Martinsburg gazette and public advertiser. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1826-1833, 1830-03-04
From The Rural Repository.
HENRY AND CAROLINE
my .a,e ,s'mp'e aud ofhumbIe birth,

give me leave TO say that yoa do not dres,
suiiicenty gentecl to appear as clerk in a
fashionable store He0ry's face was sufT,,sed
with high blush, and in spite of his endea-
Vors to suppress it, tear trembed ON his
manly cheek Did not know that your sal
airy is sufficient to provide more genteel bab-
iiments,' continued MIR. ID. Il would increase
it
My salary is sufficient, amply sufficient.
SIR, replied Henry, in a voice clicked with
emotion, but with that proud independence
Of feeling which poverty had not been allie
TO divest him cf. His employer noticed his
agitation and Immediately changed the sub
Jeet.
Mr. ID. was a man of immense wealth and
ample benevolence: he was wilower, and
| 'i's1 S3t o';c c:.;;ia, daughter, who was tue
pr'de oil his declining years. She was not
as beautiful as an angel. or as perfect as
| Venus; but the goodness, the innocence, the
intelligence OF her mind shone in her counte-
nance, and you had but to become acouaint-
ed with, to admire, to love her. Such was
Caroline Delaney when Henry first became
| an inmate OF her fathers house. No wonder
he soon worshipped at her shrine, no wonder
| he soon loved her with deep and devoted
affection; and reader, had YOU known him.
you would rot have wondered that that love
| was soon returned, for their souls were CON
genial, they were castin virtues purest mould;
and although their tongues never gave utter
ance to what their hearts felt. yet the Ian
guage oil their eyes was too plain to be mis-
taken. Henry was the very soul of honour
and although he perceived with pleasure that
he was not Indifferent to Caroline, he felt as
though he must conquer the passion that
giowed in his bosom. Il must not cnfeavor
to win her young and artless heart thought
he; 4 am pennyless, and cannot expect that
her father would consent to our union he has
ever treated me with kindness, and will not
be ungrateful.' Thus he reasoned, and thus
hcrocaly endeavored TO subdue what he con-
sldcred an i'll fated passion. Caroline had
| many sultors. and some who were fully wor-
thy Other; bat she refused all of their over
| lures with gentle yet decisive firmness -
! Her father wondered at her conduct, yet
could not thwart her inclination.
| He was in the decline of life and wished to
see her happily settled ere he quilted the
! stage of existence. 1t was not long ere he
suspected that young Henry was the cause of
her indifference to others; the evident pleas
ure she took in hearing him praised, the blush
that overspread their cheeks whenever their
eyes met, all served to convince the old gen
tleman, who had not forgotten that he was
once young himself, that they felt more than
a common interest in each others welfare
He iorbore making any remarks upon the
subject, but was not as displeased at that sup.
position as the pennyiess Henry would have
imagined.
Henry had been bat a year in his employ;
Mr. Delaney knew nothing Of his family; but
his strict integrity, his irreproachable morals,
his pleasing manners, all consplred TO make
him esteem him highly. He was proud of
Henry, and wished him to appear in dress as
well as In manners, as respectable any one.
He had often wondered at the scantiness of
his wardrobe, for although dressed with the
most scrupulous regard TO neatness, his
clothes were almost threadbarc. Mr.. ID. did
not wish to think that this proceeded from
aniggardly disposition, and he determined to
breach the subject and if possible ascertain
the real cause-this he did in the manner be-
fore related.
Soon after this conversation took place,
MIR. ID. left home on business. As he was re-
turning, and riding through a beautiful vii
lage, he alighted at the door of a cottage and
requested drink. The mistress, with ease
and politeness that convinced him she had
always been the humble cottager, Invited him
to enter.
He accepted her invitation and here a
scene OF poverty aud ncatness presented it
self such as he had never before witnessed.
The furniture, which consisted Of nothing
more than was absolutely necessary, was SO
exquisitely clean that it gave charms to pow
erty, and cast an air of comfort on all around.
A venerable looking old man, who had not
seemed to notice the entrance OF Mr. ID. sat
leaning on his staff, his clothes were clean
and whole, but SO patched that you could
have scarcely told which had been the origin
al piece.
That is your father, ! presume said MIR.
d. addressing the mistress Of the house.
III is, SIR
sHe seems to be quite aged
He is in his SD year: he has survived all
|, his children, except myself
you have once seen better days
i have-my husband was wealthy; but
false friends ruined him; he endorsed notes to
agreat amount. which stripped US of nearly
! all our property, and one misfortune FOLLOWED
, another until we were reduced to complete
: poverty My husband did not long surviv,
, his losses, and two of my children soon fol
lowed him.
. 9 Have YOU any remaining children"
Il have one and he is my only support
+ NV health is so feeble that Icannot do much
u ! and my father being blind, needs great at
= tention. My son conceals from my knowl
e edge the amount Of MS salary; but | am con
= WINGED that be sends me nearly all, il not tn
whole amount of it,
Then he is not with you?'
NO, sir, he is a clerk for a merchant i