The Newhampshire gazetteer — Exeter, N.H., 1792-02-22 00:00:00, page 1

HISTORY of MARIA.
(Concluded from our last.)
MARIA, who had frequently ex
"preffed her difcoqtent at the
conhuement which ^r mother's infir
mities sometimes squired, marked
the young man-with more complacen
cy. She would have thought him a
miable, if file could have fixed his
attention, Bar, though the found no
thing which (he could complain of in
a general acquaintance, yet the seem
ed mortified that he expressed not those
assiduous cares, that extreme coffiplai
fance, which had ufu^lly diftiaguifhed
her admirers. Her aunt men ionea
the garden, and desired Maria to louk
at it, as it possessed more natural ad
Vantages han was common in that!
neighbourhood; and these had been
improved by the moil careful cultiva
tion. I will Stay behind said foe, and
endeavour to amuse my old triend.
Young Wilson, of course Attended her
explained the various altaratiot
pointed out the mol beautiful views,
and the moil romantic feeaery. Maria
sometimes thought that he particular
ly wished to convey the pleafare which
^ he seemed himfelt to feel, and was
even flattered by fa remote a compli
ment. But his easy and unafFe&d
air, the judgment and calle of his ob
' fervations, and the glow which foread
over his whole countenance, when he
described a feene peculiarly animaed
and beautiful, seemed to foggeft that
he had little (hare in the pleasure
which he expressed. She dwelt with
heart-felt fatisfadion on his observa
tions, for they were striking and just.
/Her good sense taught her to value
them,but the continually fought in his
manner Something to blame. Ou their
return, the harpficord was again the
fubjeft of conversation ; his Drains had
vibrated in her ear from he moment
of their lift fepartion; and she tho't
she had attained his manner, by con
tinually receding on it. " Let me
try that song again," said she; flic
tried and exceeded beyond her expec
tations : but eager to repeat the plea
fare which she had fel from his exe
cution, distrusted herfelf, and begged
another lesson. He complied,with his
ifaal frankaefs, and the day passed on
in the most enchanting pleasure. She
forgot her former disdain, and fed on
every accent that fell from his tongue.
Various accidents afterwards brought
them together ; arid whatever was the
fubjed, his obfervatibns were equally
elegant and judicious. " What a
pity, said she, that this creature has
mot a heart !—Happy must that wo
man be who is distinguished by his fa
tour !" A few of these reflections soon
brought the whole secret to her no
tice; a secret which she had endea
voured tohide even from herfelf,fome
times by affecting disdain, fome
times' by seeming to desire his,
friendship only; and frequently by
hiding their intimacy, under the
^pretence of their peculiar situatio
n, and the want of other acquaint
ance. She however refkaed, with
concern, that she too frequently vfcd
^his mother, attracted, as she tho't, by
the veneration which she felt for her
good sense and benevolence ; and that
.the utmost limits of young Wilson's
'complaifance never exceeded that of
EXETER, (New-Hambihire) Printed and Published by HENRY RANLET, at Nine Shillings per annum
Newhampfhire4
From a LONDON MAGAZINE.
WEDNESDAY, February a 22, 1792.]
a common acquaintance.. She had
indeed forgot her pride And her petu
lance. Hpr manner was more easy
and her anfw.ers gentle & complying.
