The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1855-09-25 00:00:00

sUPP .25, 1855.] 'llia n d a il y i ride, and L aura was a l one to rece i ve 1144'"e'riLte and the exertion of getting from d dea th_ • ted 'at - tla much 4° ' f ai - n —gge were to p for the invalid, an . , jtlike e door. Laura, terrified at his , .4 , host"a mid bI--,rauce, stood watchin l g, or, while and oenecl away'l carri e d into the parlour, bent fore r b e .h ati il3 :, partecit° the4nd restoratives.. . Wlnieqier and Whole hair mo from his high white Moma in bathing his face When •vp',e'e f rame trembled with terror. h01i0je,,,,,t-Itaio a_iter b %teat Whose his recovered consciousness, the first his gaze was the pale face of his ty lit °ll hinci. °se eyes were fixed with deep i 41 ' 4 ti y , h Re tried to thank her, but she “ pl s a p . c . ed , vi t i l, 1nd0,f.41211 on his lips, whispering— Lie tiii It k, _ ge . gi v ;7 to talk ; lloma will stay by you,. Vie 4114 rders about your room." . A . n m d with k ite ' 4 f 1 Laura left ni • kt lo h 1 , 4 vi . ee u curtsey ilepi,tillh lainting fit was but the beginning d o w il ,P4 l I ;_eek e r i; he was taken to . his room, .an . for f Laura insisted 'lo t ,, 8 41.6 he did not leave it. I N ''; sh e l the fatigue of nursing him with hA e°olih dpiWas who prepared his medicines sly t ho s. ' %till t 'IQ, and, in his delirium, placed rack, a riq . e4 B We with cold water upon his . head the • tati'l.°o:la, W ho liked to reign supreme in ' e n ' Bat watching,with a mixture of admi t a c i ~. . heftlader ,Jvals—, ..y the fair usurper of her offices, h , o 4 411 d been delirous for several days ; .but e a e f lae h , moct or a tternoo n in a quiet sleep, from which of t s ' t hought he would awaken in . his i . - 1 . th i 4e be,l'aura took a book and sat by the side hi lit 4) to be near when he wished for any ,' Mt Whi le . . 4,:et I Vlonia sat sewing by the window. It'll th' length slowly opened his eyes, and e t 1 ei n i li . mo oL upon the fair reader, who, absorbed in a,„_4140, did not see him. Ile noted all the late`noth-i! beauties ; the rich black hair banded ar ee fr off her high forehead ; the regular el,-°'les, telear dark complexion, long jetty eye tiLe4,; th7 }.‘ t ~)aow drooped over the large black /4aTti,Ytoiln7 noble figure, tiny hand, and beau l'icie.-.„41 lie ed t ,riu---all were perfect. tie lay 144 4 111° " wa% - 'e aoine moments ; but Moma, Lett: Witildre:Nvake, and , bustled up t o the grew rapidly ti ek --, and man,, i rrom that day he . i t tl 4? r(:)0111 . 1 114 Pnv hours were spent in that -au - - him, to him, and ~.1,4,,' eonv el „ „IA read to sang geatt'eonver-84:1'!°11s there were between these kothewas I.acitii.aoinlys. during which the young girl's lo os WO% passing into the possession of hat ,iv,, 4 1 IVith tuhlt that Walter fancied himself . in S:Ile tt4leatt e - air girl, who thus devoted her time 1 3, 1 41 h er t ° his comfort and entertainmen . t! 'teirotri presence would convert that sick 4q,ko, but 4 hestn into a paradise. (I don't Ray Pliti ll '443 hought it did.) ulti fitt f hi t one afternoon, when Moma was pre ligtii !it .evening repast, he won from the happy e l Iti the a promise to accompany him to his choei l I e spring as his bride. h 'k k4 alll' AI t,lviie fl u a sought her room that night, her '44 ‘sroi shed, her eyes sparkled, and he qi i , etii tl obed b c l ili ckly with excess of happiness: aft oftirer door, she knelt and thanked the 1, 114 4, 1 , 1 4ki n ;g00d for the new joy bestowed upon 't ..4 e ' 4 was an earnest thoughtful nature, ilt 144 ba°t iCvastindelible • 1 46 rt; she an impression upon hW 3 blit `'lt!e:l,ter W as given, it could not be recalled. to "44 ex 11°W 'well enough to he out, and h ell 4 vaaPected honae daily. IN 1) 41 4 he r kieated in her own room sewing, e h b i e4l4in burst in upon her. Let me t h k obaeut t th ll iti ttt. oat ehni,..o. describe Grace Danvers. She tae' he ging combination of blonde and etib itiltY' Her dark hazel, er eyes were 4 lightlack Yell brows and lashes, while her hair °wish brow» fallin g in a profu s i on , ,INTENT TO THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD. of shining curls on her shoulders ; her features were regular, and her complexion pure red and white ; her figure was petite, but most exquisitely rounded, while her hands and feet were tiny as a fairy's. " Dear Laura !" she cried, as she sprang into her cousin's arms, " I am so glad to be at home again ! So I hear you have been having a sick knight here while I was gone ; long letters from a .certain cousin of mine not a mile off, full of a handsome squire most dolefully sick, reached me. I saw him at the gate, and, instead of a pale, interesting youth, he struck me as being in a most stupid state of health. Lost your heart, Laura, eh 7" " Nonsense, Grace !" replied Laura. " You are wild with spirits. How did you leave Mrs. Ellis and Fanny 7" " Well—everybody well !" said Grace. " But here comes Mr. Elliot up the avenue ; you must introduce me." And bounding across the room, the gay beauty smoothed her curls, arranged her collar more to her satisfaction, and announced her readiness to be presented to Walter. The young man gave a start of delighted sur prise when his eyes fell upon Grace. Her pale blue dress, which was cut so as to leave her fall ing shoulders and round white arms bare, set off to the utmost advantage her exquisite complexion and golden curls ; her drive, and the excitement of coming home, gave an additional tinge of colour to her cheeks, and her eyes sparkling with animation. Walter bowed gracefully, and