The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1889-04-07

that If she had discussed this with her
aunt or uncle they would have urged hertz
stay. They would have said that she was
OF use to them with the younger children,
and all this was true. But there was an
element of adventure in her blood; she was
not disposed to live in this world without
seeing more of it than she had seen In Wen
h ham O Which in bs Sad based snd l Before sne %f the sIeishe
ride on ST. Valentines day. she
had determined that she might as we'll cut
the knot of her destiny now as ever. In
this determination she had written to her
old friend. Manasseh Cutler.
When the letter was written she made
nohesitation nor delay. She read 1T over
to be sure of her spelling and punctuation,
folded 1t In a way in which no girl OF this
century could fold it, but in y way which
was one of the accomplishments of the
lady or gentleman then; sealed 1t as no girl
of this generation could seal 1T, but as every
lady and gentleman was trained TO seal III
then, and then addressed It,. She put no
stamp upon il. for there had not been a
stamp in America since 176S, and would not
be for q generation after. She did not dare
carry it to the postoffice, for if she had been
seen to put it in the box all Salem would
have been discussing that. evening the
question whom Sarah Parrish had written
to, and what she had said. 1t was necessary
for her to wait till night before she con-
fided it TO the secrecy of the public mail.
But, so soon as the sun set, she put on her
hood and mantle and walked down to the
village, She bought herself some trittes IN
the little shop which " as kept In the House
of Seven Gables, and returning, quite after
dark, passed the pOstoffice, and so put her
letter in the open slit at the door. When
the postmaster appeared at 9 o'clock in the
morning. and handled the five letters which
he found in the box, he looked at her bold
writing without rec ognizing it, shook the
letter and held it to the light, but was not
able even then to tell his wife who wrote
49, xxo- - II = .~-.l - <Ick I.x- IT,
letter was carried to Newburyport to wait
its chances for three or four days. and by
the end of a week arrived at the house of
ParsOn Cutler, which was, perhaps, ten
miles from that of the writer.
And so, in due course of mail, after the
parson had had time to make the inquiry
which she wished, his answer came to the
patient girl.
1t was all she could ask. He had himself
taken pains to ride across to West Newbury
to see some people there in whom he had con-
fdence, who were going to join the party.
They would be well pleased to admit her as
a partner with them in their adventure, and
every detail was given which she would
need for her outfit and her other prepara-
tions. Mr.. and Mrs: Titcomb were people
in whom he had entire confidence; they had
two or three young children with them, for
whom they would be glad that she should
take a part of the charge, and so far as COM
fort could be predicted of life in an emf
grants wagon for a journey of over six or
seven hundred miles, she might be sure of
comfort; at all events, she would be sure of
safety.
When it was announced, in family cOun-
Gil, that Sarah had a letter by mail the ex-
element was equal to that which would
have been felt in any well-established
household in Salem to-day if a large square
box had been sent from the English steamer
and left by the American express at the
door. Probably Sarah Paris had never
had five letters by mail in her life, and
probably. indeed, the women of the house.
hold would not receive five in the next two
years. She had expected the excitement
which the letter would cause. and when it
was at last brought up to her from her
uncle's store on the wharf, from which
tidings of its arrival had already been re-
ceived, she called the family around her
before she opened it and explained to them
the subject. Every one of them grew pale
with surprise; dear Aunt Huldah threw her
arms around the girl and broke into tears.
pated; but She had now had days
upon days in which TO forecast what
it would be, and what she should
say, and she bore herself bravely
through the whole. She told her dear Aunt
was going away forever. What had hap
pened was this: That she was determined
to see more of the world; they had often
laughed about it, and in their laughing
about it she had been more serious than
they had thought. She was determined to
go now, and they would see how she was
going. Thus she broke the letter open, and
revealed to them its contents.
OF course it was not thong before the whole
of Salem knew her secret. There was no
reason why it should be secret, and the girl
had faced this possibility as she had faced
all the rest of the adventure. The passage
in it which had the one thrill for her of
keen excitement was the inevitable visit
~ Inrr rU
That visit came at s o'clock in the even
ing of the day of the arrival of the letter.
Harry came into the room playing with his
spirits, but Aunt Huldah knew, and Sarah
knew that this was but atfectation. He
did not so much as take off his coat. He
said at once:
Il thought perhaps, Sarah, you would
night is lovely, and L have something 1
want to say to yOu."
He was too intimate in the house to be
afraid to be frank, and in two minutes the
girl was with him in the street. Then he
was eager; then he was passionate. Why
had she done such a thing as this without
letting him have q word. Had he not some
rights that nobody else hadf And the girl.
with dignity, said that she did not know
that he had. and did not know why he
should claim any. To which Harry replied
in an eager prOtestation of his affection.
He supposed that she understood that he
conld not live without her. and did not pre-
tend he could live without her. He
had not supposed that she was like
a girl in a book, who wanted to see him
on his knees, or to hear any prOteStations
in words. But he had tired to show, in a
thousand ways. that her pleasure was his
pleasure, and that he did nothing in life
which he did not associate with her. But
now he came. on the first instant that he
heard this folly. to say that if he had done
was only hers. as she perfectly we'll knew.
him. and let him show. as life went by,
that if he had not offered himself to her in
the right way at first, the offer was none
the less sinceres
1t would not be fair to say that Sarah
Paris was not affected by the dignity
which, after all, this spoiled child managed
to throw into his prOtestations of attach
ment. 1t would not be fair to say that she
was not proud, that at last he had made
the protest, which he had been so sluggish
in making, and which he had been willing
to leave unmade. But il she was proud, or
if in any way she were pleased, she did not
let him know that. She simply said that
he had no right to presume upon any good
nature of hers. She said thatthey all lived
in a simple life, as he had said, and that he
had no right to charge her with showing
him any more regard than she would have
on friendly terms of daily intimacy.
The poor boy interrupted her to say that
he made no charge at all.
Then she went on to say that she was hon.
ored, as any woman might be hOnored, by
what he was pleased TO saw TO her. but with