She seldom tho't.of her acquaintance
in the town ; and the loose bands of a
town friendship,, of th; friendship of
contending rivals, are eatily forgot
ren. Her„prfon was much improved:
regular hours, temperate meals, and
frefh air, had lidded a bloom which
would have disgraced the borrowed
roses of Warren or Sangwine. She
had adapted also a simplicity of d/efs,
from the accidental remarks of her
friend, and her easy Shape was doubly
be auriful without the restraints of fa
fhion. She was really lovelyjand the
uian who could have seen her without
emotion, must have wanted fueling or
been pre-occupied by a former passi
on. She had insensibly adopted Wil
son's taste ; she played his favourite
longs only, and read those authors
which he had approved. Her good
fehfe aided his reflexions,and pointed
to her ,own, use every casual observati
on. She was happy in the feene,and
wished not to change it—here she saw
the woridas ic really was, unvaraifh
ed by the glare of good breeding,and
not difgurfed by falsehood ^nd flatte
ry. Reflecting on her formed coaduX,
she saw much to defpi e,and Somewhat
co deceft —she saw, with additional
force, the danger of her fiction with
her former lover, and r fleded on her
escape with redoubled pleafure.* Her
licit rtep was to search out her bene
faclrebtwho n her confidante found at
the head of a little school, labouring
for a Scanty reward. As money flow
ed on her,in a place where there were
nc temptations to dissipation, she lent
her a prefers, fach as she ought to
have bellowed, but which he thought
too small, and, by the fame convey
ance, assured her, that this sum would
be continued through life—that her
benefactor mull remain unknown—,
but that it had been put out of his
power to alter it. When she had made
this Sacrifice to gratitude she seemed
more eafy,when an rccidental circum
stance disturbed her peace, which she
feared could not be again reftbred.—
When she, one day, went to the cot
tage, instead of Wi/fon's meeting her
with his usual ealmnefs, he appeared
abstracted and uneaSy. His eyes fixed
On the ground ; involuntary Harts and
a diminution of his usual ruddy health
seemed to Show a mind ill at case. She
had been used to watch every &ook and
take her tone of mind from his; was
grave when he was so, and when his
gaiety returned, her heart vibrated in
unifen. At present her disturbance was
so great, that it was visible to his roo
the>,& almost to himfelf. He soon left
the company ; and when she wished to
walk in the garden as she frequently
did, to admire the efforts of his taste,
and sometimes to assist them, Wilson
was not there to attend her. She wan
dered over the delightful spot with
unusual reflexions, and going into a
fuqueftered grove, found a miniature
of a beautiful woman She bad scarcely
Secured it, and retired to a elofe walk,
wh^n she saw Wilton come with the
greatest and most impatient haste,
seemingly in search of it.; He ap
peared so unhappy at being enable to
find it, thft, though she possessed Qie
most eager curiosity *exami ne it more
attentively, she could hot bear to add
to'his misery. "Why Should lin
creafe his unhappiness ? said she, it is|
pot in my power to diminish it." She
then returned to the temple, ' < I be
lieve, Sir, said she her eyes fuffufed
with tears, that 1 can restore you to
the loft /hee??' He parted,and,while
she uttered, with difficulty, an inco
herent apology for her unreasonable
feunefity, he caught the piXqre and
returned it to his pocket. " I was.in
deed unhappy, said he, left, by negli
gence —," he hesitated and wa.^
filer* ; at lag, on a frivolous pretence,
left her alone. He soon returned ; her
bosom was filled with more anxiety
than she had yet known—the piXure
was Hill fixed in her heart, she tho't
it explained all his former inattenti
ons— flie acknowleged it to be beau-I
tiful—but was beauty the only accom-|
plifhmen: which could add to the fe-I
iicity of Wilfon.' She had refignedl
all her friends, had broken those con
nexions which she onte thought indis
soluble, the connexions of romantic
friendship, which the heart that feels
a void thinks necessary to its exig
ence ; and, white it really withes for
the more felid joys, is filled only with
-a visionary fcmolance. She had fa
crificed all these without a sigh—con
tented sometimes to fee Wilson, to
ramble over the feenes which his labors
had copfecrated, to breathe the fame
air with him, were pleasures which
more than counterbalanced the frivo
lity of polished life ; she almost look
ed on it as the end of her exiftence,for
she dared hot aspire to more—& with
this only, she felt more felicity than
she had ever before experienced, Itis
certainly the firft with of alover to fee
the objed of his passion happy—it is
a fecondAry defirc to be able to contri
bute to it. Two days %ere spent in
this doubt ; and, in these two days,
Maria felt ages of misery—yet she
dared not complain—she had founded
her hopes on a sand, and ought not
to lament that she had scattered them.
On the third morning Wilson appear-'
ed early at the Grove—a vilit from
him was an unusual favour,and Maria
flew, with impatience, to receive him.
