Constitutional Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1824-1832, 1824-12-10


the warmth of her breath-musc could
wake no melody like the thrilling tones of her
voice. Her motion was more graceful than the |
heave of the sea, or the change of the cloud, |
and tire magic ofmind, cleaning through all her |
words, and looks, and actions, shed around her |
a charm more grateful than Arabian incense.
No wonder my hero bowed down before her; |
no wonder that the sound of her voice was al |
ways in his ear, thather image was before him in
his daily occupations, and bore part i'm the mys |
ferrous changes of his dream. There was no
alIectation in her nature, and she confessed she
loved him-they seemed created for each other
and who would have believed that fatc-but
i am depressing.
There is something very melancholy in the
| reflection that any woman can die; but to hin,
that she should perish, was the very agony of
despair. He had left her for a few days, intend
| ing when he returned to have asked her hand
On the morning of his return, he sprang into the
stage-coacb, in most delicious rcverie. He
J held no discourse with his fellow passengers,
but wrapped himself up in a rich dream of anti
cipation.-lIis heart was full ofhappincsS. He
thought himself, as he entered his house, foo
| happy for a mortal man. lie preparing to
pay her the first visit, and dwelling in his mind
on her pleasing welcome, when her brother
came to see him--he did not observe any thing
peculiar about him at first, and not till the
warm, atfectionatc shake oftlic hand was over.
y,
and dismal, gloomy, black Grape hung from
his hat. He started, and i'm hollow voice, that
had desolate drearincss in every tone, he said,
| ''Elizabctl is deadn
| AT first he was not comprehended. A vacant
horrid laugh, that echoed strangely through the
still room, his only answer: then he repeated
| the words, and the features of nv friend became
| pale and rnotionless as marble-then he sat
down in n char, and covered his face with his
hands, butnot n worti-nota breath broke the 81
lcnce There was something alarming in his
calmness; itseemed like the silence of the hea-
w black cloud lust before il launches its dcstruc-
tive Lightning from its bosom. He beclSoned and
wished to be alone. lie ,cas left in solitude. |
would not profane the subject by any attempt at
describing his feelings. There was dark hor-
rlble confusion in his mind, like some accursci
dream glaring round him, and the night rolled
away It's long hours of seepless agony.
The next day was the funeral; and when the
sun rose in his same glory, aud all the 'spotnp and
| circumstance" of day began To beam upon the
face of nature, and the merry voice ofnen some
tunes came upon the breeze, and the carts rat
| tied rudely along, and all around was business
and adventure, unaffected by the great event
that had come like an ocean of scorcl,in@ fire
| upon the paradise of his heaIt-he recoiicctcd,
and he said, ''tp-day is her funeral--hey iuucr-
tal?" His benumbcd mind dwelt upon the words
but there was something underlined, and almost
| inconprehensible in them. She was 10 be hu-
red at five in the afternoon. The clock struck
four-he put on his hat and went steadily To her
house. He thought twenty times he heard her
sweetly toned, laughing voice, as he passed
along. He turned his head once or :wicc TO
see if she was not at his shoulder out there was
nothing, and he walked on. He saw the house
and his eyes sought every window-but Eliza
beth was not there. lie rang the bell-the
servant came, weepins-he looked at him and
| walked on-he passed into the parlour-thc
Chair which she had occupied, when he was
there before, was standing in the very same
place-and there was her piano-he almost
] thought he heard music-ne listened, a sob
from the next room came like ice upon Iii,
| heart, and he sat down. Her mother came
| INTO the rGom-her face was serene in grief. but
the first burst over and she was comparatively
calm. She asked him if he would look at the
corpse. lie EneLc she was dead, but the blunt
question stock every nerve i'm his frainc and
seemed to breathe death upon his soul-ITc
| arose and followed the bcrcaved MOTHER
There was the air of death III The apartment; and
a vanished coffin was on the table, n " iIitc
cloth flung carefully al the head; a few friends
sat and wept i'll silence, nIusing on the bear
| ties ana virtues of the being they were about 10
consign TO the cold earth. He walked up TO
the table and stood as STILL and pale and motion
less as the form tatlay stretched before him lie
would have torn away the veil that covered that
face, but he could not; he felt he might rs well have
attempted 10 heayc a mountain from its rocky
base. The mother saw--she lelt-a mother co,
teel--and she silently uncovered that beautiful
countenance. There was the same white fore
head--the sleeping cyc--thc cheek that he had
kissed so londiy-the lips that had spoken such
sweet sounds-he gazed at her corpse with in
| tensity of thought. Her living image was be-
tore mm-hc saw her smng-hc beheld her
in graceful moiion--Dow her figure passed
before hun, beautiful III the may Gauce-and
now he gazed INTO her full black eyes, and read
unutterable things. lie had ring on his fin
ger, present from hcr-hc tried TO speak
he looked at the ring, then at Iier-agonr swell
ed his heart he gave one long gaze-and looked
x
lie knew not how, but he stood BY her crave
and they were bearing the collin towards the
dark narrow pit--a heap of fresh earth was
pilel at its side Some one said, ..Whcre are
the cords" He heard the answer s'licrc they
are," and then the collin was gradually let down
i:to the bottom of the gravc-it sat firmly ON
| the ground, and he heard a voice saw there. |
that is rlgb'-drnw up the rope" Then there
was thc sound, as if the orders were obcyeJ-
IN the act OF dong it, few grains of sand and /
pebbles dropped ~ on the cullin-tI,en all was
shll-tlen ha;,iiul Of soft damp, heavy clay.
was shovcl'cd down. Oh, thatrsouud that So
Tenn, drcary sound Of utter dcsolation! 1t broke
| the horrId spell that Kept his voice silent and
his eve dry-hs lip began 10 qulvcr-a sob
hcayed his aching brcasi-largc tears cteLcd
from liis eycs--hc stretched out his hands in an
agony of weeping-and grasped an old quaker
geniieman's nose III the stage coach, where bc
was sleeping, and gave occasion for Obcdah To
observe,
'Vcriiy, friend when tIion hast sufiicicnny
amused thyscii with my nose. perhaps thou wilt
a a. al i