Richmond daily times. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1853, 1853-02-16
THE DAILY TIMES
THE SQUIRE,S DAUGHTER.

occupied the last remaining runous fragment OF
the old turretted hall at the end of the land lead
ing to Backmere Common-as desolate spot AZ
traveller may meet with in the course of a ride
of thirty miles over the bleak plains that lie on
the western extremity of Norfolk. Selma, who
had had the misfortune of losing her mother in
her childhood. had picked up a sort of desultory
education from her father and an old maiden gen.
tlewoman, of very slender attainments. her aunt;
under whose united auspices she learned to read
write, cast accounts, aud to play few tunes on
an old cracked harpsichord which had belonged
to her grandmother. She could also embroder
hligree, and work gentlemens ruffles; which last
accomplishment, all things considered, was rather
a supernumerary requirement for a heroine of the
nineteenth century; but Aunt Bridget, who had
been celebrated for her performances this way,
assured her pupil that no young lady would be
regarded as we'll educated person unless she
were capable of executing such handiwork
AT the age of fifteen, Selma was very pretty,
and highly sentimental; had read all the old 70.
mances in her aunts closet by stealth; and it was
the ardent wish of her heart to experience few
distresses and marvellous adventures: it was,
moreover, her secret desire to become the wife of
bandit chief
Notwithstanding his fine names, no creature
could be less like one of those lawess but far
famed desperadoes than Albert Orlando Fisher
the ruddy, good tempered son of deceased ma
val lieutenant. Albert, with his poor mother and
eight juvenile brethren, occupied matched cot
tage in the centre of an old monastc enclosure
called the Priory; and, for an hour every day,
put on his best clothes for the purpose of shining
peerless in the eyes of his fair neghbor, when he
walked past her fathers gate at noon, or called
to bring him weekly newspaper week old
which he had borrowed of the village apothecary
for the squre's reading.
Selma was far from being nsensible that those
attentions were designed for her; and she gra-
ciousy permitted Albert Orlando Fisher to walk
by her side to and from church, when papa was
confined to his chamber by the govt, and Aunt
Bridget stayed home to take care of him. She
also condescended to ava herself of his services
in smuggling into the house, unknown to papa
and aunt, the contraband article of new novels
from the circulating library at the nearest market.
town, which was six miles distant from Wood
field. She accepted the daily offering of flowers
which he priviy made to her, with the rustic but
not unpleasing gallantry in which love instructs
his most untaught votaries; and she read with
assumed dignity, but secret rapture, the 'amato.
ry doggerel rhymes of Cupid's own inditng,'
which he addressed to her at certain interesting
times and seasons-such as birthdays, new years,
and Valentines anniversaries.
She all of a sudden grew vastly intimate with
his mother who, good woman, felt herself greatly
honored by the calls of Miss Selma. She became
fond of lonely rambles on Blackmere Common
similar taste existed on the part of Albert Oran-
do Fisher; and by some secret sympathy, | sup.
pose,it happened that they always chose the same
hour for their walks
He commenced instructing her in botany; and
she, in return, labored to Undue his mind with the
elevated and heroic sentiments, in which his def
cheney was but too apparent even in her partial
eyes, Albert Orlando, who was mere matter
of-fact sort of person, did not comprehend much
of Selnas refinement, but, lover like, he listened
with great admiration to all she said, and told
every one who asked any questions respecting his
fair Selma, that she was the prettiest girl for ten
miles round, and she was clever enough to puz--
zle an Oxford scholar, which speech gave rise to
the report, that Miss Stanfield understood Greek
and Latin better than the parson-a gentleman
whom we have now occasion to introduce to our
readers.
The reverend preacher was precisely of that
perous age when single gentlemen, arrived at
the verge of decided old bachelorism, evince much
painful anxiety to form matrimonial connection
of a nature sufficiently advantageous to satisfy
their own self esteem and, abandoning all eau
ton, contract such marriages as cannot fail to
amuse the lovers of the marvellous. He possess
sed an eye for beauty, and began to regard the
fair Selma with no common interest, in conse-
quepcs of the attention which his egotistical pc
dantry had induced him to pay to her; and falling
into an error, by no means unusual among vain
people, of attrbuting his own sentiments to her,
he at length persuaded himself into the belief
that the young beauty would esteem herself the
most fortunate of her sex in becoming his wife. He
had no sooner arrived at this fattering conclu-
sion, than he commenced a course of diurnal an
noyances, in the shape of morning calls and friend
ly tea-visits at Blackmere Hall; to the infinite
satisfaction of Mrs. Bridget Stanfeld, who, no
less egotistical than good Parson Bell, placed all
these civities to her own account, and invariably
sent her pretty niece out Of the way when she
spied the portly divine, with his umbrella under
his arm, ambling up the old avenue of chestnut
trees leading to the house. This was vastly
agreeable to Selma, who was thus enabled to en-
joy many opportunities of unreserved intercourse
with young Fisher. Parson Bell, however, was
too cunning to be thus easily outwitted; nor had
he lived so long in single blessedness to be caught
at last by spinster of fifty years standing. He
soon discovered the drift Of Aunt Bridget and
was at length awake to the notifying fact, that
Selma had bestowed her youthful affections on a
young and handsome lover; but one, withal,
whose poverty, even more than his want of re-
fnement, would present an insuperable barrier
against his union with Selma Stanfeld. Still, he
was formidable rival. lie was the only young
man in the village whose station in society would
entitled him to make pretensions to the daughter
of proud Squire Stanfield. AS for the squire, the
ovefWeenlng IDEAS OF MS own importance, ana the
claims of his ancient family, appeared to increase
as the means necessary to substantiate those
claims decreased. Field after field of the family
estate had been alienated from the patrimony by
his predecessors, to portion off their daughters,
or to provide for the numerous train of younger
sons which had blessed their union with dover
beauties, till Reginald Stanfield and his sister
Bridget found themselves in possession of little
more of the goods of fortune than suffced to sup
,Ity uyith ha har carIa -
Reginald Stanfeld felt these things severely
but his indolent disposition would have prevented
him from making any exertons towards improv
ing his situation, even had he possessed the capa-
bilities Of so doing. His education had been
elected. and his natural abilities by no means