His air was more composed—but it
was still solemn. "I am come, said
he, to thank you, Madam, for your
attention to my anxiety, by restoring
the piXure. The Curiosity of your
fe*, which is so proverbial, mull have
received a severe shock at the want
of gratification ; but I must foppofe
you superior to the rest, or confider it
as a double fayoar." This half iron
ical com pliment recalled the roses in
to Maria's cheek, which her anxiety
had Contributed to destroy ; but he
went on—and she, who existed but in
him, was unwilling to interrupt a Jin
gle word. ''J aught to apologize for
my abrupt leaving you; and my of
fence is more confiderable,as my mo
ther informed me. that you was not
well. Bat, at that time, my mind
was too much distressed to attend to
common forms ; and I have tho't that
my btft excuse would be to tell the
truth, if I was not afraid to add to my
crimes, by troubling you with a de
tail that must necessarily be intereft^
ing." Maria now trembled & turned
pale ; she saw that the crisis of her
fate approached ; she could scarcely
blunder out a flight compliment, and
a hope that the cause of his uneasiness
was subsided. He then proceeded in
his n arration. "It was my fortune,
said he, to be acquainted, at fyford,
with a young m^n whose abilities were
above the cofomonTank : his genius
THE
Gazetteer
and his taste were alike unquestiona
ble. I accompanied him into North
hamptonfhire, during a vacation, and
we there met an acccrnplifhed young
lady, you have seen her picture, and
will at least acknowlege her fttrfcnal
accomplishments." Maria had almcft
fainted at this exordium— but, wih
;her utmost efforts, at last recovered
hetfelL It is necdlefs to purine the
flory at length ; the friend of Wilson,
was enamoured with this lady, and e
qually beloved by her. Their letters
had been conveyed by him,and e cry
wish of their hearts was not unknown
to him. He therefore considered him
felf as almost the guarantee of his
friend's attention, by the interest and
a,dive part which he had taken in the
affair. But his friend, who was now
on the continent,had been long remiss
in the correfpohdence, and had lately
returned this miniature and the letters
to Wilson, he declared unequivocally
that his aAraiGns were engaged else
where, and hegged him to communi
cate the news to Harriot. •' This,
said he,occafioned theuneafinefs which
you perceived. But I have now dis
charged my cemmiffion, in the meft
delicate manner possible; ard have
this morning the happiness of learn
ing, from the mother of Harriot that
her daughter expeded the Stroke, and
was resigned to it—. She feels it fel
verely, added she, yet She already re
fle&s, that if his mind would have
changed, it is the most happy for both
that it is in their prefcut fauayion.",
Poor Maria new fuffcred another pa-^
roxifm ; why may not this amiable
friend thought She, fopply the defici
encies of her former lover ? She could
not forbear faying, " Now then, Sir,
you must evince your friendship in
consoling your former acquaintance."
" If, fays he, you mean to flatter me
by hinting it is in my pc^cr to ccn
folC her, I must frankly tell you, that
insurmountable circumstances have
placed us at too great a distance; and
even if I had felt a wish to be able to
elfea it, I fear there would be still too
many difficulties in the way." This
introduced a more unreserved conver
sation, and he frankly owned, that
there was One woman whom he had
wished to please, but had been pre
vented by the difference of their Situ
ations. They then separated Maria
dwelt on his words, and fondly tho't
that he meant herfelf. She lamented
his inexorable geherofity—ffie was an
gry that the decorum, prescribed to
her sex, prevented her offering him
what ht eagerly wished to bestow.
These anxieties preyed on her mind,
and destroyed her health. Wilson
seemed not more happy; and their
usual chearful meetings were changed
into silent ones, interrupted by Sighs.
The old ladies lamented the change ;
but were not able to account for it,ex
cept by conjectures. In this way some
week: ehpfed—Maria Md declined
raturning io the capital, under the
pretence of ill health, and nursed her
chagrin in Secret. But, while thf,
were at dinnner at the cottage,an ex
press arrived, and delivered a letter
to the bid lady, which informed her,
that her eldest son was violently ill o£
a fever in London. Young Wilson 4
immediately offered to attend him in
town, and as it was impossible for bit
mother to accompany him, immedi
ately set off on post borfes. The fol-,
lowing polls brought uncertain and
various accounts—but, at last, they
[Numb. 34 of Volume 6.