Baton-Rouge gazette. [volume] (Baton-Rouge, La.) 1819-1856, 1841-01-30
VII 9 Y.
the Nsn totL Mirror

EP1sTOLARY CORRESPONDENCE.
! was in company the other day, with a fiend
Of mine, a young bachelor Of twenty five, whrr
the post boy came along and handed bin 4 letter
II was eagerly opened, and p~ernsed With mich
attention and, towatds the close, with many chang.
cs of countenance. The workings Of a mid
strangely disturbed, and in great connection
were soon visible in every feature SO much 80.
that [ wondered greatly what could be in the
letter Of such vast importance as to cause such
changes Of complexion in his CONFERENCE.-The
intelligence could be contained there ofsuch con-
sequence as TO reiIdet his feelings of so variable
ard alarming a nature. | begaa TO fear that his
seBses.had left him, or were, at least, much i'm
paired. so singular did his appearance strike me.
My fears Increased not a little on preceiving how
fercely his eyes rolled aud s~parkled, and bow
great a resemhlancet they bore TO those of a maniac
whom I had seen and pitied but a short time previ.
Gus. 1t was net .long;however, before he had aszum-
cd his natural appearance, except fiat he kept his
sight i%ntentIy fixed on one Object, and paid no
kind of attention whatever TO that which was
passing around him. she is lost to me for ever.'
be at last exclaimed ii a mock heroic tone, and
then insefisibiy dropped the letter on the floor
Curiosity, in this circumstance usurped the place
of poEiteness, and induced IRE to read that which
had caused such strange emotions. / found the
letter had been written by a young lady, just mar.
ried-one with whom I was myself acquainted,
who had for same tine past maintaiued with him
a friendly correspondence. From the sentiments
Of friendship contained in her letters, lie bad in
Obliged hopes, and fond ones too, of their beiar
dictated by love. Her last convinced him 81 tfe
contrary-her acquaintance with him, az mine
with her, had been formed and cherished for
years. They had played and rompe1 together
when they were children 4; and now that age had
in some measure, called III question the ~proprie.7
of these expressions Of friendship, and the chan.
ging events Of time had set their places Of resi-
dence apart from each other. they had recourse
to that mode of cherishing the existence of FORM
err sentiments which seldom fails-the maintain,
ance of an epls'oIary correspondence. 10 this
light had she viewed the letters which had PASSED
between them, but he held them hearing a differ
ent aspect. His sentiments, as expressed, were
nothing more than those of friendship but they
had their foundation of mere vital Importance 10
him. sHe never spake of love- but love was,
nevertheless, the prompter-the sole pronGpter of
that which he wrote. He had even hoped that
such was the case with her-that hor glowing
expression had their origin in feeling of a more
tender, pliable nature than mere friendship, and
that the continuance ofa correspondence so hong
maintained, could result in nothing short of ac-
eomplishment of that union which he SO much
desired. Such were the most reasonable of his
and they were but reasonable, yet he was
doomed to suffer what human expectations so
,fien cause US to snffsr-the pangs of cruel disap-
continent. / need not say how much this disap-
1ointment affected him-how soreIy he felt the
deprivation of those hopes which had once been
he prop and consolation of many otherwise
,lcomy hours-how sadly he looked forward TO
uture simes-those times which he ence hoped
would give him the heart aud the hand be SO
IeaIly loved. but which now afforded him pros,
lects of a much less cheering nature. Time will
undoubtedly lessen the grief and modification
o which he is subject. but it can never restore in
ts former perfection that cheetfalness which his
correspondence had so nearly destroye There
something so unexpected, so stunning, in the
Intelligence which informs us Of the marriage of
ne with whom we have been on terms ofinti-
laey-whom we have ioyed-ihat we can hardly .
redit the Information received, however much we
have expected IT we can scarce believe i:
ossibio that those whom we lose so much should
rye others more than ourselves and when we
re at last convinced that such is ,he case. we