Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1845-1854, 1849-01-17

. she carelof his optRlph s Conld He possibly
3 treat her with grentar spldness than in DAYS
past, OF, if SO, ought his department gto
| grieve her whilaiilefe was nought in her
conscience to,repyG a t all events, there
was nothing left hef'but to- ascend the
rocks and betdiscosafed or not, according
y to the chance direcfpn of. his eyes.
Thus decided SID Emerged from her. re
treat, and creepin aloag in the shadow OF
! the rocks, she had ahsssg eluded observa.
tion, when her treas ferrous haste and trepi.
dation caused haF lip, and she fell seve-
i raj feet dpWI eftWo large rocks,
G,sasSss 3 ls,s5 seasSeed@-.
/ escape fss kss s Is s,ll aade
fhad discovered her, and M moment she
was lifted in his arms.
s'Is it possible! Miss Claremont! tell me,
I pray you, are you much hurt?"
She did not answer, and her paleness
led him to suppose she had sustained con-
siderable injury, He led her up the rocks
and seated her on the grass, but she was
too weak to support herself. "Tell me, if
possible, Miss Claremont, how yol are in
iured?" he inquired, in the same tender
voice she had felt so thrillingly on the first
eve Of their acquaintance. .
"More frightened than hurt, Mr.. Valen-
tine," she replied, as soon as she could
command her voice. ''Fortune was kind
to me in depositing me upon a mat Of sea.
weed as soft as an ottoman; one foot is
slightly bruised, otherwiseI i am uninjured." :"
s'But why not inform me of my vicinity
10 you, Miss Claremont? These rocks are
always dangerous to pass alone"
"Why, to speak frankly, Mr.. Valentine,
| had resolved, if possible, to elude your
observation. know too well your antip-
athy to moonlight damsels, to jeopardize
your good opinion by an exposure ~of my
romantic tendencies. But find ita vain
attempt for the. foolish to seem WISE"
The blush that was excited by these
words was visible even by moonlight. The
consciousness Of having sighted and neg
lected her and her allusion to his speech a.
bout romantic maidens, confused and NOR
titled him. He began to think she was not
such terrible firt as he had feared. .sNot
pure, natural romance do | dislike, Miss
IClaremont; no, Heaven knows how devo-
tedly bow 10 its altar-but this false, af-
fected sentimentallty which is so fashiona.
BILE, and so openly avowed and displayed
by almost every young iss who has en-
tered her teens, as disgusting.'
"W ell, then, Mr.. Valentine, that you
NAV not be disguised with me on this score,
assure you came here very secretly, with
the single purpose of admiring the wild and
beautiful scene, alone, by moonlight, while
all the little world Of &ahant was assem-
bled at the ball."
@'And may l not ask why the star of
this little world was not there also?"
.'If ! must make self-appropriation OF
the compliment, | can only say, because it
was not her proper sphere. Whatever
may seem, Mr.. Valentine,I am much more
fond Of solitude than the crowd,''
81 had not previepsly supposed so, Miss
Claremont, but Belleve it now." He
might have said more, and spoken more
warmly, but her mothers speech about his
not being "heavy in the purse,' entered
his brain, and chill came over him.
GRACE rose and proposed to return home.
He offered his arm land either from tender
ness 10 her bruised foot, or from the ab-
sorbing interest of their conversation, they
were full half hour in reaching the cot
tage-a walk that any decent pedestrian
would have accomplished in ten minutes.
The three succeeding weeks found Claude
the most devoted servant Of Grace Glare
mont, and the excess of his attentions
counterbalanced all former coldness. Even
MRS. -Claremont hinted that the Irritation
had exceeded the proper limits Of maidenly
decorum, and warned her .dausg5A.A,esse-st t. be-
ware of exciting too fondan, Sper..tions.
Grace had her own decisitdhhX lsd nona
knew what they were, except that they
were immutable. 1t cannot be maintained,
however, that she yielded implicit obedi-
ence to her mothers rules Of propriety.
A walk over the beach had been propos-
ed by the young people ofNahafft, and, at
the appointed hour, Claude called at the
cottage to escort Miss. .Claremant to the ho-
tel. She was not al home, but the servant
told.him that she would be found at the next
cottage. This cottage, Valentine we'll
knew, did not belong to the elite, but was
occupied by the widow of a poor fisherman,
whose only child was upon her death bed
IL was Win HS siidll Srdlllcalloll, .lel e.
fore, that he learned that Grace had reln-
qushed a walk which be knew she had an.
ticipated with much delight. for the hal
lowed duties 6fA sick. chamber; and when
he was conducted tsthat chamber by the
weeping mother, hiswhoe heart yielded
to the influence Of those destinations he had
long resisted. The head ofthe pale young
victim reposea upon Grace's bosom, whose
deep, intellectual voice'wa breathing forth
} the sweet promises ofdhe, Lord Jesus; ano
with them dwelt the Comforter. Every lux.
ury that affection could suggest and wealth
procure, was provided, by the benifcen
providence of the tender-hearted Grace,whe
, was losing in the child of that poor widow
most faithful and true-minded servant
, Claude Valentine remained fascinated tc
the spot, till the last sigh was breathed ant
the last smile faded, when he withdrew
| to her mothers COTTAGE, and left her not
: till he had roared into her ear the tale O
t hopes he had so long and so idly strove tc
} repress.
Horace said yea, what availed it lo
the weak mother to say nay9 And tn,
. nuptial knot once tied why should the poo
music master longer conceal the fact tina