Litchfield enquirer., 1880-04-01

' ot me, she did not suggest carriage" = ,.. 1 My dear Maria, the poor child has perhaps never left home before. Consider how you would have felt if at her age" o.s..-s 70 How l would have felt? Do you wish 70 insult me, Mr. Witherton suppose you are aware oy thls time that you married a lady WHO would hardly be found, at any age, roam- Ing around the country on snowy nights, ap- peallng to the protection of any chance man"
 ''Oh, my love, how could she tell that there was snow-sorm coming on? And, besides thousands of women in'1this country-indeed everywhere-are compelled to travel alone She did not appeal to me- offered your pro- tection-' - -"F"7" '- "
 ''Then most positively decline, solemnly sald Mrs. w.; and there was no use contestng the point, as, according to the manner things had arranged themselves, her complicity was 1 not needed. ..a. = 1 l >. dld n"t dare to ring and request openly that the porter should be notified to rouse me me at seven o'clock so, fearful that might oversleep myself, lay awake the whole night, and counted the hours as they struck. Not even hre broke out to vary the monotony of my vigil, and once, having given incautiously iouo slgh, my wife turned, and sleepily ask ed what was the matter ''i - ,.''' [.
 'l have not closed my eyes" |" I said 2 2. sa.ii Conscience, she muttered, and was again asleep before the words had left her l lips. .i .ss.f u,1 c&T sl..lI- " -
 However, at six I slipped out of bed into the dressing-room, luckily without observation and when accoutred, toiled up the five pair of stairs to my destination, cone of the five hun dred, and knocking at the door, was answer ed by apleasant voice, which said ''Thank you; yes-already," h few moments her door opened, and she appeared bonneted and shaWled. bap and Dursa in hand
 ''Wil you be so kind as to pay my bill, if you please ?'' she asked, very nervously, land to take out also what I owe you for Car fare?" .os @t
 | Il will bring you up your account, and you can then see if It is all right before you pay.p sald: "l suppose you will take some
 ''Yes think se"-hesitatingly. .'+
 Down the five pair of stairs I walked again to the office, and tl.ere had brief confidential talk with the sympathetic clerk, giving him a slight sketch of my position at the time.
 ou know, !" 1 said, ''that she could not help herself, for the connection failed; so I persuaded her to come to this hotel with-with my wife and myself, although she seemed rather afraid of incurring too great expense. Now do, that's good fellow, make her bill as small as you can. You know Ishall remain | In this house for some time and you can al- ways make it up-6x it, you know. Any thing that Mrs, Witherton won't object to-on our bill. You understand"
 ''l see, see," he said. 'All right. Let me see: nights lodging and breakfast and hack ?"
 ''Oh no,'' cried, hastily. T will take her !u the street Cars. They will soon be running suppose? ?"
 "Oh yes. Well, then nights lodging and breakfast. Do you thinks Che spoke judi 1 a bolf ic l much p
 Mot at all" answered. ''Give me the bill, and 1 will take it to her. ii
 lie handed 1t over, and again made the 1 tve-story ascent, and found her seoted at her l door waiting for me.
 'Here it is, handing it over Look over 1t, and if You are not setisfed, can have it altered: They are very obliging in this house,
 She looked long and uneasily.
 Say whatever you think, urged. Il think it is very, very hlgh," she answer ed, simply
 "Then give it to me-" and again made the descent to the office, tiptoeing carefully past my wife's door, although I knew the utter impessibity of her hearing, or, if she heard, detecting, my footstep among the many that passed.
 There, just where left him, stood the pa- tient, sleepy clerk. 't...t
 ''She thinks it is to .much, I whlsper- ed.
 ''Too much ?" with rrised eyebrows.
 '1es. Take off that dollar" {still in whis- per) 'and make it fifty cents Ali right, you see. Fix It afterward." I tapped my hand on my empty pocket, and winked.
 "Oh! Ah! Well." he said ''That will 6e be all right Have it just as you please" He gave broad dash through the one dollar leaving the fifty cents charged and again 1 toiled up with my diminished bill, and once more put it in her hand FIJI
 She simply and in good faith handed me silver half dollar, and then we went in car to the depot. l looked in her relieved satisfied, and pretty face, and really did not regret my sieepless night and early ride. AS for the in- exorable future to be met upon my reture, simply ignored it. 1 put her in the train and charged the conductor to see to her, and then came the last page of my only romance, ready to be closed. She looked in my face with her open, candid eyes. .. -.
 ''You have been more than kind, /" she said land hardly know what to say, l am go grateful was very much alarmed on the ! cars, for mother, who lives in Baldon, in Maine, you know, did not consider that there might be detention on the road, and only sent me money enough to buy my ticket and leave me two dollars for travelling expenses paid fifty cents to get to the d. pot in Wash ! ington, and you were kind enough to have my Dill made out as cheaply as possible at the hotel. This, too was the reason that I asked you to take me there in the cars I was afraid that mo money would not last if l had to pay hack hire. have just a dollar left, " she con- i tinued, while the clear lovely color mounted to the roots of her hair, land I shall not want anything more till reach home 1t is only very small trifle,; but please, sir, won't you accept it for your trouble ?". .4r ....-
 Thunder struck speeches., with the bill lying on my extended hand which had offer- ed to say good-by, and where she had placed it, stood for second, hardly understanding what she meant, when, with, ''All hands aboard-you'u be carried off, my good ST." the conductor good -naturedly took me by the shoulders, and found myself at once stand ing on the platform the cars half mile l distant already
 It was some time before I recovered my full senses, and then I turned homeward Half dozen times before I reached there I took that dollar bill out of my pocket and in credulously inspected it. Circumstances cer- tainly forbade my attaching any very roman tic associations to it, but it yet had kind of 1 mysterious fascination for me, What was her name? 1 just remembered that I never had asked it, but had told the clerk at the hotel to leave blank, and that would inquire, and then l had forgotten to do so. Who was she |? What strange idea for her to have chosen dollar bill as a remembrance between us /! l and what could be the value of our currency in Baldon, that her mother should calculate that couple of dollars above and beyond the cost of her ticket could defray her casual ex- penees from Washington to Maine? My mind was not equal to tindingsout the meaning of it all. .
 l kept my secret for g week, and then weakly told it. q hope you do not think that am trying to make pun) My wife had l been good wife to me, although she may not have been very attractive, so in moment of confidence 1 revealed it all. Need say that my openness was not respected, and that in after years the very slightest attention that I