Mexico weekly ledger., 1884-01-31
STREET CAR ROMANCE.
HOW A DRIVER WON THE HEART
OF AN ALBANY BELLE.
A Minister Of the Gospel Now in Col
orado and the Happiest Man In the
West-The Glorious Reward Of
True Love.
Denver Letter to Albany journal.


Many years ago a freckled faced.
red-haired, round : shouldered Yer
mont boy, Is years old, was employ
ed as driver on o horse-car in Alba
ny. Living not far from the corner
of State and Eagle streets was a 16-
year-old bewitching maiden who was
one of his passengers almost daily.
We will call her Louise Robbins.
This driver, whom we will name Hen
ry Martin, in order to conceal his
identity, though far from prepossess-
ing in appearance had as tender a
heart under his rough exterior and
far more genuine manliness than the
majority of the city swells who para
ded State street then just as the dude
does to-day.
But Miss Louise thought the young
car-driver the most awkward and un-
couth specimen of man flesh she had
ever set her soft, laughing black eyes
upon. She drew his portrait and pre-
sented it to lady friend, and label
led it 1.-The Red Rose, or the Horse
Car Heater" Many were the jokes
she and her associates perpetrated on
poor, inoffensive Henry Martin, and
he was not so stupid as not to know
it. Yet, unnatural as it may seem,
the more she ridiclfled 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 wol Shipping
the ground she trod upon. He knew
how preposterous it was for q car
driver to cherish affection for the
daughter of so wealthy an Albanian,
yet irer 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 possession shows the name
of Louise Robbins on every page.
His letters to his widowed mother
in Vermont at that time were filled
with glowing descriptions of dark
eyed school girl whom he thought the
prettiest 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 bitter disap-
pointment.
At last there came a day when
Louise was his only passenger. With
tempest in his soul and tears stream
ing down his face, he stammered out
the declaration that she was an angel,
that he knew that he had no right to
talk to her; sbut o Miss Robbins, if
you knew how 1 love you, you would
not blame me, for I can't help it."
Louise did not scream or get fright
ened 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 act like a
fool again." Notwithstanding Louise
was still in her teens, she had listened
several times to the entreaties of
fashionable young and old men, who
not only knew that she was fascina-
ting creature, but were surely aware
that she was the only daughter of a
very wealthy gentleman. She had
told them all that they were very kind
and she would always be their dear
friends, 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 as she thought OF
the car-driver's ludicrous perform.
ance, there came the conviction: here
is genuine man; the only one OF
my admirers who means what he says
and for the first time she pitied the
man. Then she grew angry with hin
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 fred out Of
town the next day, she pleaded that
he was q poor, simple fellow, ant
that he did not mean to do anything
wrong. But the father was obduratt
and the following day Henry was no
surprised when he was not only dis
charged by the company, but wa
> warned to leave the city. The news.
papers stated that 1.-THE blear-eyed
red-headed ruffian, Henry Martin
/ had made indecent proposals to al
unprotected young passenger in
horse car, and that he deserved to b.
Il lynched." At night he crept nea
, the abode of Louise, that he nigh
possibly have one more glimpse o
her, when q policeman arrested hin
as suspicious character, and he wa
taken to the lookup. While ther
q messenger brought a tiny enveiop
!. containing little bunch Of flowers
forget-me-nots and a half sheet o
paper, on which were these words
"I know you meant no harm. dom
love you and I don't love any man
I Please go away and not come bac
for ten years. L. R."
q To most Young men this would nc