they were soon engaged in a lively conversation. Laura left them together, and went to read the papers to her uncle, her regular evening task. So it began, so evening after evening it con tinued. Laura was obliged to devote two or three hours to her uncle, while Grace and Walter took long moonlight walks, or conversed together in the piazza ; or her cousin's clear sweet voice rose and fell on the night air in songs, while a manly tone mingled with the strain, and Grace's guitar accompanied the delicious music. Day by day Laura's face grew pale and sadder, and Walter felt that there was no bliss to him like Grace's presence ; yet neither dared to speak of the change. Laura saw that the love between these two was stronger than Walter's love for her had ever been ; but she sickened when she tried to speak of it, and he dared not approach the subject. It was late one evening, when the cousins had retired to their own room, that Laura noticed how very sad Grace looked. She was pained, for Grace, like Shakspeare's Beatrice, had " little of the melancholy element in her," and Laura knew that nothing but some deep grief could so cloud her young joyous face. " Grace, what troubles you ?" she sad, drawing the young girl to her side. " Oh, Laura," sobbed her cousin, miserable !" " I'm so " Why, darling, what can make you unhappy ?" " I—l--well, I may as well tell you all, Laura ; perhaps you can comfort me. This evening, while I was walking with Walter, he told me that he loved me— " Loved you, Grace ?" exclaimed Laura. " Yes," she replied ; " but he is engaged to somebody else ! And oh, I love him so much !" " He should not have told you if he is bound to another," said Laura. " He did not mean to tell me," replied Grace ; " but he loves me so much that he could not refrain from letting me know it." " How can he love you and her too ?" said Laura, astonished at her own calmness. "He don't lope her," said Grace ; "but he says he was once far away from home, very sick, 115 and she nursed and took care of him -just as you did, Laura, and he fancied he was in love, because he felt so grateful to her, and so he asked her to be his wife. She said she would, and he thinks he is bound by honour to fulfil his engage ment. She cannot love him as I do." "What is her name ?" inquired Laura. "He would not tell me," replied Grace ; " and he asked me never to tell any one what he had told me ; but he could not have meant you, Laura, for I tell you everything." Laura caressed and kissed her cousin, and whispered, " All will be well yet, Grace. Hope and trust !" She then left her. The next morning she excused herself, on the plea of head-ache, from accompanying them in their usual ride. She smilingly bid them good bye, and stood on the piazza watching them off. Carlo, her spaniel, bounded after the horses, turn ing his head as if to bid his mistress farewell. They were gone ! Pietro carried her habit to her room again, and she was alone ; still she moved not. There was a fearful struggle in her mind. " Must I give him up ?" she murmured. " She is so light hearted that she would get over this. He is mine—mine ! But he loves me not !" Time flew by unheeded by her ; she was so absorbed in her reverie that the hours were as minutes. At length she turned and re-entered the house ; with tottering steps she regained her room ; once there she collected all her calmness, wrote and folded a note, carried it herself to Walter's room, and then again in her own chamber, the task over, she fell without con sciousness on the floor. When Walter Elliot returned from his ride he found upon his table the following note :—" Grace has told me all ; you are free !—LAuRA." When Laura rejoined them the next morning she was again calm, dignified, and even cheerful. Walter and Grace never knew the struggle and anguish this had cost our heroine, and Walter said to himself, " She is too cold to love !" Grace returned home with Walter ; Laura stayed in the West Indies with her uncle ; when he died she still kept the house ; but some time after this she went on a visit to Grace. Grace's youngest boy was, after much solicitation, per mitted to return with Laura, and Laura—still Laura Grahame—lives still in the old house with him. If you ask her why she was never married, she smiles, shakes her head, and says she was intended for an " old maid," and had to work out her destiny.—Family Herald. AN ORIENTAL HELEN. IN the year 1841, one of th e b eaut if u l Rayah peasant girls, so frequently found in these pro vinces, attracted the attention of the nephew, and adopted son, of Mustaph a , P ac h a o f Ni ssa. After many ineffectual endeavours, through means of his agents, to seduce the p oor g i r l, w i t h the assistance of his guards he surprised h er a t a C olo, in the midst of her friends, while dancing with her betrothed. The peasants, infuriated with raki and the excitement of the dance, rushed for ward to rescue the screaming girl from the hands of the ravisher, but they were unarmed, and in spite of all their efforts saw the innocent victim carried away in triumph ; during the contest several of the peasants were severely wounded-- and one noble fellow, who displayed great strength and determination, was shot dead. The wretched lover, inconsolable at the loss of his Agapia, for such was the name of the gi r l, flew to the mo un t a ins, and laid his griefs before an assembly of the Haiducs. The recital of the atrocious deed exc it e d the indignation it deserved ; better would it have been had the Paella's son rode rough-shod over the land, and squeezed the