Daily Kennebec journal., 1884-04-10
1ales aud Skftthes.
srREEr-CAR ROMANCE.
How A DRIVER WoN THE HEART OF AN
ALBANY BELLE.

haired round-shOuidereu vermont ooS,
nineteen wears old. was employed as
driver on a horse-ear in Albany. Living
not far from the corner of State and Eagle
streets was a sixteen-years-old bewitehing
maiden who was one of his passengers
almost daily. We will call her Louise
Robbins. This driver. whom we will
name Henry Martin in order to conceal
his identity, though tar from prepossess-
ing in appearance, had as tender heart
under his rough exterior and far more
genuine manliness than the majority OF
the CITY swells who paraded State street
then Just as the dude does to-day.
But Miss Louise thought the young car
driver the most awkward and uncouth
specimen of man-fesh she had ever set
her soft laughing black eyes upon. She
drew his portrait and presented 1t to
lady friend. and labelled it, The Red
Rose. or the Horse-Car Heater" Many
were the Jokes she and her associates per-
petrated on poor. inoffensive Henry Mar
tin. and he was not so stupid as not to
know il. Yet. unnatural as it may seem.
the more she rldiculed him the fonder he
grew of Miss Louise; for the awkward
youth, while fully realizing the great gulf
between their social stations. could not
help worshipping the ground she trod
upon. He knew how preposterous 1t was
for a car-driver to cherish affection for
the daughter of so wealthy an Albanian.
vet her image was ever before him. though
he struggled hard to DESTROY his mad love.
He ascertained her name by watching the
store packages sent to her home, and the
old diary still in his possession shows the
name of Louise Robbins on every page.
His letters to his widowed mother in
Vermont at that time were hlled with
glowing descriptions of the dark-eyed
school girl whom he thought the protest
and dearest lady in all the land-and TO
that mother, the only person in the world
who knew the value of his noble heart,
he told the story of his silent worship OF
Miss Louise. Sensible mother that she
was. she warned him of his folly, which
must end only in disappointment.
At last there came day when Louise
was his only passenger. With tempest
i'm his soul and tears streaming down his
face. he stammered out the declaration
that she was an angel, and that he knew
he had no right to talk So to her; but
o Miss Robbins, if YOU knew how love
YOU, YOU would not blame me, for | can't
help it." Louise did not scream or get
frightened she only laughed in his face
and said, "You get back to that horse or
he will run away and kill US both. and
don't YOU dare to act like fool again"
Notwithstanding Louise was still in her
teens, she had listened several times to the
fearful entreaties of fashionable young and
old men, who not only knew that she was
a fascinating creature. but were surely
fbat ba tho op1y lanpbtar pf
very wealthy gentleman. She had told
them all that they were very kind and she
would always be their dear friend. sister,
cousin or anything but their wife. But
poor Henry, with his fiery head, weather
beaten face, big hands, red and chapped,
did not quite fail in touching a tender
place in her heart ;and when she had gone
to bed that night though she laughed al
most Historically as she thought of the
car-driver's ludicrous performance, there
came the conviction: Here is a genuine
man, the only one of my admirers who
means what he says, and for the first time
she pitied man. Then she grew angry
with him for his audacity, called to her
father and told him of the incident; but
when the angry father said he would have
him discharged and fired out of town the
next day, she pleaded that he was poor,
simple fellow and that he did not mean to
do anything wrong. But the father was
obdurate, and the following day Henry
was not surprised when he was not only
discharged by the company but was warn
ed to leave the city The newspapers
stated that 1.-THE bleareved, red headed
ruffian, Henry Martin had made indecent
proposals to an unprotected young pas
senger in a horse-car. and that he deserved
TO be iynched.' AT night he crept near
the abode of Louise. that he might pos
siblv have one more glimpse of her. when
a policeman arrested him as suspicious
character, and he was taken to the lock-
up. While there a messenger brought a
tiny envelope containing little bunch of
| flowers, forget-me nots, and a half sheet
OF paper on which were these words: II
know you meant no harm. | don't love
you and don't love any man. Please go
away and not come back for ten years.
| L.R''
! To most young men this would not have
been a very cheering letter; but to Henry
it seemed the very gate of heaven.
! Next day he was liberated on the prom
Use that he would leave the city 1t had
taken all of his earnings to support his
mother, who was an invalid. The street
railroad owed him only So. which was all
the money he had in the world With "a
of it he bought bouquet and sent it to
Louise. In the center Of it on piece of
brown paper were these words: Il shall
return ten years from yesterday. NV
hair may change. but my heart never. /
shall think of you every hour and pray for
you each night. Freckles." He found
man who was shipping blooded horse
to Chicago. and by taking care of
the animal Henry was allowed free
passage to that city. When he arrived in
Chicago he had only 10 cents left. He spent
five cents in a stamp and stationery and
wrote to his mother. There was no de-
spondency in that letter. He got job in
livery stable that day at good wages.
Within few days horse was stolen
from the stable and Henry arrested on
suspicion of being an accomplice. He lay
in Jail for ten days, when he was liberated
for lack of evidence. just AS he was CON-
ing down with brain fever. He was sent
to the city hospital. where for two weeks
he was delirious. His attendant noticed a
strong cord about his neck, to which was