The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1884-04-12
A CAR.DRIyER's ROMANCE.


How He Won the Heart of an Albany Belle
and Became n Popular Preach'r.
Many years ago, freckle-faced, red
haired, r0und-shouldered Vermont boy,
nineteen years old, was employed as a
driver on horse-car in Albany. Living
not far from the corner of State and
Eagle streets was asixteen-year-old, be-
witching maiden, who was one of his
passengers almost daily. We will call
her Lo1ise Robbins. This driver, whom
we will name Henry Martin, in order to
conceal his identity, though far from pre-
possessing in appearance, had as ten
der heart under his rough exterior,
and far more genuine manliness than
the majority of the city swells who pa
raded state street then just as the dude
does TO-DAY.
But Miss Louise thought the young
car-driver the most awkward and I'M
couth specimen of man flesh she had
ever set her soft, laughing black eyes
upon, She drew his portrait and pre-
scented it to lady friend. and labeled
it 1.-The Red Rose, or the Horse-t ar
Heater" Many were the jokes she and
her associates perpetrated on poor, in
offensive Henry Martin. and he was not
SO stupid as not to know it. Yet, un-
natural as il may seem, the more she
ridiculed him the fonder he grew Of
Miss Louise; for the awkward youth,
while fully realizing the great gulf be-
tween their social stations, could not
help worshiping the ground she trod on.
He knew how prepost rols it was for a
car-driver to cherish affect on tor 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 an old diary still in his pos
session shows the name of Louise Rob-
bins on every page.
His letters to his widowed mother in
Vermont at that time were filed with
glowing descriptions of dark-eyed
schoolgirl whom he thought the pretti-
est 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 81
lent worship of Miss onise. Sensible
mother that she was, she warned HIM of
his folly, which must end only in bitter
disappointment.
At last there came day when Louise
was his only passenger. With tenn
pest in his soul and tears streaming down
his face. he stammered out the declara-
ton that she was an angel, that he
knew he has no right to talk to her so,
"but oh. Miss Robbins, if You knew
how love you, you would not blame
me, for l 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 MS both. and don't you dare act
Louise was still in her teens. she had
listened several times to the fearful en-
treaties of fashionable young and old
men, who not only knew that she was
fascinating creature, but were surely
aware that she was the only daughter
of 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 tender place in her
heart, and when she had gone TO bed
that night, though she laughed almost
Historically when she thought of the
car-drivers ludicrous performance,
there came the conviction, here is a
genuine man, the only one of my adj
mirers who means what he says, and
for the first time she pitied man. Then
she grew angry with him for his audaci-
ty, called her father to her and told him
of the incident. but when the angry
father said he would have him dis
charged and fired out of town the next
day she pleaded that he was a 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 warned to leave the city. The
newspapers stated that the "blear-eyed,
red headed ruliian, Henry Ma tin. had
made indecent proposals to an unpro-
tected young passenger in horse-car,
and that he deserved to be lynched. :"
At night he crept near the abode of
Louise, that he might possibly have one
more glimpse OF her, when policeman
ar ested him as suspic' Gus character,
and he was taken to the lookup. While
there messenger brought tiny envel-
ope containing a little bunch of flowers,
forget-me nots, and half sheet of pa
per, on which were these words: II
know you meant no harm. don't
love you and l 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 Hea-
ven.
Next day he was liberated on the
promise that he would leave the aity.
II had taken all of the earnings to sup
port his mother, who was an Invalid.
The street railroad owed him only five
dollars. which was all the money he