The Literary echo, and Pawcatuck advertiser. [volume] (Westerly, R.I.) 1851-1854, 1853-10-20

child, wretched is the woman who does
not know how to meet old age
1t Is a science, believe me, in which
we ought to take lessons early, instead
of waiting till our declining star forces
them upon US or, which still worse, one
of those sudden crisis which precipitato
us headlong from the the height of our
chimeras into the abyss Of reality In
your turn, listen to me, Constance, and
let me reveal to you one of those griefs
of the heart which are only so much the
more painful from being concealed from
the eyes of the world /; for its malignity
would consider them ridiculous, and
assalI them with jecring and mockery
" Madame Dalbrun," disguise the
name Of the parties; perhaps you will
recognize them but too easily, " Madame
Dalbrun was thirty-fvc, two years older
than you, Constance. In the spring
time Of lie, it is but day in the fall,
it is an age. Satiated, like yourself,
with enjoyment and hattery, the giddy
whirl Of pleasures, the magic influence
OF luxury and dress, and lastly (why not
say it J a little voluntary blindness,
concealed from her the advance of age
and the first encroachments Of time.
"Still handsome, or at least called
so, rich, widow, absolutely mistress Of
herself, she suffered imagination to gain
an asccndency over her conduct which
she refused to reason. However, her
romantic dreams did not so far absorb
her thoughts as to make her forget that
she was mother. She had u daughter
about sixteen, the object Of her tender
ost affection, who was laboring under
that vague sense Of uneasincss that ac-
companies the period Of adolescence
But, resolved to deceive herself on every
point that reminded her Of her age,
Madame Dalbrun would only consider
her daughter as a mere child, and at
tributed her indisposition to every cause
but the right. The faculty were clear
sighted enough to see how the case really
stood, and ordered a journey to Spa.
" You know that, with the exception
of visits to fountains and some few cx-
cursions in the nighboring country, the
life of stranger at spa is almost en-
tirely concentrated in the saloons of the
RedOute.
" Lectures, concerts, balls are the
pastimes it offers to charm his leisure,
and, more expensive than all, the gam
ing table. Roulette and rogue ct noir
are ever busy at the Redoutc, like the
guillotino in '93 on the Place dc la Rev
0lution. Among the amateurs ranged
round the gaming table, which will not
describe, Madame Dalburn only noticed
A single player, tall, handsome young
man, with an exterior characterized by a
kind Of naughty statclincss which did
not i'll become him. Standing, nngli- {
gently leaning on the back Of a chair, {
be threw down, with an air Of unconceIn, :
nandfuls Of gold pieces, which She saw /
or disappear without allowing i
the chances of the game to affect the /
mperturable composure of his features q
md manners. Women are taken with :
my kind of daring, and this bold defiance :
20 phlegmatically thrown in the teeth of +
ortune, awakened in Madame Dalburn
sort of magnetic interest in the intrepid
,layer.
"The next day there was dancing in
he evening at the Redoutc Seated
,eside her daughter, in the gorgeous
,all-room Of the establishment, Madame u
)alburn was listening mechanically to
he first measures of a waltz, when
Oce, whose harmonious tones thrilled J
D the deepest recess of her heart, pro- :, :,
ounced the following words - u
60 Madame, will you condescend to
o me the honor of waltzng with me =
"She looked round, and recognized, il
ot without some slight emotion, the o.
layer whose cool tcmcrity had won her {,
She gave him her hand II
D show her assent, and, leaving her
aughter under the protection of her
she sprang forward, leaning
n her partners arm, into the glddy !"
,hrl OF tie walters. When she re-
urned to her place, the handsome
had advanced another step i'll is