The Lancaster ledger. [volume] (Lancaster, S.C.) 1852-1905, 1852-05-26

ell with tha. ddsslseate frame and ner
vous temperament, he must die; and VIII,
should / prepare fresh sorrow for myseli
by taking him into my heart, only to hav,
him plucked out again by DEATH"
As this was said with the most passion
ate vehemence of manner, as if she werc
defending herself against some unjust
charge. l said something in the way O
remonstrance. Gently and respectful,
but firmly, I spoke Of the necessity fol
each soul to spiritualize its aspirations
and raise itself from the trammels ofearth
and in speaking thus to her, felt my own
burden tighten off my heart, and ac,
knowledged that / had been both foolish
and sinful in allowing first disappoint-
ment to shadow all the sunlight of nv
existence. am not naturally of a des-
ponding disposition, and nothing but a
blow as severe as the non-succcss ofmv
Finding the Body of Harold by Torch
light" could have affected to the extent of
mental prostration, rs that under which
| was now laboring. But this was very
hard TO bear! Ny companion listened
to me with kind Of blank surprise, evi-
IDENTIFY unaccustomed to honesty of truth:
but she bore my remarks patiently, and
when | had ended, she even thanked me
for my advice.
"And now, tell me the cause of your
melancholy face 2" she asked, as we were
nearing Birmingham. "Your story
cannot be very long, and I shall have lust
enough time to hear it."
|, i smiled at her authoritative tone, and
said quietly: / am an artist, madam, and
L had counted much on the success of
my first historical painting. If has failed,
and l am both penniless and Infamous.
am the "presumptuous danbcr" of the
critics-despised by the crcditors-em-
phatically failure throughout.
"Pshaw!" cried the lady, impaticntly;
"and what is that for grief! days dis
which a days labor can re-
pair To me, your trouble seem of no
more worth than child's tears when he
has broken his newest toyl Here is Bir-
and / must bid YOU farewell.
Perhaps you will open the door for me
Good-morning: you have made my Jour
ny pleasant, and relieved my Ennui. |
shall be happy o.see you in town, and to
help you forward in your career"
And with these words, said in a strange,
Indifferent, matter-offact tone, as of one
accustomed to all the polite offers of good
society, which mean nothing tangible,
she was lifted from the carriage by a train
Of servants, and borne off the platform.
l looked at the card which she placed
in my hand, and read the address of "Mrs.
Arden, Belgrave-square." I'D, s., ......
l found my friend waiting for me; and
= So -~enaSpta was seated before a
blazlng flrc IN nlagilincvnl uTawing-roOm,
surrounded with every comfort that hos
pitality could offer, or luxury invent.
"Here, at least, is happiness" thought,
as saw the family assemble in the draw
ing room before dinner Here are beau
ty, youth, wealth, position-al that
makes life valuable. What concealed
skeleton can there be in this house to
trighten away one grace of existence
None-none! They must be happy;
and, oh! what contrast to that poor la
dy met with to-day and what pain
full contrast to myself"
And all my former melancholy returned
like heavy cloud upon my brow; and
felt that l stood like some sad ghost in
fairy-land of beauty, so utterly out of
place was my glAom in tho midst of all
this gayety and splendor. ..- .a ..
One daughter attracted my attention
more than the rest. She was the eldest,
a beautiful girl Of about twenty-three, or
she might have been even few years ol-
der: Her face was quite of the Spanish
style-dark, expressive, and tender; and
her manners were the softest> and most be-
witching I had ever seen. She was pc
culiarly attractive to an artist, from the
exceeding beauty of feature, as well as
from the depth Of expression which distin-
guished her. secretly sketched her por-
trait on my thunb-naiI, and in mind | de-
termined 70 make her the model for my
next grand attempt at historical compo-
sition-"the Return Of Columbus" She
was to be the Spanish Queen; and
thought Of myself as Ferdinand; for | was
not unlike spaniard in appearance, and
| was almost as brown. .s#
l remained with my friend fortnight,
studying the midnight effects of the IRON
foundries, and cultivating the acquaintance
OF Julia. In these two congenial occupa-
ton. the time passed like lightning. and
| woke as from pleasant dream, to the
knowledge Of the fact that my visit was
expected to be brought to close. l had
been asked, l remembered, for week,
and | had doubled my furlough. him
Ted at breakfast, that was afraid I must
leave my kind friends tomorrow, a gen
eral regret was expressed, but no one
asked me to stay longer; so the die was
unhappily cast. ... =.
Julia was melancholy. I could not
but observe it; and confess that the OBJ
servation caused me more pleasure than
pain. Could it be sorrow at my depar-
turel We had been daily, almost hourly,
companions for fourteen days, and the
surmise was not unreasonable. She had
always shown me particular kindness, and
she could not but have seen my marked