Litchfield enquirer., 1836-12-29

 my gun, with my pointer dogs crouched at my feet, gazed with intense interest at tiIas scene before me. At one end ofthe tabIe5 placed near a cheerful fire. sat a old mai. whom at once recognized as a veteran # our revolutionary war, at the o,har and h;-
 daughter was seated, reading to him f-or, !.
 bible, by tho broad light of an astral la,nn
 l never saw a creature more beautiful. hr.
 face beamed with piety and intelligence. her long eye lashes were pensiveIy closed, and. when she read from the sacred book before i'er, her coral lips parting over teeth ofpearl, and her voice sweet as balsom to the soul, rivetcd me to the spot with rapture and delight. '' must have her," said l, !" she shall be mine --such girl should not be permitted to 'swaste her sweetness on the desert air." I'll carry her of, take her to the city, and conceal her at one of my old haunts, the bucks and bloods of the town will envy me-" She continued to read to the old man the sublime passages from the b"ok of Isaiah her voice was loud and sweet, and her face beamed with fro and animation. "Hold, hold," said to myself " let us talk this matter over what will be- come of her old father what will the old soldier do when have carried of his cnild1 he who has shed his blood for the very lib-. erty which am enjoying. No matter; ye, cannot marry her, nor eau I give her up." A, that mopient she raised her head, threw aside the raven locks which covered her high arched forehead, and cast glance towards the caseh,ent. How like dog looked, how like a demon felt. (" cans. not marry her, she is a country girl, and T. am a gentleman the fashionable world will only laugh at me. A gentleman, sentls- man," repeated to myself, ;" for shame, for shame; is it the province of gentleman to steal, like serpent, at night under the case- lnent of this cottage-to twine round this innocent girl until her destruction is com- plete, to bring her aged father to the grave in misery, venting curses on us both, to, blast and destroy all ihe happiness see B. round me 2 If this is the act of gentle-s man, of man of fashion,I ana not one no, thank heaven am not so utterly lost to reason and to virtue no, will marry her j; the rose of health and beauty, and not of guilt, sliah bloom upon her face. Let the world scoff, let fools deride, let fashion frown, let proud ancestry discard, she shall be my wife, my honest, welded wife."- Well, sir, you havc seen her; it is needless to recount how ! wooed and won her, hon. orably, faithfully, and how sincerely and truly happy tavo been ever since. ! sel- dom visit llse city, because | have meso powerful attractions at home !; read and labor alternately, and realize the delight of a well governed, we'll regulated marriage."
 What lesson for all the fashionable fops and decayed rakes how full of instruction r.,l d, uhn eRAHr pect of an early and unhonered grave to all the realities and blessings of Q well sPent life ! Kahn. ..s @es
 One moral--one strong, persuasive, con- vincing fact, arises from this story; the ne-. cesi,y, the advantages of pausing, refiect-E ing, and considering the effect of any sud. den determination before we take it. Let us commune with ourselves, look into our own hearts, contrast vicious with virtu- ous ac1,. and we shall realize the blessings of just and. righteous decision, as was the triumphant case above referred to.
 Immortality of tks SoaL--If all must end with us, if man must expect nothing af- ter this life, if this is here our origin, our country, and the only happiness we can hope for, why are we not happy2 If we are born only for the pleasure of the senses. why can they not satisfy us, aud why do they always leave feeling of dissatisfaction and sadness, in the heartI If man is noth- ! ing above the beasts, why do his days not pass like theirs, without cares, without dis- quiet, disgust and sadness, in the pleasures. of the senses of the fcsk2 If man had no, other than temporal happiness to hope for, why does he find it no where on earth3 Whence is It., that riches disquiet, that hon. ors fatigue, pleasures weary him. that the sciences irritate and confound his curiosity far from satisfying it, that public opinion troubles and embarrasses him, that all these together cannot fll the immcnsity of tis soul and leave him nothing to desireS All other beings. content with their destinys appear happy after their manner, in the sis- uation where inc author of Nature has pla- ced them. The stars, tranquil in the fir- mament, leave not their places to give light to anotfor earth. The earth, regular in its movements, shoots not on high to take their place. The animals, creeping in the fields or woods, envy not the destiny of man who dwels in cities and sumptuOus palas ces. Thn birds rejoice in the air, withoat thinking that there are creatures more hap- py than they on earth. All are happy. each, so to speak, has its place in natures man alone is snquiet and discontented; man alone isa prey to his desires, is torn by his fears. finds disappoinlments in his hopes, becomes sad and unhappy in the midst of pfeasures man alone finds nothing here below on which his heart can Dc fixed.