Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1852-01-02
? T

A young girl sat in a neatly furnished par
lor, half reclining upon a sofa, and her head
bent thoughtfully down, while a shade Of
sadness overspread her beautiful face. She
was but eighteen years old but under the
genial sun of a Southern cline she had III
pened into mature ~womanhood, both mental
ly and physically ; and liberal parents had
bestowed upon her the means of improving
the natural gifts which had been lavished
upon her.
Novels and nonsense had not made her
one of those fashionable fools which are so
frequently sent out from boarding schools
to cheat some mar into the belief that she
will be his aCife, and then turning out roth
ing but a lady. The natural bent of her
mind was reflective and besides the accom-
plishments offemale education, she had stored
it with much solid inforrnation-had looked
upon life as it is, and not as unschooled fan
cy paints it. She had studied we'll the sphere
of woman's duties, and her rights-not
'Bloomerism'-not to unsex herself by min
CLING in the soul-soiling strife of political
warfare and forensic debate-not claiming
equality with him in his sphere, but SUPERB
ority over him in her own.
Such was Ella Vance, the pride of the
village Of b, and the loved of many
s%uitors, Of her personal charms, we will
not stereotype the thousand and one descrip-
ton of beauties, to speak. Among the CAV
and beautiful she was probably neither the
gayest nor the most beautiful !; but there
was a majesty in her c~ountenance, a beauty
that increased with acquaintance, a charm
that grew more enchanting the more it was
studied. Hers was not the beauty that gilt
tered OH the surface and captivated the eye
at a glance ; but hat which moved the SOU
and stirred the deeper, purer feelings of the
heart. Every time you saw her you though
her more beautiful than ever before, ard as
you fathomed the rich depths of her mind
and saw the gems sparkling and flashing
new ones continually opening to view, you
felt that she was a creature of a superior or
der, a treasure to the heart that should VIII
her, above all other earthly treasures.
As she now %reclines upon tie sofa she i
worthy the painters skill but the thought
that rise and roll heavily through her sou
t are beyond the painters art. There are n
traces of anger on her fair face-no fashin,
e of her full blue eyes but there is a clou,
a of sadness, of settled sorrow, that, while j
E takes away the fresh and gorgeous bloom G
beauty, bestows a pensive, steady charm, n
e less captivating. And now, as we gaze up
on her, the dewy waters, from the heart
' pure fountain, suffuse her eyes, and a crys
tai tear-drop trickles down her cheek.
At this moment a young man, with an al
e of freedom and familiarity that nothing bu
close relationship could justify, but While
: that renders comely, stepped lightly in {
t the door. A glance at Ella revealed to hir
her sorrow, and he exclaimed
e In tears, sweet coz ?-what is the matter
The words of her cousin, Henry Huber
! aroused her. From infancy they had bee
d reared together, bad mingled soul with sou
- and each had opened the secret chambers
the heart to the other. But the love tn
existed between them was that of broth,
and sister ; and with all the confidence whiC
n that close connexion inspires, each had co
r. fded in the other. Henry was the son of
q sister of Mr.. Vance both his parents b;
N died while he was e yyoung, and his une
had adopted and reared him as his own,
Oh companion for his daughter, the only fruit
his marriage.
With thrill of joy, Ella heard his fam
lar voice, and hastily wiping away her tes
and smiling through her gloom, she exte
ded to him her hand, and said /:
1t L am glad You have come, cousin I We
your aid and counsel