The Davenport gazette., 1851-07-17

and ! determined to win her..
loved her as | had never loved woma n
! read with her her iavoritc authors nj
mine; | walked md rode, sung and taket
with her. told her Of the lands | had Wis
I''ed-of the wonders ! had seen; and when
y last. gave utterance TO my love, my
words fell on a willing ear; and soon OBJ
taihed permission to ask her hand OF lIcI
Iparents. Groat was their astonishmenl
When they beard their girlish daughter de,
|manded ~ marriage. They had seen my
attentions, il was true; but they had looked
on me as go much her senior-shc was bu,
'iStecn, beyond thirty-that they iad
never imagined the possibility OF my be.
coming y loyer. However, when they
found that Emily really loved me. they Of
Tered no objection, stipulating, however
that our marriage should be deferred for
one year, that we mights,udy each others
characters more closely during that time,
with the additional request, that our be
trotha! should not be made public. If d,
the end of that time we both remained an.
changed, they promised that she should be
mine. iplcaded in vain for aspeedy mar
riage; | feared that the prize which | had
won might possibly he lost 10 me; and with
all my natural impe,uosity Of temper,
sought to secure Immediately what lhoped
would perfect my day y-dream Of happiness
They were firm. ,sst-,
Their dapghter,' they said, was very
lyoung, and might possibly have mistaken
II irish liking for more serious attach
.msnt. ], too, might be influenced by q
passing fancy' e
| ielded to what could not control, but
there was a source Of satisfaction mingled
with my disappointment. ! saw iha, my
wealth bad no influence ia their decision
andlhe fear which had always haunted me-
OF being married. from merccnary motives,
wnsdcstroyed; II length was loved fond
'yand deyo,edly loved, and for my clfalone.
The year passed away more rapidly. than
had anticipated. Oh! what happy year
was that! Fricndiess, nlone, a sorrow
stricken old man, on the crgeof The grave,
leok back upon tha, ,psriod as the sunny
hour ofmy existence. Ia my dreams re-
cal: il. and once again nthose happy days,
with their bright hopes, their bIissfil rcali.
ties. are mine. Bit 10 nv story. rs
Daily my beirolhed grew nearer and
dearer TO me; though Medesiy restrained
any prolestaiions Of love, her silence was
more eloquent than words. The year pass
ed h,ppiiy away, ana my wcdling-div mr.
rived. ! would have made ii the occasion
Of grand festival; lwished the world 10
witness my proud joy; but my bride looked
on marriage as too solemn, TOO serious a
thing for nrth. 4 NRa'@1
A prondcr, if not a happier man, was !
when, ,ufierwc had finished the bridal tour
sho was at last installed as mistress Of my
mansioR-when received the
Of my friends, aud heard
the whispered murmnr Of admiration which
her beauty excited. FeteI after fete was
given her, and we plunged into the m9'-
s,rom Of fashionable matrimonial ,dissipa-
ton. Emily, however, preferred the quiet
pleasures Of home 10 the gay scenes into
which we were introduced -nnd so.s IN
truth, did !; but my vanityrcjoiced IN her
trumphs. Secluded as sho had been from
society, she had none Of the faults Of the
and was proud to contrast her
#rlIess, unaffected mein, and modest dignI
ty, with the stately pretensions Of those
around her. IN 81 ysd ak so
At length the bridal parties ware over,
and in the quietude Of our home our charac-
ters began gradually to unfold themselves
in each Others view. found that lwas
not mistaken in my estimate Of my wlte's
love. 1t was.a deeper and more devoted
affection than had even dreamed would
ever become mine. She loved me with all
The warmth of her warm, impetuous nature;
her faults were not called into reqnisition.
and she was radiant with all those good
qualities which SO delight a man. How
very happy we were, how very happy we
might have remained. My moon Of love
was al its full. stood on the topmost pin
aacle Of happiness. Hitherto had unused
over the poets lay Of love; had burned al
the novelist's description Of the intensity
Of the passion; but their widest, their most
visionary dreams fell short Of that Elysium
of delight-that Eden of bliss which en-
ioyed with Emily. All was joy, all was
brightness; bat the shadow descended on
my hearth--I brought it there--I fed it,
Inurscd il, until the light Of joy was ex.
tinguished--until the SUN of happiness had
departed forever.
have said that my temper was natural
Iy violent; that was obstinate ; that ! was
selfish, Previous TO my marriage, clrcum.
stances had kept This iuiirmity Of disposi.
ton ia check, and for some months after
controlled it. II had but slumbered--l' i
was not qnenched; and l. who had underta-
ken to correct this fault in another, now,
myself, became its slave. The bonds were
broken; the first unkind word werc spoken
words which are SO easily repeated after
they have once occurred. The first quar-
rel--,hat sad era in married life--had ta-
ken place between us, and both felt that,
hepcelorlh, that perfect love which we had
heretofore enjoyed could return no more.
Could we cverdivest ourselves ofthe mem
orv of those cruel words? 'But we might
still be comparatively happy if this evil oc,
Cured no more;' SO said my weeping vile,
when, after a pass:on of tears, she offered