Litchfield enquirer., 1880-06-03
PATIENT KITTY.
BY JAMES PAIN.

l getner, or WnaL W0ulQ nave Ueen calleu SUCH in the good old times. We were in the house of Halland Brothers. general warehousemen, | Gravel street, city, and very respectable house it was. There was nothing tlashy about it 1; it was not what is now -a-days gen. teelly called "enterprising," city term, which covers some strange doings, but it did good business in a safe, old-fashioned way. Its customs were So old world that the young CT of the two partners always slept on the premises, instead of leaving at four or five o'clock at latest as others in his position do, for their villas in the country or by the sea- l They made their money slowly, but very surely, as all folks must do who have toler ably large connection, and are always getting discount for their ready money
 Our principals were, 1 believe. as kindly as 1 they were honest but in my humble sphere was not at that time brought into much per sona connection with them. The link be- tween them and their employees was Mir. Raynor, my friends father, and their head clerk. He was as much respected by his in- feriors as by the members of the firm, but am not 80 sure that he was liked so well, at i least by the junior clerks. He never said in words, of course, that because he was virtu- ous it behooved us not to have no cakes and ale, but his virtue was So very patent, and also, let me allow at once, so perfectly genu- inc, that it not only reproved all dissipation, but even suppressed the harmless ebulition of our youthful spirits. He had also the un. popular habit of applying for subscriptions under the name of ''our mites" in aid of missionary enterprise both abroad and at home; of the Encouragement of Sunday trad ing; of the abolition of the liquor traffic; and even of the purging of Great Britain from the crying sin and shame of tebacco-smoking.
 We did not mind giving our fourpenny pieces, though that was sometimes incoaveni- ent, half 50 much as having to write our names down, as was always insisted upon, in these charitable lists. He would thank us for our donations in the most earnest manner, but at the same time would reflect upon our hand l writing, ill which ''he was surprised to find so little improvement, considering the experience of which we had had the advantage during our engagement with Halland Brothers" At Clapbam, where he lived. if not in the odor of sanctity, in an atmosphere of good report, he was president of it's Teetotal Society, vice. chairman of it's Band of Hope, honorary sec- retary of its Anti-C Climbing Boy Association, and, in short, the working member of all it's benevolent institutions. He often assisted them very literally, considering his limited income, witt his purse; but his gift of oratory was always at their service. and he poured il out in lecture hall, assembly and schoolroom in lavish profusion. In those days free pass
 
 but we did not so highly estimate even plat form ticket to'a meeting in Zion Chapel, or to the Young Mems Improvement Hall to hear old Raynor lecture. He was most generous in the distribution of these favors, ana not to make use of the privileges thus offered to LIS was to give him great offence Poor Fred led a sad life with some of us on this account.
 He certainly suffered considerably for whereas during the delivery of the old gentle mans addresses his eye only occasionally wandered to one or the other of us it always made the wretched Fred it's starting point, and generally came back again to him after any peculiarly powerful" appeal to our ''nobler natures" as much as to say, ''What do you think of that. you young reprobate? Did not that search your very marrow ?" Not that poor Fred was a reprobate, but that he had natural taste for pleasure of all kinds, and did not by any means count the listening | to these improving dscoures as pleasure. But at the same time he reverenced his father most profoundly, and thought him not only ore of the best men alive, but gifted with ex- traordinary talents. ''It is my own fault" he used to say, ''that I don't like his lectures. Everybody whose opinion is worth having tells me they are frst-rate. It is sheer stupid l ity,I know, that makes me fail to see their 1 merits; but thank Heaven, 1 do understand how good the old gevernoris, down to his very | boots'' '' -r In this artless manner Fred Raynor used to confess to me his faith in his parent: but the world at large was doubtless scarcely aware of the feelings that dld such honor to the lads 1 nature. The reason of this confidence in my | case was that Fred was what we in those days used to call sweet upon" my sister Kitty. Of course the thing ought never to have been | dreamed of"-ony young people have no command over their dreams for Fred had but ninety pounds year, pad monthly, and | poor Kitty next to nothing at all but they made fools paradise of their own, and lived l in it. Fred's behavior under these circum- stances was worthy of better cause or, at all events, of a more feasible one. The frugali- ties he practiced with the idea of eventually buying furnished residence and setting up housekeeping on microscopic scale were | tremendous, and reminded. me of the asceti- cisms of the clester He drank ginger pop With his dinner instead of half-and- half start | cd an hour earlier from his home at Clapham every morning, on foot, that he might save his bus fare to the office; and always kept his l gloves in his pocket save when in the compa ny of his divinity. To be sure he would ''break out" every now and then, as habtual l drunkards are said to do after months of absti- hence, but by no means in the same way: : he would indulge himself by buying some pretty l infinite pleasure save tor the thought of the sum it must have cost him. But he always used to silence her by protesting that the mon- | ey was "a windfall," and did not effect the great mass sf his savings (about f2 18s. 6d.3 at all.
 These windfalls grew to be pretty frequent after little while, and with their frequency | (though l did not associate the facts together very particularly at the time) 1 noticed that Fred, whose constitution was always delicate l got to have thinner and more careworn ap- pearance. Indeed, l remember saying on one occasion when he brought Kitty her first lock- | ct (and angered me by declining to accompa- 1 ny me to the play on the ground of having no ! money), that he looked as if he had starved himself to buy it. Moreover, when did oc- ] casiona!ly persuade him to go with me to any entertainment, he not only did not take the same interest in it as of yore, which could understand from his loye-lorn state, but he used to fall asleep during the best part of it, | such as the ballet, which really could not | understand. It was bad enough for ones friend Go fall in love, but that he should do so l with one's sister was double misfortune, and deSnlated me as it were both ways, for Kitty and 1, being orphans, lived alone together; and her attentions, which should have been exclusively devoted to me, were now divided between myself and Fred; while, as have said, lost my friends companionship. This state of things went on for about year quite long enough to knit the two young peo- pie together very firmly and to make me feel Fred to be quite ''one of the family"-and then the bright iittle bubble burst Mr. Jacob Raynor discovered what was going on, and stamped It out, as though it had been the foot-and-mouth disease instead of the tender passion. EZ
 For my part, considering the great benevo- fence of his character, I though it was done rather brutally. There was to be total ces- sation of all intercourse; the lovers were not even to write to one another for two whole years, when Fred would come of age After that, said the old gentleman, if his son was still blinded by his folly, he might take his own course, though it would never have his fathers appreciation. confess it seemed to me that Fred showed some lack of spirit in