Sam Rice's Romance [pp. 372-381]

A.'
1872.]
SAM RZCE'S ROMANCE.
373
"That's just what I've been looking behind a veil, and the rich, musical voice
for these ten years," responded Sam; uttered not a word through a whole halfand at that instant his eyes were on a hour, which seemed an age to Sam, he
level with.the lady's on the box, so that finally recovered himself so far as to say
he could not help seeing the roguish he believed he would not smoke, after
glint of them, which so far disconcerted all; and thereupon returned the cigar,
the usually self-possessed professor of still unlighted, to his pocket.
the whip that he heard not the landlady's "I hope you do not deprive yourself
laugh, but gathered up the reins in such of a luxury on my account," murmured
a hasty and careless manner as to cause the soft voice.
Demon, the nigh-leader, to go off witha "I guess this dust and sunshine is
bound that nearly threw the owner of enough for a lady to stand, without my
the eyes out of her place. The little smokin' in her face," returned Sam, poflurry gave opportunity for Mrs. Dolly litely, and glancing at the veil.
Page-that was the lady's name-to "Still, I beg you will smoke, if you
drop her veil over her face, and for Sam are accustomed," persisted the cooing
Rice to show his genteel handling of the voite behind it. But Sam, to his praise
ribbons, and conquer the unaccountable be it spoken, refused to add any thing
disturbance of his pulses. to the discomforts of a summer day's
Sam had looked at the way-bill, not ride across the mountains. His chivalten minutes before, to ascertain the name ry had its reward; for the lady thus faof the pretty, black-eyed woman seated at vored, feeling constrained to make some
his left-hand; and the consciousness of return for such consideration, began to
so great a curiosity gratified, may have talk, in a vein that delighted her auaugmnented hisunaccustomedembarrass- ditor, about horses-their points and
ment. Certain it is, Sam Rice had their traits-and, lastly, about their drivdriven six horses, on a ticklish mount- ers.
ain road, for four years, without missing "I have always fancied," said Mrs.
atrip; and had more than once encoun- Dolly Page, "that if I were a man I
tered the "road-agents," without ever should taketo stage-driving as a profesyet delivering them an express-box; sibn. It seems to me a free and manly
had had old and young ladies, plain and calling, one that develops some of the
beautiful. ones, to sit beside him, hun- best qualities of a man. Of course, it
dreds of times: yet this was the first has its drawbacks. One can not always
time he had consulted the way-bill, on choose one's society on a stage, and
his own account, to find a lady's name. there are temptations to bad habits.
This one time, too, it had a Mrs. before Besides, there are storms, and upsets,
it, which prefix gave him a pang hle was and all that sort of thing. I've often
ver) inwilling to own. On the other thought," continued Mrs. Dolly, "that
hand, Mrs. Dolly Page was clad in ex- we do not consider enough the hardtremely deep black. Could she be in ships of drivers, nor what we owe them.
mourning for Mr. Page? If Demon had You've read that poem-the Post-boy's
an unusual number of starting fits that Song:
afternoon, his driver was not altogether' Like a shuttle thrown by the hand of Fate,
guiltless in the matter; for what horse, Forward and back I go?'
so sensitive as he, would not have felt Well, it is just so. They do bring us
the magnetism of something wrong be- our letters full of good and ill news,
hind him? helping to weave the web of Fate for us;
But as the mocking eyes kept hidden yet not to blame for what tidings they