Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1881-04-27
A Hallway Incident.
"Li,re nres grow great with little wini."

The steam gurgled and whistled, and
arose In great hot, white jets through
tha wintry morning air. The bright
brass bell Of the locomotive swayed TO
and fro, ringing sonorously as the early
express Jared and rumbled out OF the
station.
Every seat Of the car 1 had just en-
tered was occupied ; and feeling most
uncomfortably conspicuous, l awkward
ly stood beside the door that had just
slammed uncermoniously behind me.
Poor thing! Doesn't she look in
teresting in that silver gray travelling
dress! How slim and tall she IS; and
how pretty and pale !" remarked some
one halfway down the coach.
Il think she looks decidedly ghostly
ard commonplace dissented some
other. Inever admired that particular
tint of blonde hair. 1t is certainly
neither yellow nor golden. Her gray
eyes are rather bandsome-or would be
if they were not quite so Owlishly big
aud alert; and her skin is really TOO
fair. Such very fair complexions do
not wear well; they wrinkle quickly
and redden too easily. And most
bushes are so affected or country1ed.-
But, positively, 1 believe her headgear
is affected also. Is not her bonnet
quite a caricature ?-huge, immensely
aarlng, silver-gray plush-and smoke
gray. most enormous plumes. VIII no
one ever give her a seat 1t really
makes me nervous to see her posing
there in that spectral, Quakerishly, uu-
adorned gray she eiernally affects
4 always thought Luleen Aymes
quite Ingenious observed the other
interlocutor; 'and am sure most peo-
pie think her very graceful and lovely
and elegant and amiable. However,
YOU do not seem to appreciate her eX-
cellencies, very much, Cara
Il cannot appreciate what l cannot
discern asserted Clara, with a hall
sneer that did not dignity her small, dark
prettlness.
Her companion smiled politely lenI-
ent dlsapproval, and in more suppressed
tones, returned: You have always dis
liked Luleen. And l have often al
most believed that some significant
speech of yours was the cause OF her
sudden estrangement from Larry Muir
ray. Isit possible you SAID anything
silly or meddlesome
'Oh, 1 dare say there are people
sufficiently proper and stupid to con-
sidere lie a very silly intermeddler in
deed Cara lightly responded. How
ever, 1 only kindly informed the gentle
man OF a few simple truths ; and he
was good enough to thank me-
Il fancy your way of speaking OF a
simple truth would not always encour-
age one 10 descend to the bottom OF a
we'll to fluid it, commented the elder
lady. still speaking with the look and
voice Of courteous dlsapprobation.-
Poor, dear, pretty Luleen! she pro-
ceeded. Have you obscrv cd how very
white she Is? how very disturbed she
seems? She must have been a passen-
ger in that wrecked coach, and was
sadly frightened no doubt. I am sure
it must be quite dreadful for lady traV-
cling unattended to happen in an acci'
dent. but to be all alone 10 such peril
and deaf and dumb too, is really some
thing appalling
I knew both the speakers who hao
been discussing my person and my
reputation, my faults and my misior-
tunes. But they little guessed that l
had heard their incautious, and not
particularly delicate and sympathetic
comments and speculations. Ihey
little guessed that was no longer deal
and dumb-no longer tongueless Ill
soundless world. They little guessed
that the casualty they had mentioned
In their hlppant chatter had peen
ordained to restore me divers lost
blessings.
But for a moment forgot my anna
BILE commentators. l forgot even my
unpleasant posture "a somewhat shaky
perpendicular. And l certainly did not
remember the sorry solace OF seeing
quite a little company in the misery OF
seatlessness and endangered equilibrium
for with unseeiDg eyes was gazing
through the coach window upon the
Kaleidoscope fragment Of world through
which the train was darting like a great
fierce, feet serpent with its Kissing Of
steam, and rattle and glitter OF iron and
steel, while was thinking very intenny
Of many things.
1 thought of the accident that had
happened scarcely two hours before. l
had been half doing in my seat when a
thick, turbulent cloud OF black AMI