Boon's Lick times. [volume] (Fayette, Mo.) 1840-1848, 1843-08-05


TO him than the approval of his own con-
science or the peace Of his child. Had
friend suggested such an idea, the Banker
would have secuted it with scorn. He
would have regarded it not only as unjust.
but insulting--as an impeachment of his
feelings and his principles, altogether m
warranted and unauthorized. But, few
know themselves. Few possess the nerve
10 read the secret promptings of their own
acts--to analyse, in spirit Of truth and
sincerity, the mysteries of their own ma
ture. AL are more or less deceived--and
cheat themselves willingly as they hug some
vice or deusion to their souls. All shun
calm selfinvestgation, and, while lamenting
the errors of society and the prciudices of
mankind, are more or less darkened and
defaced in character by the curse which
has followed man like shadow since the
fall.
The mother of Alice Montgomery died
while her daughter was yet mere girl
before she had passed her fifteenth year.
The loss was depIorable, and, in many re-
spects, irreparabIe. Who can supply the
place of mother-that devoted and vir-
tuous parent, whose very existence seems
bound up in the lives and fortunes of her
children,-whose love for the beings Of
her tenderness and care seems as feeling
LESS of earth than Heaven" who will
watch night after night by the cough of the
restless invalid, and cling over to the crim-
nal abandoned when all the world beside
Join in venting reproaches! Who can sup
ply the place of a mother!
And loe- hl;oo x,,o. not eo ca
rious as it might have been. An aunt
her mothers sster-had resided in the
family for years. and, at the earnest solicit
tations of the Banker, she consented to re-
main there after the deceasc of Mrs. Mont
gomery, and to devote herself wholly to
the care of Alice. And faithfully did she
discharge the trust confided to her. Grave
and serious in her general character and
department, she was, nevertheless. fully
alive TO the impulses and.the disposition Of
youth; and thus, while cautious in imposing
upon her niece every proper restraint, she
frequently mingled in her girlish sports,
assisted her amusemeniS. and administered
to her happiness. Her father, on the other
hand, was lavish Of his means in affording
her all the facilities for acquiring a superior
education. Masters were obtained for her
in every department suited to her age and
expectations.
Thus passed, on airy wings, the budding
girlhood of Alice Mon, gomery. A, the
age of seventeen, she was but bursting into
womanhood. Her form was tail and com,
manding--her eye large and blue--her
complexion clear and glowng-her lips
"rosy and full"-her manner somewhat
subdued or restrained, with slight tinge
of thought or melancholy upon her counre-
nance, either the lingering shadow Of The
dark cloud of sorrow which crushed her
spirit when her mother died, or the out
ward symbol of the soul within.
Seventeenth beauty-and an heress!-
What picture! And yet Alice knew little
of her own position in the world. Of the
temptations that lurked in the path before
her-of the sunshine and shadow of hu-
man destiny-of her own feelings and her
own heart. Her father had treasured her
up as a rare jewel, unwilling it would
seem. to permit her to mingIe with the
crowd of giddy trihers with whom it was
his delight to revel in earlier life--appIe-
hensive that some steathy disease might
summon her to an early grave, and yet
more apprehensive of the blight and mil
dew of immortality which he felt were Of
ten to be met with in the upper ranks--or
rather among classes, placed by wealth in
some degree beyond the ordinary RESPONSE
bililes of society, and rendered more care
less as TO the rigid properties of life. Thus,
then, the world of Alice was limited TO a
narrow circle, and even over that circle
her good aunt and her proud father threw
an air Of rigidity which sometimes chilled
as well as restrained. Her spirit was in
some sense repressed-her thoughts and
| impulses were chcckcd--her feelings were
directed into narrow and cold channels
| She loved her father with an unbounded at.
fiction. His every wish was law 10 her;
and, partaking fully of her gentle mothers
disposition, she was all obedience and yield
ing sweetness. But she was seventeen--an
artless and confiding creature-with a
heart overlooking with rich and deep affec-
tions-a gay and varied world around her,
and yet measurably prevented from min
Cling with the beings of her own age, and
the scenes likely to interest her mind and
engage her attentions.
Alas! how frequently do parents mis-,
take. How forgctrul are they that time
changes the heart as it does the seasons
that Youth will not forever lnger by the
side of Age-that the gentler, the fonder
the more confdng the disposition. the
greater the desire for kindred soul-o
sympathetic spirit-for the realization OF
that first bright dream of "early youth
which never comes again"