Litchfield enquirer., 1881-06-23
MERE CHATTER. .llitt
BY THE AUTHOR OF 1.-TWO HANDSOME PEOPLE TWO JEALOUS PEOPLE, AND A RING. .7'i,sa

BY THE AUTHOR OF 1.-TWO HANDSOME PEOPLE, TWO JEALOUS PEOPLE, AND A RING. .7'ns97
 .sonly believe half that you see. and nothing that sir-further corner facing the engine" u b7s There was no time to lose The gentleman stumbled in, murmuring, "I beg your par don," to the other five occupants of the car | riage as he stamped across their toes to his place. dragging his travelling bag, fur wrap | per, bundle of sticks and umbrellas two or three newspapers half unfolded and "Brad- shaw" with him. He flung his wrapper and his bag into the rack above his head. The bag stayed there, but the wrapper did not. 1 For no sooner had he put his umbrellas and sticks upright in the corner of his seat, and | the newspapers and the Bradshaw" at the i back of his seat, and had sat down, than it 1 fell from the top, knocked of his hat. and 1 fell in graceful but heavy folds on his head | Of course, by this. time every eye in the car | riage was directed toward him. and every | body felt very much disposed to smile, if not 1 to laugh If. however, his entry had been somewhat lacking in the dignity of repose, his exit the very next minute, was decidedly eruptive in it's nature.
 He had no sooner struggled from out the
 
 with red, confused face, than his glance lighted on the little baby girl (who was fast asleep and snoring with her little mouth wide openl and the young lady who sat directly op- posite to him. The young lady was very
 pretty-one could see that at the first glance and when one looked again one could see that
 there was more in her face than mere pretti-
 ness. But her dress and manner were too quiet to warrant the very evident, one might
 almost say tragic, start that he gave when he
 wasable to look at anything and saw her sit- | ting there before him,
 Their eyes met, The young lady colored violently. There was an uninstakable look
 of entire recognition passed between them
 The gentleman became purple, yet though he had paused in his struggles with his rebellious
 rug and sat staring at his gis-G-gis, neither of
 them spoke. The young lady turned away
 her head. And the gentleman sprang to his
 feet murmuring something about Shouldn't
 of course have got in here ... if 1 had
 known"-pulled down his bag, caught up his
 bundle of umbrellas and sticks, crammed his
 papers into his side pocket and under his arm,
 and stumbled back again across thirty or forty
 alarmed, shrinking toes, dragging his rug af
 ter him like fur-lined train, tumbled himself
 and his belongings out on to the platform,
 and disappeared.
 There was a simultaneous shout of laughter | from everybody save the young lady, Even
 she smiled. t'''.E
 Where there are half dozen strangers gathered together, there is sure to be at least
 one indiscreet person among the number. One
 of the passengers, lady of uncertain age,
 turned to the young girl whose hitherto gentle
 manner might perhaps have been supposed by
 her to indicate meek character, and said :
 "What an odd person you did not know that
 gentleman, did you, my dear thought he seemed to recognise you."
 | It is saying little to say that the young lady
 reddened at the question. She became crim- l son to the roots of her hair, not with confu-
 sion but with honest displeasure at this indis- erection on the part of 8 total stranger. She hesitated. however, before she answer | ed, because she felt that If she spoke at once she should say something unnecessarily sharp, and she did not wish to do that. She waited. | therefore, and after moments pause, during which her wrath accumulated, said very sharp | ly indeed: May l ask in what way that con- cerns you ?'
 | The lady was startled. a. ''Oh dear me !" said she with over-polite emphasis. Tn no way at aII, or course. That person stared at you, and you did not re: | sent it; so presumed you knew him. Then
 he addressed you, and you turned away your l head; so was quite sure you did not know
 
 T do know intimately" said the young lady, after a slight pause s ''Oh! Pm sure beg your pardon, " said the | indiscreet lady, smiling very disagreeable | smile-the sort of smile that baffled curiosity | might find it consoling to exhibit.
 l The young lady thought of fifty things to say, but did not say them. She was or a very | fiery, quick tempered disposition; so she did
 not trust herself with further speech, but looked, in one glance, all the deep annoyance 1 she felt, and, taking book from her lap, de- liberately turned her head away and began to 1 read, fxedy and deliberately.
 The look pierced through several strata of l idle curiosity, self-satlsfaction and cool i'm ; 1 pertinence, until it reached the elder lady l inner consciousness and that being not entire | ly invulnerable, it stabbed to the quick. The curious lady suffered the bangs of | well-deserved reproof. and reddened too; and | for many miles of the journey there was noth- ing more said by anyone.
 Two of the passengers those who had not spoken at all-got out by and by, and a gen. tleman got inr whom the indiscreet lady at I once proceeded to attack conversationally, and | of small politeness: "Do you wish the window | up or down?" May offer you portion of my rug? ?" "Would you like to see Punch s'' | Afraid it's going to rain." Country looks
 very bleak..,.,. Every cold for October" By and by they discovered that their views | respecting the conduct of affairs in Zululand l were alike Presently cartoon in Punch led
 to their agreeing cordially that lnebriation in the lower classes was great evil; that led to
 their avowing cordial approval of the new | plate.glass windows at the Bigford Junction | refreshment rooms. Subsequently they were
 unanimous in considering ''tbis Afghanistan ! business to be very sad affair altogether | finally they were of opinion that Seaweed- on | Sea was a very desirable spot They then | found that they were going to the same board | ing house, and that they were both martyrs | to a combined form of rheumatic bronchitis, ] ana in an elderly and most sedate manner were quite fluttered at the thought of many pleasant chats to come. and confessed to them selves respectively that their fellow traveller ! was, "an uncommonly agreeable woman" and "a very well informed man ?" When the train stepped at a small station just before Seaweed is reached, the young lady, who had been quite absorbed in showing some pictures to the little baby girl. who was now awake and rather fretful, locked up as If she had for gotten all annoyance, and said brightly, and to neither pass senger in particular:
 ''Oh !...... Is this Seaweed Fields ?'
 The gentleman now for the first time no- | ticed how very charming was the face of the qoel touuS iauy ID Gne IuTtner corner, ana smillnglv answered "Yes..... Will v0ll al
 low me ?" and proceeded eaIlantly to help her with her parcels, while she untitled up the little girl, who seemed to be very ailing, and called to porter.
 The other lady, however turned her head away, and drew herself up with such an un- mistakable air of Pray don't come near me, or attempt to contaminate me-" that it struck the gentleman quite forcibly. A woman of certain age may fairly be supposed to know | something about (which is which and "who is who" in her own sex, and he gave the young l lady another and bolder look It occurred to him then that 80 ought middle aged men | ..... and for the life of him he could not see | anything in this pretty young woman's appear l ance or manner that might have alarmed the l propriety of the most strict and severe of mat l rons. He therefore assisted her to get out, helped out her little companion, and even got | uha <