Herald of the times. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1830-1846, 1843-11-23


and the old man began 10 feel the pres
sure Of positive want. The desire Of
fame lost ns inspiring power, and m the
utter wreck ot hiS fortune he soug ht the
excitement Of the cup which is drugged
with death. His wife, who had never
been other than an inert, hel lpless, ireiiul
creature, only la:urnting over evils which
she sought not to avert or remedy. be-
came still more helpless from disease,
and Helen found herself left to struggle
with the exigencies of liio beneath a
double burden Of anxietics. Chained To
her mothers couch of sickness, and una
hle to offer any efficient aid in procuring
their daily subsistence, she was compel
led To exchange the few superiluiies
which want had left her for The comforts
necessary 10 age aud illness. But,
when her fathers fine though ill-assoiird
library was invaded by their necessities
when she Witnessed wiiE bitter regret
his chldlikc Abandonment To grief aS
shelf after shell became VOID OF those
"dear familiar faces" which IN all the
vicissirudes of his fortune had ever look
cd kindly upon aim she felt that the
minor evils of life may be- harder to be
borne than lis heaviest misiorlunes.
II was not until the death ol her mother,
whose proiracted illness had brought
upon them The additional burden of petty
debts, that Helen was lcl, at liberty To
carry OUT the scheme which she had been
maturing IN her own mind With that
dread OF pecunary obligation which Is
80 inherent IN wonan's nature, that IT II
were not a virtue II would be almost
dccrncd weakness in The sex, she de-
tcrrnined Ia cancel every claim upon Them
| by The exercise ot her own talents. Her
plan wns formed wIlh p,udencr, and she
carried 1t into execution with "A degree OF
energy surprising even Ia herself, n'rV-
Ing herse lito bear the arrogance of those
who cannot forgive poverty tS sell-re-
sprct, she visited persons Ia whom her
father was indebted, and offered To salts
Iy their claims by the instruction of their
children Ilel gcntlencss and sweet
ness OF demcanor interested those who
had hearts 10 appreciate her motives, and
among the persons whom she had dread
cd US cncmrs, she found warm and eill-
cicnt friends A number of pupils were
soon procured, aud perhaps the happcst
moment Helen had known since the de-
parture of her lover, was that in which
she first found herself Installed IN n mar
row und heated school-room, surrounded
by a circle of some twenty children, who
awaited her daily attention.
Though perfectly frank in nll her com
rnunicat,ons to Horace, YET Helen had
dwelt but slightly on The detail oi their
privations. Motives Of deIicacy, and a
fear lest he ghl mar his own fortunes
by returning 10 their aid, induced her io
conceal much Of their actual condition
But her sense of duty would not allow
her To leave him in ignorance of her ne"
vocation, aud Horace, IN his reply Y Ia he'
letter, pIaiuly miImalcd that his pride
was deeply wounded.
"Your filial devotion. dear Helen
will cost me another year of Absence
he wrote "for it will require few more
golden ingots To make The world forget
that you have been subjected TO the dis.
grace OF laboring for yonr own subsis.
ence. Remember, ] speak not my own
sentiments they are those of society ,and
we must conform to them, however We
may despise them"
Helen sighed as she read this conles-
sion of weakness IN the character of him
whom her soul delighted Ia honor. To
hiuh-mnded nature like her own, there
was honor rather than degradation ~
thus adapting nne's sell io circunstan
| and she felt that she had never 50 wei
deserved the respect of the world as she
did now, when her lover considered il
forfeited by her rigio observance of duty
II A life of humble goodness affords few
materials for the pen of fancy. The five
years which Horace had originally al.
lotted for his absence passed slowly
away, and yet ho spoke not ofhis return.
4 IIo had been successful beyond his
hopes, but his wishes had grown greater
than his gains, and smother twelve month
was deemed necessary TO perfect his
schemes. Helen submitted patiently
but sadly to this new disappointment. -
Indeed her spirits were fast sinking be
meath the woarying drudgery oi life ol
unshared toni and anxiety. There was
none to sympathize in her moments OF
dependency, or I" cheer her by the kind
ly voice of aiieciinnato interest A sort
Of ,orpor seemed gradually creeping over
her warm feelings, as if her heart were
partially paralyzed by its loneliness. -
II The discomiorts Of n close and noisy
school-room served to benumb her brain,
and in the pale, silent, melancholy wo-
man who traversed with feeble steps the
path which led to her daily labors, could
he found little trace of the enthusiastic,
ardent, and bright faced creature whose
every gesture was wont to express hei
II impulsiye character.
II Let nooe of those woud-be moralists
who, seated in luxurious case at theil
cheerful iresde, pretend to measure the
Temptations, and weigh the resisting vIr'
tues Of their brethren let none sucl
4 pretend that poverty is not an evil. Dis
| guise 1t as we will, II is ever an .yi
shape, and whether it covers beside tb,
1 dying embers on the pauper's hearth, o
I hides its gaunt limbs beneath the furreC
robe OF the votary OF fashion, still is II