The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1852-05-12
THE DAILY DISPATCH,
From Fraser's Magazine.
SOMETHING ABOUT A MUIR
DER.
FoUN NDED on FACT,

|
FOUNDED on FACT.
| A fair and gentle girl was Barbara Comyn
| the only daughter of one of the strictest and
sternest old ministers that ever adhered to Cal.
| vim. Yet MIR. Comyn was thoroughly consci.
| enoous IN all his views: and when be frowned
| ne dio 1t not through love of frowning, but that
| ne hoped, by gathering a cloud upon his brows,
70 Dring down from those eyes upon which he
lfowned such showers of repentance as refresh
ana make green the soul in.withered and sere
rom the harsh and hot suns of vice. He was.
Ia ruin worthy and good man; somewhat
ho ho'io" t Oh mind and bigoted of creed, it NAV
generous or dishonorabIe action. Sill. greatly
40 ne i9ved ms winsome daughter, much as he
PfiZed her tor that dead womans sake. who
as as iohg as she lay in his bosom, had brouoht
nun comfort, and happiness, and honor. he Vas
something over-harsh with her, niggardIv in
sae oestowing OF caresses, and liberal in the
gat OF unnecessary rebuke. Very severe, then.
10: his displeasure, when she confessed fn
"'n,, WIN many olushes, that she loved her
young Episcopalian kinsman. John Perc;vai
| he cousins had not been reared toge,har
| nor had they even met before the youih had
passed ms twenty filth, the girl her nineteenth
year. But we are not of the opinion tha,
young people are the more prone to fall in love
with each other for the being educated toge,bar
In sort OF family domesticity. Such facts
are contended for in fiction, but realities have
convinced US that such things seldom happen:
| and if we ever have the fortune 10 possess
children of our own, and wish son or dam sb,er
to wed particular individual, we shall take
good cure, not only to conceal our intentions
from them, but TO keep the pair apart from all
brother and sister communism, until such time
as each heart begins to have its natural era.
wing for congenial sprit,-when, in sooth, i,
looks for others than brothers and sisters 10
cling to. 1t is very old, perhaps very vul
gar proverb, that Familiarity breeds con
| Tempt" and we assuredly think that the con
stant hreside association of young folks, trained
up together in bread-aud-butter ease, is more
| apt to generate calm friendship than warm af
fectiOn.
But as we have said. our cousins were
brought up asunder; he in England, of which
| country his father was an eminent physician
| lately deceased, who had bequeat led TO his
only son his professional ability, with ample
| means of commencing his career in a hand
| some manner. When he first came to Scotland
| to visit his mothers sister, he found her q
| corpse; and there, in the house of mourning
| the consoler of the motherIess Barbara, he
| learnt TO love her with a sincerity of affec ton
10 which she fully responded. Great was his
vexation and surprise to receive stern denial
| VI Suit HOlu iiiC " IU, dItHOupu
| he had never testified any degree of partiality
| for his wife's nephew, had, nevertheless
evinced no dislike of him. But when respect.
| fully called upon to assign q reason for so un-
| expected rejection, he briefly said, that "no
child of his should with his blessing wed any
man who was not strict Presbyterian; and
that, moreover, he had other views for Lis
| daughter" Nor were the tears of his child,
nor the intercession in their favor of his kind.
1 L - 4 Il
| effect. His obstinacy was net to be subdued,
| nor his will opposed; and the unrelenting
preacher, who taught humility, love, and con-
cord from his pulpit, and who could produce
| not one sensible reason for thwayting the at
| tachment of two amiable creatures, concluded
| the scene by flying into furious passion, in
| which he gave John Perciyal clearly to under
stand, that he was no longer all acceptable, or
even permitted, guest.
The young man left the manse Immediately,
and was not slow in quitting Scotland; but
love, which teaches many things. taught the
kinsfolk means Of keeping up, though at rare
intervals, epistolary commuuion-so frequent
ly the one sustaining prop of two divided
hearts!
A year or more passed, finding them true to
each other. Barbara refused several excellent
proposals of marriage. nor did her futher per-
secute her with expressed wishes for her ac-
ceptance Of Of any them; until, at length, he
introduced TO her one Mr.. Bruce, wealthy
cloth merchant from Glasgow. He was man
of about fifty years of age, of well favored
4 I'd portly presence, and accounted sure and
somewhat sour 70. lower of Mr.. Comyn's favo.
rite creed. Barbara had frequently heard he r
father speak highly ofhis Glasgow friend, but
as no warning had prepared her, she was very
far from dreaming of the character he was
about to perform in her presence; and, indeed,
the wooing of The honest clcthier was neither
very active nor oppressive-but, alas, for all
that, il was sieadfust and res0lute.
A wonderful deal Of what they deemed "reli-
gious discussion was carried on betwixt Mr..
Bruce and the minister during the visit of the
former at the manse, which, we have omitted
to stale, Though for certain reasons we do
not intend to give il name,l was situated out
of the town of Aberdeen, in retired straih or
valley, full of hazels and sloe-bushes, with
the Dee running through them like huge sill
yer snake. Although little more than half a
mile from Aberdeen, and much nearer the
church Of which Mr. Comyn was minister, the
manse seemed as lonely and quiet as if thirty
miles lay between it and a busy, populous
town. Now, though Mr. Bruce had hired
sleeping apartment in the cottage OF Mr..
Comyn's bellman, or sexton. which stood hard
by the kirk, he spent all his spare time with
his friend at the manse, where his meals were
invariably taken; and inaddilion to the wonder
iul amount Of pollen ical palaver we have hint
ed al, W erfuI deal of Whisky toddy cid 9
worthy minister and his guest contrIve 10
swallow in the heat of;heir arguments. Many
a time and oft did good, innocent Miss Henny
Comyn declare, that when the shakehands
hour arrived, Mr.. Bruce, 'puir man, seemed
TO toddle aft 10 his cosie oedde at Dayy Bain's
marvellously fu' O. the spirit!'' True it was;
but the ancient virgin guessed not in her guile,
lessness, that the spirit was an evil one, and
elected by man and FIRE from the unsuspecting
barley ycOrn.
AT last, as we have said, Dir. Comyn spoke
out his wish-nay, his commands-that Bar.
bara should prepare to receive MIR. Bruce as
a bridegroom in six months thereafter. And