The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1850-05-23

vulgar. D our DlannerS since your resluence NJ
the Isle Of Rays, have deteriorsted lsmentably.
You have lost that air Of repOm that once distin-
guished you -
4" But, oh, mother! it is so difficult only TO pdo,
when one wishes to run--only to smile when one
wishes to lsugh-to speak low when one wishes
to break out in q song. Why may not one be
| glad and gay in free mountain scene like this,
mother? Oh look, mamma the fountains on
| the Isle fash and play in the sunbeams all day
long as they please-and the cataracts leap into
the bosom of the river, making glad music through
all the sunny hours--and the river flows on in
light with its silent hymn of Joy, And the forest
trees wave Oh see how they bend and nod and
| throw up waves of green light 10 the skies-ther
offering of love to the skies, that smile back in
love upon them And the flowers, mother oh!
stoop moment from the window, and smile at
! them--if an open flower expresses anything on
earth mother, it is an open smiie! And, mother,
did you ever notice the rose leaning its cheeks
sideways caressingly, upon the green leaves that
cluster tenderly around it7 OH mother, is
there anything in human nature that expresses
beautiful love more beautifully than that Now,
mother, when | look out upon nature, and see
nothing but beauty, love, and joy-aud when my
own heart leaps in my bosom to join the grand
diapason of grateful hsrmony-'phy must its ex-
preston be checked and suppressed 1t kills
me, mother! it kills mew
1t is Louis who has put all this nonsense into
your head. You must never heed poets, my
daughter They are ALTO use an expressive
Scotch term daft'n
Yes il was Louis who revealed the life the
soul of nature to me-who translated the Ian
guage of nature for me. One day, we sat
bank of violets and stopped to pluck one, and
his gentle hand dropped softly upon mine, and
stayed its purpose Do not pluck it, Louise he
- L..sl A. "a. In.v ELL nf
it isn And | looked The violet had nestled
itself under the shelter of its green leaves and it
peeped out at us with as much archness of ex-
preston in the bend of its head, in the droop of
its petals as ever you saw in the sde-long glance
of sky-bird, with its head bent aside-or the
speaking eyes of a wild kitten, backing itself up
into a corner And we both watched the violet, as
it seemed to watch us, and we would no more have
plucked it than we would have tortured the bird
or the kitten. Louis never kills bird or squir-
REL or anything else, or pulls flower He
lets everything alone-everything live. Every
thing lives TO LouisW
ooh, how childish and peurie, not to say ridic-
ulous all this isl | see that shall have good
deal of trouble in reforming and perfecting your
manners, my dear Louisen
"No, you will not, my mother" said Louise,
whose gaiety bad been gradually subsiding. "No,
you will not my mother. There is something in
the very air Of this house that subdues me-its
walls have the cold grandeur Of the glaciers they
SG,c I'D chin ne. Tie only when SnekisE fortb
from its windows upon the Isle of Rays, that re-
membering my life there, feel glad and wild"
"That is an over-long speech for an epigram,
Mrs Stuart-Gordon.n
Dear mother, did not mean that--excuse
me-forgive me- | did not know what | was
saying"
"Exactly, Louise When you are not absurdy
gay, you are ridiculously petulant. Why can
you not be serene like Miss Somerville2 Thm
perhaps you would stand better chance of re-
tanning your hold upon your husbands heart"
"Why mother-how is that? What do you
meant"
I" mean, my dear child, that you are not quite
so much to the taste of Louis as your jriead, SD
san Somerville, iso-
"Mother, you distress me-so much, )" said Lou
Use, her features growing pale and sharp.
" My poor girl, my dear Louise, there is but
one disinterested and ever-enduring love in the
world, and that is the love of a mother"
"Wel mother know that You have told
me a million of times. have read it in all the
books you ever put in my hands. | have even
written it in copy books. know that. But still
do think Louis loves me with dsinterested
and ever-enduring love- although may not be so
worthy Of him as Susan Somerville would have
been We do not Arrays love only what is supe-
rior--we sometimes love inferior beings for their
very need of us-so Louis, so Brightly, so the
General loves me-"
" Poor child, they none of them love you
they cajole, caress, fltter the heress of Mont
Crystal No one loves Louise, but her moth
er j.
/" Louis, ,nother, Louis loves meo--
" How DO you know that2'
"Oh by q thousand sgns-by every look,
word, tone, and gesture-by every loving act of
his, by every happy emotion OF mine"
"Ah good--did you ever see play, Louisef
"Yes, mother, but am sick at heart | do not
wish to talk about plays or other Indifferent mat
ters Mother Louis -
"Nonsense what was the play you saw,
Louise 2o----------4a-
| Romeo and Juliet
"There could not be better play for the il
Illustration of my subject. can imagine that this
| play moved the sympathies Of your unsophisti-
Gated heart, Louise. Who played Romeo 2"
George Barrett mother"
"A celebrated 'ragediah, to judge by newspa-
per criticism. Well the passion was well coun-
terfeited--was it not Z"
"Ma'am ~
"The love, the tenderness, the pathos was well
| played--was it not :"
"To the life, mother II wrung my heart like a
real tragedy enacting before me"
"Yet you know it WAS acknowledged actingp
Certainly, mother"
well my dear Mrs. Stuart Gordon there is
| more acting, and more conSpnnidte acting, oV the
stage than on it. The family at the Isle Of Rays
| IL corps Of consummate actors, Of which Louis
Stuart C ordon may be called the star. They
love You not, Louise! There is not one of them
| who would not have preferred that Louis had
married Miss Somerville had she possessed a
fortune equal TO yours
"Ob, mother, mother that makes you think
500 Mother, Louis likes me; indeed, Louis does
like me!n
eyes, he likes you as the Romeo of the acted
drama liked the Juliet, but he lOres Susan Somer-
Vile -
"Oh, mother this is not true You are mis-
taken oh, you must be mistaken this cannot be
true and Louise dropped her head upon her
hands and sobbed
"Recall, if you please Louise, the agitation
and illness of Miss Someryille at your wedding
recollect her precipitate retreat Immediately after
| the CEREMONY
ooh, yes! yes | remember that oh, recol-
lect many things that then could not account for,
that nor seem clear enough to me. Yes, remem-
Der now that many Of the young girls bantered
Susan, aud ssid that it had been generally re.
ported that che and Louis were to have been
| married
"And so il had been generally reported, and
Louis had given every color to the report by 60
| ing every afternoon and spending the whole eve
ming at the Crags, and, whenever her grandfather
was absent, sending for Miss Somervile to
the Isle Of Rays. la word, both the General
and Louis admired and loved Miss Somervie,
and Louis would gladly have married her, and
the General would gladly have consented to the
marriage, had the young lady possessed nm adc-
quate fortune and the grevous wrong is, that
Louis after selfshly winning the affections OF
this girl, has cruelty abandoned her, and married
another woman whom he cannot equally love"
Yes, he does love me, mother But oh, poor
Susan All, yesi it is true-too true! feel