gazing earnestly at
Miss Pamela. Playful childl Twenty years
is long time, though" ~ a. = AA.& 2&S
Here Miss Pamela gave spasmodic wrig-
gle, expressive Of intense emotion, and subsid-
ed, with theIlace handk erchief pressed to her
eyes. into one Of the hall chairs.
Now Peter" said her sister, sit is my
turn. Embrace your Penelope" at the same
time making sideways lunge at him with
her head, and leaving her cheek inSconyenient
proximity to his lips. Peter embraced her ac-
cordingly, though without any appearance of
extreme delight. So axx&f~aGs
Miss Penelope applied her handkerchief to
her eyes.
This is weakness, she exclaimed Though,
| to do her justice, there was no indication that
it was anything of the sort). "Peter, well
come to England Welcome to our modest
little home, and come and have some tea"
''And badly enough you must want it, poor
fellow, after that dreadful long journey" said
| Miss Pamela, who had by this time recovered
from her emotion. "And such frightfully
hot climate too"
"You giddy, giddy child" said Miss Pene.
lope, shsking her ferefnger at her sister.
| ''You surely don't suppose Peter has come
straight away from India this evanipo1 That