Litchfield enquirer., 1840-04-02
THE CHOICE.

| SofVed to look around him in the circle of his
female acquaintanceS,' for one who could be
content with such an establishment as he had
to offer, and whose tastes and pursuits ac-
corded with his ideas of female excellence.
Charles was not remarkably fastidious, vet
he looked in vain-one charmed him by her
beauty, arother by her accomplishments; a
third by her decorhn of manners, and
fourth BY her vivacity. But still the inde-
scrlbabte charm was wanting-several times
he had been on the verge of falling in love,
but some accidental discovery, or startling
discrepancy saved him from committing
himself.
Charles, however, brought him acquaint-
ed with two sisters, possessed with equal
beauty, resembling each other in manners
and disposition. He was greatly at loss
which Of these sisters to admire the most
they both possessed such charming gaiety,'
such an easy flow Of conversation, and appa-
| rently, such equalness of temper. The brill
liant eyes Of Lucy, the eldest, dazzled his
magination-while the less sparkling but
more tender ones of Fanny often riveted his
! gaze. After a few weeks acquaintance
however, Ire began to fancy the eldest sister
preferred him, and he devoted more Of his
| attention to her.
Time however convinced him the DISPOSE
ton of Lucy differed in some respects from
hao o"A' 0HO WOS 0tHOUIOuSp AOtlu "a pUUlIO
amusementS, more from the ecldt of being at
them, than on account Of the pleasure they
afforded her; extravagant in her ideas of a
matrimonial establishment, though destitute
OF fortune herself and ridiculing those do
neSttc drudgeS, as she called them, who "bar-
ter their liberty for bare competency,
and sit down in the corner for the rest of
their lives ;"-his imagination had been daz-
zled by Lucy's uncommon beauty, but his
heart was not irretrievably gone; he saw
that he should not suit her as husband, and
began to be convinced she would not suit
him as wife.
He quietly withdrew his attentions from
her and devoted them to her sister, whose
more quiet and retiring habits and less am
bilious views, suited his moderated circum-
| stances and transformations wishes-he now
found that he had overlooked one whose first
feelings of Partially had been awakened i'm
his favor, while he had trifled away his time
at the shrine of vanity and ambition. Fan.
ny's was a heart formed for affection, and
every domestic and endearing virtue and
Charles Franklin had sense and Judgment TO-
discover and appreciate thenn.. .,
Lucy, little piqued by the transfer Of
those attentions which she had priced only
as they had contributed for short while to
her amusement, laughed openly at her sis
ter's choice, and drew a lively and ludicrous
picture of the intended domestic establish
ment-but the good sense of Fanny enabled
her to hear this bddinage with unruffled tenn
per, and she looked forward to union with
Charles with confidence and hope. After
Charles and Fanny were settled in their resi-
dence, Lucy, who, Notwithstanding her rail-
lery, was frequent guest, wondered at the
unalloyed happiness they seemed to enjoy
and finally told her sister that she could new
er be content with an establishment which
deSarred her from the elegancies of high
life, which could boast of nothing save neat
ness and comfort.
In fact, Lucy was slave to false pride
and weak ambition and she made no effort
to shake offthe tramriiels that enchanted her
better Judgment At length she received an
offer, the acceptance of which would appa.
rently ensure to her the possession of all she
coveted. II is true the lover who offered her
a splendid establishment and all the ostenta-
tious parade her heart could desire. was not
exactly the person she would have chosen to
share those coveted advantag es-his person
was sufficiently polished; but Lucy was not
destitute Of that penetration to enable her to
detect the shallowness of his understanding,
and the foibles of his temper. She shut her
eyes and ears. however, and gave her hand
sighed when she thought Of her sister, and
! dashed at once into the stream Of fashiona.
Bile life. 49,.
Lucy's husband was as ambitious as her.
self-he was ambitious of being thought a
rich man, "great daeh," the highest better,
a frequenter Of the theatres, and other public
places. It was his pride to be thought to
dress in the most elegant style, to keep the
finest horses, and own the largest and most
quaintances, and be chose not Lucy because
he was ambitious Of rendering himself use
full or cstimable, or Of making others happy.
He saw but little Of his wife, and she never
wished to see much Of him. except when he
necessarily became her escort to some place
of fashionable amusement. Lucy was now
on the summit Of her ambition-so was Fam
ny-and we will leave them there for tho
space of ten years, and then see what chan
ges that space Of time has been effecting in
their outward prospect,
| Charles Franklin had acquired an easy in
dependence, and lives with his Fanny whom
slime has rendered more dear" and his pro-.
missing children, in style Of elegant and
simple afluence in which the charm Of each
others affection. the indulgence Of literary
pursuits, benevolent actions, and the society
Of estimable friends, constitute their bles-
sings: Fanny believes that every earthly
virtue centres in her husband, and that every
good blessing crowns her lot. And What has
become OF the ambitious Lucy, and her rich
and anibitic6s husbands He has gone on
step by step, from dashing fellow to a
gamester, and horse racer, from thence to a
bon virant, thence to a sot, and from that last
remove, it is TO be feared that nothing but
death will remove him his fortune not so
great as he wished il to appear, has been
squandered in the pursuits Of his ambition,
in which consumption the ambition of his
beautiful wife has not little aided.
And Lacy went on step by step, from a
dashing fine lady, to dissipated belle,