Year: 1865

Howsingularly acquaintances are made
in this life And how often it happens
that those with whom you have no sort
of tie, whom it seems improbable that
you can ever know intimately, yet with
whom you feel an inward, inexplicable
sympathy, suddenly confront you in out
of-the-way places, are linked to you by
some freak of fortune, and become to you
friends who stick closer than brothers
So it was with the hunters and me. It
must now be ten years since I was at a
certain watering place where daily saw
an apparition which moved me marvel
lousIy. Every day at certain hour
there was wheeled along the promenade,
in comfortable Bath chair, lady in ap-
parently the bloom of life and strength
and beauty; never woman had more
glorious hair, more lovely eyes, more
healthily brilliant complexion; her fore
head was white, and broad, and intellcc-
tual; her light brown hair lay in two
smooth, simple bands upon it; her ex-
preston was full Of sweetness and intel
ligence; but there fell from time to time
upon her face an air Of pensiye sadness.
One did not at first understand why one
so agile (to all appearanee) should prefer
to be wheeled along, or why one for
whom all seemed to be bright should have
those clouds Of sadness; but almost con-
cealed by the apron of her chair and the
folds of her shawl, two crutches were visi-
BILE at her side: and her mode of exercise
was explained, her air Of sadness was
comprehensive. The TALL stronghold
ing man who walked bekind or beside her
chair, who leaned over her whenever it
was stopped, and who tended her with in
finite tenderness, found his services as
pioneer or guardian in the crowded prone
made sinecure; all made way for her
with respectful alacrity; the man who
wheeled her chair assumed an air of au-
thOrity and appeared to be engaged in a
labor of love, or rather in a position of
honor which he would not Eec5de from
in any other mans favor for even pecuni-
ary considerations. would myself have
gladly paid current coin to take his place
for half-an-hour, but I fear he would
have refused to listen to me had there
been no other impediment to the arrange
ment Sometimes, she would leave her
chair and with one arm-crutch and one
hand crutch, limp to bench and thence
enjoy the bustling scene Of lively prone
naders, and watch the feet of pleasure
boats go dancing out to sea. Even heart
less wits who lounged about and joked at
veal or woe had the grace to own her
loveliness; they called her "range bolt
eux," or the angel on two sticks" when
they used familiar English.


But holidays are short for such as 1
am, and after having had my daily walks
both cheered and saddened-but not un-
pleasantly saddened by that vision of
beauty to which misfortune only added a
touching charm, my fOrtnight's rest from
laber was over. 1 departed and left be-
hind me my angel on two sticks" Yet
now and then for two years afterwards
fate sent her limping across my path at
the strangest times, in the most unex-
pected manner, and in the most unlikely
places her visits, as those Of angels,
whether they be on two sticks or on none,
are said always to be-were few and far
between, but I felt an unaccountable
sense of relief whenever I saw her drawn
by in her chair, with the sweet, sad smile
on her placid face, and the tall, strong