Herald of the times. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1830-1846, 1831-10-20
TIE BROKEN VOW.

Il "Ile will not come to night" said EN-
ma, as she looked ont OF her chamber
window on the still s depo pulated streets,
and saw the dark rain clouds gathering
IN the sky. Gle will not come tonight,
it is past his hour, ah, he did not use to be
so careful about the weather, but | will
not indulge in dIsqulctude- has prom
iscd." The word died upon her lips, she
recollected the coldness, the tone of am
biguity, with which that promise had been
repeated, when Theodore last visited her,
and in "A confused and embarrassed man
/ ncr, though with much parade of regret
/ and disappointment, assured her it would
! be impossible for him to conform to his
! engagement, and marry her at the time
appointed. She remembered how her
heart sunk within her at the moment, and
the strange, mysterious prcscntlment that
crossed her mind; that then, for the first
time, she thought how bitter thing must
be disappointed love-ior the first time
she felt the force of the remark which
she had so often heard-"Men's VOWS
are brittle things"
\ Still, the natural buoyancy other spir-
its forbid her to despond True, he had
broken his engagement, but he had re-
presented to her the imperous necessity
Of the measure, and she had acquicsced
in it. True, ne had not fixed the more
distant period, he had left the final hour
indefinite, but she had his promise; she
had his oath; she would not believe him
unfathful she could not believe him per-
jured. At last, after an absence of a
week, which seemed to her year, be
visited the house again; he once more
mingled with the smiling family circle;
he seemed the same he had always been,
and she was happy, But he retired be-
fore the family This cost her nights
rest; il was not his usual manner, and she
wondered why, at this particular time, he
should have 50 much more business than
usual. Still, she endeavorcd to put the
most favorable construction upon every
thing; she strove to acquit him in her
heart.
But love has eagles eyes, and from
their piercing vigilance, duplcity must
be coupled with most consummate art, if
it would avoid detection Emma was
caresscd by a large circle acquaintan-
ces, with whom Theodore was also fa-
vorlte. In parties they frequently came
together-and there, when the spirits are
up, and all reserve thrown off, the heart
unmasks itself. There Theodore often
forgot his caution, ard not only abated
his usual display Of partlaity for Emma,
but lavished his fondncss on another
The generous girl forgave him, until for
giveness became crime committed a.
gainst her own heart. She resolved to
lead a more secluded life, and III prose-
cutting her resolve, she found ample evl-
dcnce of what she most feared. His vis-
its grew less and less frequent, until at
length they were discontinued altogeth-
er.
Woman like, in the deepest of her sor-
row she retired, as 1t were, within herself,
and secure in the confidence that not ev-
en- her nearest relatives or friends knew
any thing other disappointment, she nurs-
ed her grief in secret, and put on a smile
as sweet, if not as gay, before the world
as ever. But heroically as she played
this new and deceptive part, her feelings
gradually obtained the victory over her
frame. She pincd away day after day;
the paleness of i'll health blanched her
young check, and she roved in the still
ness of the evening among the tombs Of
her fathers in the church yard, like thin
shadow of the past None knew her
grief
Her friends perceived with concern
the rapid decay of her health; and as the
family had some relatives in Bermuda,
they resolved to send her thither. The
voyage had a salutary effect. The
change of scenes and circumstances,
friends and acquaintances, and the kind
ness she experienced in her new abode,
dlspelled much Of the cherished gloom
that pressed upon her heart, and added
new vigor to her almost inanimate frame
The glow Of health gradually returned,
and she shone in the maturity of her beau,
ty, a star of no common lustre in the fash
Ionable circles of that delightful island.
A year had not passed before the hand