The Wilmingtonian, and Delaware advertiser., 1826-12-07

house,"
No one can read without emotion the sto-
ry which he has given of an interesting
daughter of one of his neighbors, of whose
hospitality the writer had frequently par
taken.
"Just on the edge of these fields, six cab
ins were occupied by the family, its servants,
and establishments, which, seen in the dis
tance, had the appearance Of so many bee
hives. The family was from Western Vir-
ginia, or that part of the State which lies
west OF the mountains, and was of Scotch
descent. 1t consisted of the husband, wife,
and six children; and group of more beau
tiful children have never seen. The pa
rents were hospitable and courteous, and
had seen society enough to know its forms,
but not of that sort to render them affected
or fastidious. The piety Of these amiabe
People was not often blazoned in their con :
versation. 1t seemed a living principle.
! The stranger came in, and was so welcom-
1 ed as to feel himself at home. The circle
that assembled around their evening fire,
entered into conversations, that were cordial
and eXhlirating. The fare, too, was such
in all pects,-although furnishedin cab
| in,-as is not often found in sumptuous dwell
lings. In this house l have passed mauy
| pleasant days.
"NVhcnever the name of the oldest elangh-
ter is mentioned in my family visible
gloom comes over their cnuntenances. She
was long pupil in my family. From the
first of her residence with us she was an OBJ
ject of general attention. for she was beauti-
full, the rose of the prairie, and she was at
the most interesting period of life, and she
was gay, and untamed in the possession of
an uncontrolled flow of spirits, and as buoy
ant as the dawn of her own prairie. The
regulations of a religious family in that re-
gion differ widely from ours. When she
first resided with us, she was disposed to
consider our rules as odous, and our restric
tions as tyranny. But, in the progress of
her studies, and of more mature acquaint-
ance, she became tranquil, statistic d and stn-
dious. exhibiting an affectonate submission,
that endeared her to us all. She soon be-
came to me as one of my children. A con-
versation which had with her during that
severe sickness, which I have mentioned,
will long be remembered in my family.
Contrary to all our expectations, recover
ed, and had the satisfaction to see the pen
sve thoughtfulness, that had long been gath
ering on her brow, assume the form of pie
|ty and religion. When we were about to
depart from that region for the Arkansas,
her parting from my family was affection
ate and solemn: crossed the Missouri
with her, and listened with delight to her
views, her resolutions. and the plans which
she proposed for her future life. You WILL
believe, that they were not less interesting
to me, for being seasoned with piece of ro-
nance. But she laid down, as the outline,
the steady and unalterable guidance of re-
ligion. The counsels which ! gave her, as
we were crossing the stream, were of course
4 e., ,k.,IA e.
meet her no more. The ferryman was a
fippant and unfeeling Frencman, who un-
derstood not word of our conversation, but
marking her tears concluded was scoldine
her. He had saucy frankness of taking
every one to account, and when l returned
he began to chde me for scolding such a
beautiful girl. As he understood it, ] had
been giving her stern lessons and harsh coun-
sells, which had been the cause of her tears
"Why should I refrain from giving few
more details of this interesting young W oman
through fear that this page should take the
form of a romance. You have repeatedly
, pressed upon ME, to 60 boldly and minutely
into the history of all that I.have seen, en-
oycd, or suffered. My mind and my memo
ry suggest in the case of this young person
| so dear to my family, far more thanl shall
relate, and instead of wishing to colour.
shall be obliged to touch only the remaining
incidents of her short career. There resld-
. ed in her fathers family very respectable
young man. He was rather silent and re-
served in his manners, but thinking, intelli-
. gent, and of very different cast from the
!. young men in his vicinity. Still, he was moi
exactly calculated to win the affections of q
, beautiful young woman,iin whose mind there
was. perhaps, but one obliquity, and that
had been caused by the perusal of the nov
els of that day. He was not her hero, her
..beau IDEAL" We knew his worth. We
knew his true and honorable affection, truly
. and honorably expressed. He was in re-
| spectacle employment, and looked to the
) very lucrative and respectable office, which
: he has since held in the county of St. Louis
Mrs. F., who knew the wishes of her pa
, rents, labored the point with her. that the
] prospect of good sense, fidelity, tried affec-
tion, and honorable support, were the best
guarantees of happiness in the welded state
1t was not easy to dispel the day dreams
, which she had fostered from the idle read
ing of the day But the growing influence
of religion. there grew up also more sober
) and just surveys of life, and its duties, and a
stronger wish to crafty her parents in the
, first desire of their hearts. She was engag-
, cd to this young man, and on my return with
| my family from Arkansas, heard with