Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1882-01-12

form. A porter opened the door Of a
first-class carriage for him /; he jumped
in the train started and the Rector Of
Rorleigh found himself seated opposite
. nice-looking girl, who had novel on
her lap.
"Quick work, that" said Mr.. Gloam,
smiling at his companion.
"Yes; you were almost late"
answered the young lady, with laugh.
A minute one way or the other
often makes great difference, )" said
Mr.. Gloam and from that moment the
pair went on talking about one thing
and another.
Now, in his ordinary moods, Mr..
Gloam would not have ventured to talk
with q strange lady in railway car
riage. He was not only discreet by pro-
fession, but shy by nature-so shy that
as curate. he had often felt miserable
from this constitutional infrmity which
prevented him from getting on SO well
with the fair sex of his parish as other
livelier curates did. II had needed
that last glass of wine which Mr.. Gloam
had drank and the subsequent excite
ment about hurrying to catch the train
to embolden him to break the ice of re-
serve at one stroke. as he had just done.
But having broken it, he rather relished
his plunge into conversational waters.
His companion was pretty aud viva
cious, and seemed much disposed to
chat-at least Mr.. Gloam thought SO,
for he was no physiognomist. The
truth, was, however, that the pretty
young lady was as shy as himself, and
had never before taken q journey alone.
She talked because Mr.. Gloam address
ed her; but she felt inwardly uneasy at
finding herself solitary in the company
of familiar clergyman, whom she had
never seen before. What is more, she
perceived that her companion was very
much excited. The fuency of his talk,
the complacent feeling he expert enced
at having surmounted his timidity for
once, were completely the intoxication
which the wine had commenced and so
it befell that after gabbling about rail
way trains he touched on the weather,
which led him to the cold, and thence
on to Christmas and mistletoe. "I
suppose you will be very merry at
Christmas time, Miss-Miss but you
have not told me yet what your name
8" said the too-forward ecclesiastic.
My name is Aviss," replied the
young lady, much troubled by the
strangeness of the query.
"Ayiss? Why, that means bird in
Latin. What class of birds do you
belong to-nightingales, wrens? In
any case, I should call you a bird of
paradise"
The young lady blushed, but madeno
answer.
"I mean, of course, that any place
you Inhabited would become para
disc" explained the young rector, grow
ing more hilarious. 1t is the curse of
shy men that, getting SO little practice
conversing with women, they never know
where to stop when peradventure they
do get chance OF talking. Il is by
shy men that the rudest things are
habitually said and done through sheer
inexperience. Mr. Glaam had no idea
that be was transgressing the proprieties.
He thought he wss making himself
very funny and agreeable. He remem-
bered that Mr.. Yaddy, his fellow curate
in the last parish where he had served,
used to say the most startling things to
girls, who only giggled, sif they liked
it. Yaddy had assured him that they
did like it and Yaddy was not an i'm
proper man by any means-much the
contrary, and he was trusted by mothers
of all denominations. Thought Mr..
Gloam. as the train sped along: 81
have heard Yaddy joke about mistletoe,
and am sure if he had been with this
pretty girl, he would have had little
brotherly fun with her," for it was one
of honest Yaddy's maxims that we are
all brothers and sisters here below, and
ought to behave as such.
1T say, Miss-Aviss," suffered the
Rev. Jude, with leer, supposing there
were piece Of mistletoe in this car
riage?"
No answer from the girl, but her eyes
opened wide. and she shrank up tremb-
ling in her corner Of the carriage.
I'll think there is piece; look
therel" continued the foolish man,
pointing to the lamp in the ceiling, for
he meant to be facetious.
The girl was now fairly frightened
and moved from her seat to the further
corner Of the carriage. She had heard
of drunken rufians insulting ladies in
railway carriages and she set down her
reverend companion as being drunk and
possibly a ruffian. No doubt his clerical
garb was only disguise.
What are you running away for r.
asked Mr. Gloam, and he rose to follow
her with an unsteady gait, caused not SO
much by his tipsiness for he was not
regularly tipsy by the oscillation Of
the train. But to the affrightened girl
who saw him stagger it looked as if he
we're dangerously inebriated.
"If you approach another step, sir,
shall scream!" cried she, starting up
with all the color fed from her face.