Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1852-05-13
Fatal Excitement.
A 1E'lIe of The GeHsDfe.

practice-but theprecise date | shall
for obvious reasons, avoid mentioning
i had.a friend, at vFtse house !
was pretty constant visitor. He
had wife, who was the magnet that
drew me there. She was beautiful.
but | sha III not t|describe her. She
was more han beautilul-she was
fascinating, she was captivating. He1
presence Was to me like the intoxi-
cation Of opium. | was only happy
when under It's influence, and yet,
after every indulgence in the fatal
pleasure, sank into deeper despon-
dency. Ia my own justification |
must sa J, that ] never, IN word or
look, betrayed my feelings, though |
lad some reason to suspect that she
shared them; for, while in ny eompa-
ny, she was always gay, brilliant, and
Witty. | heard from others that at
ofher times she was often sad and
melancholy. HE = temptation was
liowerfal, but | resisted it. That l
-1Iad the. courage to do so has been
i5r years my only consolation.
One morning | sat alone id my
chambers. Ny pclerk was absent.
4 gentle knock WAS just audible at
tic outer door- | shouted Come
ia.! in no verj ;Imiablc humor, for |
WAS iadulgins in delicious revere
upon THE subject Of the fair lady Of
ny heart, and the presence Of an or
binary mortal WAS hateful. The
door opened, and Mrs entered.
| do mol | k pow exactly what / did;
but it seemed tobe long time be
fore | had the power to rise and vel
come her, while She stood there with
timid blush upon her face, and that
glorious smile upon her liHs, which
made me feel that it would be too
great a happiness to die for her.
Il don't wonder that YOU are sur
prised ID sec me here, she began
with provoking little laughs. ''but
is your astonishlnent really too great
to allow you to say, 'IIow do you
do"
The pell was broken. ! started
up and took her hand. | fear /
pressed it M ore warmly, and held it
longer ii Ian i as absolutely necessary.
.Perhaps your surprise will be IN
creased" she continued, when | tell
YOU that | ain come upon basiness?'
| :nuttereh something about not
being ambiti BUS enough to hope that
she would visit me from any other
motive. She took no notice OF what
/ | said. but | saw that her face turned
deadly pale, and that her hand trem-
bled, as she placed before me bun
die Of papers. IN.
''You will see by these, She said,
in a low. hurried voice, 'that Some
property was left to me by my uncle
and grandfather, but SO strictly set
tied that even can touch nothing
/ bat the interest. Now my husb band
IS at this moment. in want of large
sum of money, and | wish 70 b to
examine the affair well, and see
whether, by any twisting of the law,
| | can place part of my capital at
| his disposal. Unintentionally have
done him great wrong" she added,
! il So low tone that no ears less
iealdusly alive than mine could have
caught the meaning; "and poor as
this reputation is, it is all | can make.
and | must do it if possible
| pretended to study the papers
before me, but the lights danced and
mingled; and if, by a great effort, !
forced my eyes to distinguish a "olu,
it conveyed not the slightest mean
/ ing to my whirling brain Every
drop of blood in my body, seemed
/ indued with a separate consciousness,
and to be tingEng and rushing to
/ tie side next to her, VIII hose presence
within a short distance of me was
the only thing of which had a dis
tinct perception. l hung my head
to hide from her the emotion ol
which l was thoroughly ashamee. ,,
1t may well be believed that
was in no condition to give a pro
fessional opinion; but ! got tIoYer TINS
difficulty BY telling her | nu91 l,'ss M
time to study the case, and promising
to let her know the result.
"You are a .tiresome creature sac
said, with little wayward,3 qeqaets-
ish air. * really expected that loi
:, o,l Efa opd fnr friend too,