The Democratic Whig. [volume] (Columbus, Miss.) 1842-1843, 1842-11-24

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TO reach the castle just in time to ban,
in Lady Tresethen. or thar dinner
bot remember that was the only guest
and that the earl regretted bis daugh.
ter's absence from table, Lady Caro-.
line having been thrown that morning
from her horse. tainted somewhere
about The second remove, and recover
ed my wits some days afer, on the
safe side ofthe crisis Of fever.
| shall never forget that FIRST hall
hour Of conscious curiosity. An ex-
quisite sense or bodily reposeminglsd
with a vague notion Of recent relief
from pain, made me afraid to speak lest
| should awake from a dream, yet, il
not a dream, what a delicious reality /!
A lady Of most noble presence, in hall
mourning dress, sot by the side cheer
fol fire, turning her large dark eyes on
me, in the pauses OF a conversation
with a gray-headed servant Ny bed
was ofthe most sumpluous luxury; the
chamber was hung with pictures and
draped with spoiless white; the table
covered with the costliesi eleglncies
Of the toilet; and in the gentle and de-
Perennial manner Of the old liyeried
mental, ard the subdued tones Of in
quiry by the lady, there was a refine
ment and tenderness which, with the
keen susceptibility Of my senses, "lapt
me in Elysiurn;" l was long in re-
membering where l was. The lady
gIided from the room, the old servant
resumed his seat by my bedside, other
servants in the same livery came softly
in on errands Of service, aud, n the
striking Of the half hour by clock on
the mandepiece, the lady returned,
and was raised TO receive something
from her hand. As she came nearer,
| remembered the Countess Tresethen.
Three days after this l was permit
ted to take the air Of a conservatory
which opened from the Countess bou-
doir. My old attendant assisted me
to dress. and, with another servant,
took me down in faWteNH was in
slippers and robe-de- chambre, and pre-
sumed that | should see no one except
tho kind and noble Lady Tresethen,
but | had scarce taken one turn up the
long alley Of towering plants, when
the Countess came toward me from
the glass door beyond, and on her arm
a girl leaned for support, whose beau
ty-
(Here Tom dabbled his feet for some
minutes in the water in silence.)
God bless me l can never give you
an idea Of IT, 1t was a new revelation
Of woman to me; the opening Of an
eighth seal. Ia the minute occupied
by her approach, my Imagination, fac
celebrated, as that faculty always is, BY
the clairyoyance Of sickness had gone
through a whole drama OF love--lair,
alteration, desperation, and, rejection;
and so complete was 1t, that in alter
moments when these phases Of passion
came round in the proper lapse Of days
and weeks, It seemed TO me that | had
been through with them before thar il
was all familiar; that [ had met and
loved in some other world, this same
glorious creature, with the same looks,
words, and heart-achs; in the same
conservatory of bright flowers, aud
faith, myself in the same pattern Of a
brocade dressing gown
Heavens ! what a beautiful girl was
that Lady Caroline Her eyes were
Of a light gray the rim Of the lids per-
lectly inky with the darkness Of the
long sweeping Iashes; and in her brown
hair there was a gold lustre that SEEM
ed somehow 10 illuminate the curves
OF her small head like halo. Her
mouth had too much character for a
perfectly agreeable FIRST impression. II
was nobility and sweetness educated
over native high spirit and scornful-
ness-lhe nature shining through the
transparent blood, like a flaw through
enamel. She would have been, in 9th
er circumstances, a maid Of Saragossl
or a Gertrude Won WaH a heroine (;
perhaps a devil. But her fascination
was resislless !
"My daughter" said Lady Trese-
then, land in that beginning was all
the introduction she thought necessa-
lry,) els, like yourself, an invalid Just
escaped from the doctor; you must
congratulate each other. Are you
strong enough to lend her an arm, Mr..
Berryman!"
The Countess left US, and with the
composure ola sister who had seen me
every day Of my life, Lady Caroline
took my arm and strolIed slowly TO
and fro, questioning me Of my shoot
ing at The lodge, and talking to me Of
her late accident, her eyes sometimes
fixed upon her little embroidered slip
pers, as they peeped from her snowy
morning dress, and sometimes indo-
lently raised and brought to bear on
my flushed cheek and trembling lips ;