Herald of the times. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1849-1856, 1849-04-26


dreamer dreaded to lay bare before the pure
eyes of his wife the blackness Of his real ma
ture and he would most gladly have avoided
bringing Gertrude's innocent and simple mind
in contact with the cold, studied hypocrisy Of
the man he called his friend. There was
nothing prepossessing in ST. Clare's person,
but he dressed with perfect taste, aud few
men could charm more completely where he
chose to exercise his powers of pleasing
There appeared to be a strange and inexpll-
cable fascination in his calm, serene manner,
and voice singulary low and musical and
most skilfully modulated. Very many were
his bcasied conquests, and Rudolph, who
was well aware of his principles, deferred,
until ST. Glare would listen to excuse no lon
ger to gain him an entrance into Gertrude's
her character lent to Gertrude portion Of
that intuitive perception Of motives usually
the characteristic Of more gifted persons, but
her dislike of St Clare was sudden and de-
cided. She even veEtured TO lay aside her
accustomed timldity, and to entreat Rudolph S
avoidance of anything like intimacy with the
UNIV elcome yisi,er. But, her husband declar
ed this to be impossible, p peaded their pleas
ant and long acquaintance, and almost harsh
" censured her unfounded prejudices. Ger
,rude was silenced, but not convinced and
her aversion continued undated to one, of
whom the world spoke well, and whom socic-
ty received and caressed and delighted to hon
or. With the ready aud farseeing tact ot
man habitually versed in the caprices Of the
sen, St. Glare saw that for once at least, his
spell had failed, and he felt more mo:tltica-
ton and pique than his pride would have per-
United lin TO confess at finding he could pro-
duce no favorable impression on a being SO
unsophislical and simple as Gertrude. Her
sweet, sunny beauty, and the perfect retire
ment of her character, had, from the first, at.
tyactcd his warmest admiration and it WAS
with no slight degree Of discontinue he
found how pacidly she repelled his graceful,
but too familiar compliments and with wha,
gentle but decided dignity she repulsed the
fuen, speeches that had usually been greeted
with a gracious smile. lie was forced TO ac-
knowledge himself bafed by a woman in all
respects his mental inferior, and he bitterly
hated the brightness, whose beautiful lus,re
he could not sully. lie resolved to be re,
yenged for her Indifference, and with syste-
matte art encouraged Rudolph's tendencies
TO wrong, knowing, well, that through the
husbands frailty, he could most deeply wound
the heart of the wife. Poor Gertrude il had
been many long, sad day since she had Civ
en- utterancc TO those words, once so often on
her lips, " am happy !"
Rudolph was absent from home one morn
ing, as usual, and he despatched a messenger
requesting Gertrude to send him a letter ly-
ing sealed in his desk. She had found the
letter, after some little search, and after hay-
ing sent it, was about closing the escritoire
when package containing several epstes
directed in Rudolph's hand, arrested her at
tention. They were copies of notes and the
address startled her, for they bore the name oi
Hester Dalton. For a few moments Ger
trude's involuntary sense of right triumphed
over curiosity, and bade her replace the docu-
ments unexamined. Then came sudden
thronging of terrible suspicious, and the i'm
pctuous rush ola thousand memories 10 con-
firm them. The woman and wife conquered
the vague aversion to intrude on her husl and'
secrets, and then, with trembling hand ant
banchcd cheek, Gertrude unfastenod the rib
bon confning the letters, and read them on
after another.
I. She was seated in her own room, the room
where she had so freely confessed her love +
her cousin, where she had pored with sue
girlish rapture over her lovers written deyo
ton. And now scarcely a year had elapsed
and she held the evidences Of that cousins il
reparab!e sorrow, Of that lovers premeditate
painful deceit. A Il around her was auractiv
and unclaimed the clear winter sunshine er
1 tered brightly through the rose-colored Gu!
tans, the fire shone checrfully, and tho mel
ry, enliyening sounds from the thronged on
! animated streets below, came up to that lux
urous chamber as gayly as ever. But what
( weight rested on that dropping heart--what
( lengheneI array ofdoubt and dread, and fear
now deepened irrevocably into certai ~, stoI
darlly over her fair young hopes! She ha
/ hitherto loved with such perfect confidence
| the whole tone of her disposition was so aPa
from suspicion, that the witnesses of Ru
dolph's deception overwhelmed her at once
|. Earnest and impassioned were the words Oh
read and the yoicelcss grief that those line
| wrought was tco new and terrible for tears
II d" Hester !" thus ran one OF the letters
Hester you wrong me by your idle douo,s
/ what could ask from love, that you are not
/ Ny soul looks into the still depths Of your,
and its vain troubles cease. My heart turr
yeaningiy from the foles that assa, an
/. knees down. chastened before the beauty an
n ,uritv ever dwelling in your own. In .h