The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1895-03-27

to pour down with savage steadiness, as
If it had got me and knew it.
After tramping in this hopeless fash
ion for what l took to be two miles,
the road turned to the left. Directly
before me rose large castellated por-
ter's lodge, with an archway under
meath. l found little girl standing
underneath the archway, apparently
hoping that the rain would cease. l
said to her:
II suppose the road to the left leads
to Suffering -Bodley?"
''Oh, no, sir" she replied. 1.-THE road
through the park leads to the village
and to the CASTLE"
"Oh, there's castle there?" said I.
She seemed surprised that l did not
know this.
"Is it ruin?" l asked; "or does any
body live in it?"
"The marquis of Bodley lives
there" she answered. This is his
park lodge"
''Are you sure" l persisted, "that
this road does not lead to the castle
only, and not to the village?"
"Oh, the castle is in the village" said
the little girl.
Then it turned out that she was go
ing herself to Suffering Bodley to
deliver evening papers there that had
come on the same train by which | had
arrived, and, seeing from my CONVERSE
tion that was to be trusted, she kind
ly volunteered to show me to the Three
Crows inn, where she had to hand in q
paper.
gladly acce pied her company and
gave her shilling, which surprised her
very much.
We set out across the park in the
pouring rain, and she chatted all the
way, telling me the number of stand
ards she had passed in the public
school, and giving me in general the
gossip of the neighborhood. She told
me at first that the road was perfectly
straight and plain, and that no one
could mistake it, but before we had
gone quarter of a mile it branched
off in three directions, and then lit
tie further on it branched again. She
did not appear to think that there was
anything here to confuse person, us
she told me quite simply that if per-
son were going to Stuttering-Bodley he
would naturally take the road to Slut
ng-Bodlcy, and not any of the 9th
. ers, which each led to different vii
, lages, whose names | have forgotten.
Anyhow, thanked my stars, which at
that moment were obscured by the
rain, that had the little girl as com
rade, for knew that, left to my own
devices, | would be at that moment q
, homeless and hopeless wan derer some
where in the middle of England.
: | had been walking little in ad
vance, and came to sudden stop by
| running into an iron gate across the
, roadway. The little girl was sorry she
r had not mentioned the gate, but she
thought everybody knew it was there,
because it had been there since she
could remember.
, The gate led us out of the park into
the main highway, and gave us the
( choice of something like five roads, but
l the little girl trotted along with hel
/ papers under her cloak, and we crossed
!, bridge to the right of which was {
4 roaring waterfall 1t was quite evi
dent that the place here, if it could bt
t seen, was decidedly picturesque, fol
there were hills, and it was heavily
/ timbered. The mu rmur wasa all around
3 and the girl said there were four grea
g lakes there, acres in extent, which she
1 assured me were the largest lakes ii
the world.
Q In the forest through which the roat
t now wandered it was as if we wer,
t walking in some dark cavern. Abou
? the middle of the woods the road agaiI
t branched in three or four directions
: which was habit it had, and finally
s emerging from the forest saw on al
q elevation blaze of light as if it wer'
}. a window on some cathedral.
k THAT" she said, in answer to my
d question, sis the castle. The village i
e over here to the right"
We accordingly turned from the roaC
d that led to the castle, and climbing {
h steep hill where the highway wa
again overarched by giant oaks, sav
y with delight some long low diamond
c paned windows cleaning red and hos
pitably in the inky blackness around