St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1896-01-17
IL have no home--no friends |"

TeJOlce III DelnS all 10 you, WAS the
answering entreaty of the student.
The maiden looked but once again
earnestly into his face. She placed
her arm undoubtingly into his; and
brief walk brought her beneath the
sheltering roof OF an humble friend Of
Adolph-an aged and lonely woman,
whose benevolence and worth were
the praise Of all who knew her.
Adolph's explanation was soon
given.
The story of the maiden was neces-
sarily longer. Born in distant viii
lage, in the humber walks ofsociety,
Bertha Lindorf had been deprived in
infancy Of a fathers protecting care,
and left the sole charge of a widowed
and friendless mother. But their vii
lage was ravaged by an epidemic,
and the mother was among the ear
liest of it's victims. Her only surviv-
ing relatives. her mothers sister and
her family, lived at considerable
distance and in the vicinity of Got
tingen; thither she bore the burden
Of her sorrows. Judge, then, her con-
sternation, when on reaching the
place she was informed that her rela-
tives had emigrated some weeks ear
lier to America, leaving her none to
lean upon, whether kindred or friend.
She had arrived at the end of her
sorrowing journey that very day,
but to find new and unexpected cause
of grief; the house she had sought
stood tenantless, and no rite of hos
pitality had been rendered her by its
churlish and unheeding neighbors.
Desolate and distracted, she had
wandered in its vicinity until night
fall, halt hoping, in her deep despair,
that Providence would restore to
that deserted tenement those from
whom alone she might look for a
welcome and a home.
Adolph listened with soft attention
to her simple narrative, and soon
after commended the fair stranger to
the rest she so much needed, and
bade her and her hostess adieu till
the morrow.
The morning call of Adolph at the
cottage was brief and constrained;
for the first glance sufficed to show
that to both rescuer and rescued the
night had been sleepless one.
That evening found each more
composed. Each, since their last
meeting, had bowed to the spell of
Natures sweet restorer," and been
refreshed by its influences. The
maiden met her preserver at the door
of the cot, with lively gratitude, if
not with cheerfulness, and for few
moments their thoughts flowed in
corresponding channel. Soon, how
ever, the effort to avoid the future
became more and more apparent;
the conversation tagged, at length
it ceased. 1t became evident that the
point to which the thoughts of both
irresistibly tended could not be
avoided in their words; the exertion
was painful, and could be sustained
but by unmeaning commonplace, or
by emphatic silence. The pause was
but for few moments; it was brok-
Ell by Adolph, who deeming farther
forbearance useless and unwise,
frankly asked his charge if she had
yet formed any plans for the future,
and whether he would be allowed to
assist in putting them in execution.
A blush at the vivid recollection of
her dependence, succeeded by deadly
paleness and a sob OF deepest inten-
sity, constituted the response. She
could not summon words to reply.
Adolph was panied, but not sur
prised. He felt the difficulties of her
position as truly, if not as keenly, as
the sensitive being at his side. But
he felt also that any proffers of assis-
tance, much more any protestations
of devotion, which might have pre-
coded this question, would have been
still more embarrassing, beside seem
ing to be untimely and obtrusive, in
view of her bereavement and desola-
ton. Gently urging the subject as
one which necessity required the frank
consideration, he forebore to aggra-
vate her painful sense of dependence
by assurances that she would be most
welcome to such home as his means
might provide her, so long as she
chose to acceptit at his hands. This
was sufficiently understood, and
needed not the empty parade of
words. But when at length he had
drawn her to speak of her plans and
her hopes, he was startled and shock
ed in turn by their repulsive barren
ness. In the simplicity of his heart
he had dreamed out for her some
scheme of life not dissimilar to his
own-a situation as teacher, COVER
ness, or, at the worst, in some of the
more graceful and delicate mechan-
ical emplovmepts Of her sex, in which
the immediate future could be passed
TRANQUILITY and soothingly, leaving
bright vista beyond, irradiated by
Hopes vague but blissful geamings.
Alas! for none Of these was the maid
en- 6tly qualified! Her life had been
passed in seclusion from society; the
her mother had been able
to impart was meager indeed; and
the student was not long in discover
ing that her crushed spirit dared
aspire no higher than to some posi-
tion in which she would be allowed
to earn the bread of poverty by unre-