The Literary echo, and Pawcatuck advertiser. [volume] (Westerly, R.I.) 1851-1854, 1854-02-09

soft poetic grace, it GER
tainly was very charming and desira-
Bile thing, and need not have provoked
the smiles it'sometimcs did, when it dis
played itself in some larger and finer
words and phrases, than the generality
of people deemed necessary. Miss
father-she had now no
a very fat, comfortable,
weh.to-do sort of man-but having
about as little poetry and sentiment in
his nature as one of his own mill-saws,
it came to pass that his finer daughter
found but little sympathy at home with
her more elevated ideas, and her most
intimate friends were often made to
sympathize with the sufferer from whom
" pa" so often withheld the means of
gratifying what she called her "more
patlician and classic tastes"
Notwithstanding her fathers snu
little income, Miss Sophronia had lived
and bloomed in the front rank of Apple
vile society for the last twelve or fifteen
years, without inducing any aspiring
youth to bestow on her the privilege OF
changing the unpoetical surname, which
so lily accorded with its romantic pre-
fixes. In earlier days, this might have
been Miss Sophronia's fault, for in her
opinion, the very mundane clay that
made up the mortality of those who
surrounded her, was hardly fit to mate
with the fiue porcelain of her compost
tion--but of later years it had been ru-
morcd that the lady had grown some
what less fastidious, and looked upon
the manly and intelligent Apollas of
Appleville somewhat more admiringly.
Especially had it been rumored Cob,
scandalizing Madam Rumor y that
marks of her tender regard were lavished
upon certain bachelor physician, whose
ase was as indefinite as her own, and
who had enriched Appleviile with his
skill and presence during the space of
the last two years. The NJ. D. was not
handsoms-far from this face was
most decidedly plain he was rather
short, and exceedingly stout, which,
considering Miss Sophronia's leaning
toward the classic, was hardly the style
one would have anticipated to draw out
the long-guarded affection of her heart.
But then, Miss Sophrona was tall and
thin, and love delights in contrasts-so
they say-and she had read "Jane
Eyre" and " Olive" and several more
novels of the same sort, whose heroes
we're marvcls of plainncss, and she loved
to dream of the beauty of the I" "inner
soul" Illuminating the features, and to
cherish the thought Of face, lacking
beauty in the eyes of all the world, being
radiant to her appreciative heart alone
The doctor was good d-natured and hard
working. Miss Brown thought him of a
d" sweet and loving spirit" and glor GUS
ly devoted to his profession She
thought him literary too, for he took
half dozen magazines and newspapers,
and had the same number of book
shelves filed with miscellaneous reading
which Miss Brown called his library
and to which she was allowed free ac-
cess.
Entre-nous, Miss Sophronia was, al
though the Applevillians were very. inn
pertinent to say so, decidedly smitten
with DR.. Mason, and when one or two
roguishly or maliciously limited that Miss
Brown thought that the Valentine Party
would afford fine opportunity for the
diffident youth to make some demonstra-
tions, they were not so very wide of the
truth. The fact was this-Miss Sophro-
MIA knew herself the heiress of a very
comfortable little property; she knew
also that the distressingly healthy town
of Appleville, little more than sufficed
to pay the young DOCTORS bill, and keep
him in dress coats and gloves and she
had at length, when month after month
brought no demonstration from him, be-
come settled in the conviction that he
was too modest, aud too honorable to
sue where he could be even suspected
of mercenary motives. This view Of the
case, as the reader will very readily per-
ceive, placed the doctor in very ro-
msntic and interesting light in the eyes