Herald of the times. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1830-1846, 1844-04-25

Ana tney All signed, ana shook tneit
heads, and Joined in n sort Of chorus. t.
the effect that second marriages were
"dreadiil." "
Alas Tor the poor slepmother Can
there he any question that her Office was
most ihankless one without the an
thoriiy Of n mother, yet with a mother,
responsibility not with her husband
conciliatc, and that family p'edlsposed To
condemn all her actions. But as the
dropping ofwater will wear away a stone,
80 Mrs. 1'arham's judgment and invaria
BILE sweetness Of disposition, did liiiIr
10 smooth down the asperilles with which
she had been ma', when at the enc Of
two years, the prospect of herself becum.
ing n mother, was looked upon IA Il new
and mos, aggravated offence. Her in
FAINT died and instead of sympathy or
compassion for the mothers anguish at
the loss of her first born, there were
women who looked almost acknowl-
edged their rejoicing. Yes, women,
who called themselves feminine aud ten.
derhearted, and would have turned away
probably, rather than have an insect
crushed
Another year sped on, and agnin Mrs
Barham was "A mother but this time
she was more blessed-her Infant lived
II provcd, however, a delicate boy and
the additional care and tenderness which
this circumstances naturally drew from II,
parents, were looked on almost ms inlu.
RES To the elder ard healthier children
IL seemed even conJectured that poor
Mrs B,rham must have used some IN
due Influence over her husband - some
sort of domestic witchrrait, To make him
~ strangely anxious about the well-be
ing Of sIckly, trouble some infant. -
Nleanwh,le, harley and Ellen were
growing up-thc former n shrewd clever
boy, the latter very beautiful girl. BY
the time, however, that Charley was
about seventeen, Mr.. Barham, whose
connections were with the mercantile
world, had met with several severe loss.
es, and without his finances being re-
dm ed tn such a state that II was abso-
lutclv necessary for him to curail his
expenses and general mode of living, il
would have been prudent for him to have
done so. On the other hand, he had
his temptations. His beloved children
were just entering life, aud he apprecia
ted, perhaps, too highly, the advantages
al a certain station aud worldly appear
ances to them. lIe consulted his wife =,
from whom he had no secrets and
though her own feelings leaned towards
the safer policy OF retrrnchmcnt, q Ger
H.,I, 4 L.. l..
tenacious Of throwing any weight into,
the scale which should be balanced
against the interests of the elder chII
drrn. Almost against her better judQ
mrni, she yielded therefore 10 her hus-
bands plans, and seconded him IN them
hy many an act OF sell. denial, of which
the world little dreamed. No other hu.
man being had an idea Of the real state
of the case, consequently dear friends
aud relatives found great deal Of cen.
sure IN some instances of economy which
their prJ ing curiosity discovered. IL
was all "wretched me anness -boardine
for the sake of herself and her miserable
little puny brat. Why, indeed, was not
Charley To have his own horse, as he
bad been promised years ago And SO
well as Ellen played, it was shameful
they did not give her a new Broadwood
instead Of The old thing she had hadI
these seven years :" But with all then
commlseraiions for the poor ill-used chll- |
dren-whom they contrved, both by !
open remark and more dangerous insinu
a'ions, 10 make thoroughly dsconfentcd.
neither grandmother, aunt, nor cousins.
ever thought Of making these costly pres |
enis themselves.
OF course The subtle poison worked 4
and most of all upon the peace of mind
and health Of the step-moiher. She had
sufficient cause for real anxiety IN the |!
state OF her husbands pecuniary affairs, II
and the delicate constitution Of her child n
but the outbreaks Of temper and petty
annoyances -annoyances vergng close
ly on insults, though scarcely palpable
enough to be resented as such-render.
ed her life very unenviabIe one.-II
From Mrs. Barham she usually conceal Il
ed these aDnoyances as much as possible II
for sad experience had proved to her.
that his interference, though always ex.
erted IN her behalf, made matters in the
long run rather worse than better. Still Il
as she had completely deserved, so had
she always retained, his entire conf
dence and affection and this conscious
ness did at times give light to her eye
and sm lie to her face, which else she
must long since have ceased to wear
But alas these occasional CLEANS OIL
happiness were noticed and remembered,
to be brought forward afterwards az
proofs Of her unfeeling disposition
Charley was being educated for the
bar, to which profession his talents
seemed especially to lead lie was a
handsome young man, clever and agreea
bIe III society, generally liked and court
ed, ard just the sort Of person Of whom
most parents would be very proud and
the stepnother would scarcely have beenl
human If she had not looked on him with
something like envy, while contrasting
his position and probable fortunes with
those Of her own poor, weakly child -
And il chanced that circumstances SHOULD
place their interests in opposition TO one