Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1892-02-17
A CHANCE ENCOUNTER.


The hotel 10 which / was going, and
which stood there, as they ali do for II
long time, awaiting the collection of
the luggage. She was quite young,
not twenty, a girl so perfectly CONNIE
IL ta,tt, so well dressed from head to
loot, so evidently accustomed to be
cared for and looked after, that her
little air of bewilderment and distress,
and the way IN which she looked about
as il seeking some familiar face, was
all the more noticeable. L hope should
have been as sorry for a more ordinary
specimen of humanity, but L certainly
should not have been so much interest
ed. She was not alone, however, at
this moment, but was accompanied by
a man, who put her into the omnibus
with sundry expressions of encourage
ment, and descriptions of how she
would find her smaller luggage outside,
etc., to which she replied with profuse
thanks, without ever ceasing her
anxious look round the wide space
before the railway station, which was
crowded with p ople coming and going.
'I'll look round in the evening and see
il you have heard anything" he said
to which she replied by begging him
not to take the trouble, not to disturb
himself, with many renewed express
slonE of thanks for his kindness to her.
He patted her on the shoulder, as he
shook hands with her, encouragingly.
He was q man twice her age and had
friendly look and an American accent
There was not about him the smallest
trace of Don Giovanni: yet that Pat
on the shoulder Immediately quickened
my growing desire to intervene. She
Was not beautiful girl-in my exper
ience beautiful girls are very rare; but
her features were very agreeable, her
complexion of that blanc mat, which
the French admire SO much, her hair
of q pretty chestnut color, the outlines
of her soft, young face distinct, though
very delicate and fair. But it was the
little air, which could scarcely be called
personal distinction, yet which made it
impossible for the girl to look common
under any circumstances-thep perfect
physical training and well-being, the
perfection of care and regard for her
comfort, and the selection of the ap-
propriate and becoming in every per
sonal detail, which suggested that every
precsution had surrounded her and
everything possible been done for her,
from her cradle up-which struck one
most. Her dress was quite simple, yet
of the best kind. The train by which
we both arrived was a through train,
in which most of the passengers had
travelled all night; but she had none
of the tagged and disorderly air,
which so (almostl invariably appears
in the afternoon at least. of the day
after night journey. 1t was, evident
ly, natural for her to look pale, so that
tIers was no change in that respect;
and her pretty hair was as much In
order as, on the head of nineteen, 1t
had any need to be.
After facing each other a minute or
two in the omnibus, which was still
waiting for my luggage my
maid, an experienced polyglot In her
way, with large command OF nouns
and very small of verbs, was looking
Hfter-I broke through my English
reserve (which never was my strong
point and asked "Haye you lost your
which, indeed, was the sup
position l had made.
The girl seemed much relieved to be
able to speak-"Oh, no." she said,
''much worse than that. L have lost my
mother-and father. They were to
meet me here by this train, and they
have neither come nor sent any one,
and don't know what to do. That
gentleman said / had better go to the
hotel th,s omnibus belongs to-that IT
was the best, and that they might be
there; or L could send and try to find
them, or perhaps there might be a
telegram, or. L can't think how they
could have failed me: it was all settled
exactly how L was TO travel, and the
hour the train arrived, and everything.
l thought / could travel quite we'll by
myself, but l will never try it again, U"
said my little friend with fervor: and
she added melancholy story of her
troubles by the way. How she had
been placed by her friends in a sleep
ing-earriage, in which she was not to
be Decentralization went through, "
that magic word to the unaccustomed
trayeller-and would have no trouble
till she came to her journeys end.
when she would step into the arms of
her mother. All so beautifully arrang-
ed, no trouble at all-instead of which
she had been made to Jump up at four
in the morning, to hasten on her
'things," and to change into another
carriage; and now at the end where she
hoped all her troubles were over, there
was no mamma on the platform, no
body looking out for her and she
would not have known what to do, or
where to look but for that kind man,
who hid himself lost his luggage, and
had to go back to the frontier to look
after it. ''He said this was the best
hotel, and had better go to it, and
then telegraph" she repeated, looking
out as the omnibus got into motion,
with wistful eyes at the passengers in
the streets.
'sYoH must stay with me till they
turn up," said L, "that will be the sim
pIest way; if they are not at the Leon
d'Oro, we can send the porter round
to the other hotels, and you will soon
hear of them, you may be sure. They
must have been detained somehow, or
mistaken the hour, or-but till you
hear of them, you must stay with me.
"Oh, NAV L? thank you so very
much" cried the girl, with light OF
relief on her soft face; and then she
returned to the tribulations ot the
journey, and the korrcr of not seeing
any face she knew when she arrived.
"And can speak a wordl" she added,
in soft accent of wondering despair.
.'we can speak a great many words,
johnson and l." 1 replied, ''they are
not very nicely put together, and
critic might object to our converse
tional style, but we manageto get on
and nowadays there is no difficulty In
getting on, for everybody speaks
English at all the hotels; so you may
be quite at your ease as far ss that If
concerned. 1t used to be very differ
ent in my time. / remember" and
then 1 began little story OF ~