Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1891-09-18

| I'm, those were gay Ola times. buG siuCe
we came home it is very different OF
| course
s'Was it some trouble brought you homei
| notice you wear all black"
"Oh, make it a rule to wear black
I whenever am obliged to travel alone. A
| young lady under such circumstances can
wish nothing better than to slip along I'M
/ noticed, and one cannot be conspicuous in
\ black"
"But you can't judge people you meet
when travelling by their clothes. You can
| be SO deceived Only year ago l was
! going over to New York, and there was d
very ordinary looking little woman sat by
! me. She was dressed in purple and wore
| the dowdiest hat, and at first did not pay
much attention to her, but she asked me 9
| good many questions about places we
passed and her English was caution Sc
I made up my mind she must be for
| eigner. Pve often heard they do dress
fdreadfully, and l did the,best could to be
agreeable, though Ieoufstn s-seeide whether
| to speak German or French. But you can
| imagine my amazement when she left me
at Cortlandt street ferry, for she thanked
me for my kindness and gave me her card,
with coronet ca it, bless your heart, and
! the Countess de Graffenriedr
The young girl appeared to be impressed
and looked pensiyely at the tips of her fin
gers. Almost all of the suburban passen-
gers had been dropped by this time, and
| the stretches of green fields between the
villas grew larger. The conductor had left
| the back door of the car open and deli
| cious breeze came rollicking in, blowing
the young girls blond hair and the stout
| lady's feather about and rustling the pa
| pers which the old gentleman had thrown
down as they hurried out.
sit will be a pleasant evening"" said the
stout lady, with yawn.
eyes, indeed; am so glad Nine. X. got
my green tulle done after all Leone wrote
me l needn't trouble to order flowers, she
| would have one of the men get me water
| lilies from the lake"
s'There is lake near?"
$50 it seems You know have not been
| there yet. Max says it is a poem of place;
but Max is so romantic" added the girl,
with smile, half fond and half apologize.
| "He is handsome, of course?" queried
her companion with renewed interest.
"Of course l would think so; but he
really is. He has very dark hair and is
pale, with large, dark blue eyes, but not
| one bit girlish looking; and then his figure
| is perfect. You should see him in his
yachting suitp'
sHe goes in for athletics, SUPPOSED"
| mot exactly. = He is rather literary in
his turn of mind; but he can afford to in
dulge his fancies, and his yacht is superb. +"
''You have been out on it, them"
ayes; that is when 1 met Leonie. She
came on to chaperone little party for
Max. He wanted auntie to do it, but she
| is SO afraid of the water"
s'Well, indeed. my dear, l sympathize
with her. don't think l ever shall mus
ter up courage to cross the ocean. Mr..
Henderson insisted on our going abroad
for our wedding tour, and, for that mat
ter, SO did Mr.. Dupont, but there-I just
couldn't make up my mind"
"Oh," said the young girl, sitting up
straight, with her soft eyes Frightening, 81
love the sea- never feel SO much alive as
when the wind freshens up and the boat
just bounds. Max says we shall make a
tour of the Mediterranean soon with a
rising blush) and take run south every
| winter"
"That's the way Isabel and Mr.. Leland
talkl They think nothing of going abroad
for six weeks, just for all the world as if
they were running in to the CITY,"
II
The brakeman on the noon accommoda-
ton is short and stout. and announces his
stations in a fierce, explosive fashion; but
had his every word been dynamite it could
not have had more immedi ate effect upon
these two ingenious ladies, when at this
moment he put his head inside the door
and cried "Arbutus Station"
They sprang to tlfeir feet with one ac-
cord, the plump lady turning very red in
the face while she gagped out some inco-
herent sentences, and the blond haired
girl turning her back on her companion
| while she gathered up her umbrella and
bag. The station was three sided box,
painted green and containing a wooden
bench. A country road stretched white
beyond it.
There was neither basket phaeton nor
Shetland pony in sight, but as the women
faced each other on the siding, one with
the dilated eyes of amazement the other
with the narrowing lids of distrust, neat
Dayton wagon drove out from behind the
| station, and clean, pleasant looking Irish
man alighted therefrom. Hat in hand he
addressed the fellow travellers, sWas it to
Arbutus Lodge you expected to go2"
| And in one breath they answered, Eyes.
'Then it's glad l am to welcome YOU,
| and it's liking the place Pm sure you'll be,
for the missus is raal lady. AM, by way
of introducin myself, I'll just say am
| Thomas Connolly, the gardener. Mrs. Lin
| dell was needin' the coachman herself the
| afternoon. Av ooorse it'E you, ma'am. are
Mrs Robbins, the housekeeper, and you,
miss, Nellie Pethers, the nurse?"
And so our travelling companions became
| more fully acquainted-C. Ellen Rhone in