Muscatine journal. [volume] (Bloomington, Iowa) 1849-185?, 1853-12-30
: would cause him, and using arguments to

il would cause him, and using arguments to
induce him to return. to his regiment, the
least likely to influence him. The dream
was indeed broken! Still Mary may be
kept in ignorance of their cruelty" was his
first thought; as he read again and again the
dreadful truth, as far as his feelings were
concerned and the vile SANDER that dared
touch so hallowed being. "Ie would
never forgive them to his dying day. were
the last words he said as he closed the letter
and walked from lis room to call upon
Mary, with an intention of putting off an
engagement for the morrow, on which she
was to spend the day with gay circle at a
fete, his own family being among the invit-
ed guests. He felt that in his present state
he had better not be seen near her, at least
not till he had well consideaed the line of
conduct he meant to adopt. 1t was impos
sible for the eye of love, however, not to
discover that somethinI had occurred to ag-
itate him, and when Mary heard the excuse
he gave her for not accompanying her, there
was tone of reproach in her answer which
made him say
81 had better not, Mary, for your sake'',
"My sake it is for my sake | wish you
to 60. But you are concealng from me the
real reason, Charles; and l insist upon
hearing the truth, SIR" and she stood
playfully holding her finger up.
The real reason was not told, and Charles
left her, wretched- almost reckless Of the
future, caring for nothing but to save her
from the abyss into which he saw his love
was likely to plunge her Despising tho
heartlessness of his mother, and looking with
contempt upon the worldly feeling which
dictated the letter; still il must be answer
ed, and also the threat it contained of speak
ing upon the subject to Mary. He deliber-
ated long before he dc ,ided his plans, and
then felt that they could not be too quickly
carried out; he wrote to his mother, telling
her his opinion of her letter, and returning
the one she had sent him, requesting it might
be destroyed, and the vile falsehoods II con-
tanned thus obliterated, not from his memo
ry. because that, he assured her, death alone
could do, bat from every eye. He also wrote
to Mary long letter, telling her that cir
cumstances had occurred which rendered an
absence from her at the present time indis
pensable; but that it should terminate when
ever she wrote and required his presence.
"Better she thinks me cold hearted, sell
fsh-so | am--any thing, than know the
fact was his thought, as he closed the
letter to her, and, in his agitation, with it
the one he had received from his mother.
Mary was sitting in her dressing room;
she had just returned from the fete, which
to her had been IA blank. She was partially
undressed, when her eyes fell upon letter
which boz e his hand writing; dis rissin- her
maid, she sat down, broke the seal, and saw
a letter directed to Charles, in his mother's
handwriting; concluding that something
unpleasant had occurred, but never imngin-
ing in reference to herself, she opened it and
read it.
1t may have happened to son of our rea-
ders 1--WE hope not to many to have such a
"horror of deep darkness" fall upon them,
as did upon our gentle heroine, in reading
the cruel letter, which had been enclosed to
her. Her first feeling was that she descrv-
ed what they said of her, SO complete for
the moment was the self abasement, when
she had thus rudely discovered the fact Of
her love to Charles but this impression
wore off as she read and saw how yilely she
was traduced, and saw through the whole
object. She read the letter many times be-
fore size could really believe that the char
acters We're written by the only friend to
whom she had never confded her domestic
Affections to whom from childhood she had
ever given the affection and tenderness of
daughter. 1t was her first lesson, and, as
usual with our first lessons, 1t went deep
into the memory. So totally had she been
engrossed by the letter, that the one from
Charles was still unread, and even when
read, the warm and tender tone was unheed-
ed. She could receive no other impression
than the heart siekening one just given
and many hours passed before she could
even rouse herself to seek relief from the
agony and shame that oppressed her. She
had not the well disciplined mind that in
such case could seek relief from higher
power religion had been to Mary but du-
ty. Pride had formed the bulwark of her
character, and preserved her hitherto from
evil. Since she had loved, she had prayed,
but in this miserable hour no thought of
prayer had come to her I; her heart seemed
hardened, and when she retired to bed, she
had determined to abandon the world and
fly to some secret place where she need new
er be known or seen.
When mo rning came, it was sometime be-
fore she rang for her maid she felt asham-
ed to sec human being she wondered
whether she suspected the fact of her dis
grace, as she termed the suspicious contain
ed in the letter; at last, by great effort,
she conquered what appeared foolish de-
sire of adding to her difficulties ! and rose
and prepared to begin the day. But what
day How could she survive it was the
oft repeated thought, as she turned to leave