The south-western. [volume] (Shreveport, La.) 1852-1870, 1855-07-18
SHREVEPORT, LOUISIANA, WEDNESDAY, JULY Is, 1866

sons: none OF which however, resemble Its first
freshness and purity. The attainments of our
girlish days may last through womanhood, and
even to old age itself; but every year we live,
more of earthly feeling, more of the worlds
wisdom, will have mingled in our dream Of love,
until it becomesless unselfsh-less ideal-more
rational perhaps, but less passionate and devo-
ted And who could be sure that the faith of
one so beautiful and admired as the Young
heiress would bel preserved pure and unbroken,
through trial and temptation, amidst ambition
and tlattery, and with him to whose protection
she had clung so confdingly, absent for an un-
limited period in foreign land. Woman's fl
deity is proverbial; but after all we are but
mortal, and
Look through the world. and this truth you will find
That out Of sight, you are soon out of mind
It was all very well in the days of old, when,
on the departure of the true knight, the constant
fair one would shut herself up in her lonely
tower out Of the reach of temptation, and sur
rounded only by her maidens, employ the weary
interval in listening to the noble deeds of his
ancestors, and embroidering gorgeous scarf to
present him on his return; but in these days of
balls, festivities, and beaux, the young afianced
has much harder triai-and we seriously ad-
wise the lover not to be absent longer than he
can help. ,..
The following day, Aubertin found the whole
party drawn up to receive him. M. Frade oc-
cupying his large armchair at the head ola Ia
BILE covered with parchments, and NJ. Dumont,
the notary-a hard featured cold, methodlcal-
looking being-seated at his right; while on
the opposite side, Lestele sat with her elbow
resting on the table and her head bent down;
and she slightly raised it on the entrance Of her
lover, he saw that her eyes were red AMI swol-
len from excessive weeping. Having bowed
to the gentlemen, and pressed the cold, trem-
bling hand of Lestelles to his lips, he sat down
and waited calmly form. Fradel to commence
the business that brought them together.
"You are aware, M. Aubertin," " said the old
gentleman, at length, ''that my ward is very
young, and that, in accepting you for her future
husband, she acts contrary to my wishes, and
demonstrates the natural wilfulness of her sex?'
"Al this is not new to me, replied the young
man, while he stole an arch look at Lestelle,
who was watching him in breathess anxiety.
"Well, then, we may as well come to the
point at once: without my consent your marriage
cannot take place until mademoiselle Nerney is
of age-a period of which it wants nearly three
years; and your signing this deed, by which the
whole of her property is settled unallenably up
on herself, without giving any one else power
to draw OF dispose OF one SOU. of it, is the only
! condition on'which the hand of Lestelle shall
be yours
A crimson flush passed over the cheek and
brow of Claude Aubertin, and there was mo-
ment's pause, during which the keen glance OF
the old man, the cold scrutiny of the notary,
and the pleading eyes Of the anxious girl were
fixed eagerly upon his face. The struggle,
however, was but of short duratlon and with
cheerful smile be held out his hand for the
paper, and, glancing rapidly over It's contents,
affixed his name. ia.
cit is well!' said M. Fradel, compacenty
CHOW, mademoisellH''
The hand of the young girl trembled so vic
lently that Aubertin was obliged to guide it; ane
when the signature was at length completed
she flung herself upon his bosom, and weptlonG
and passionately. Even the notary was moved
into something like sympathy, and. gathering
up his papers, be FASTENED to follow his patron
from the room, and leave the lovers at full lib
erty to give vent to their feelings; but regard
for the timid and weeping girl, who clung tc
him so fondIy and implorngly, subdued the
offended pride of Claude Aubertin, and he had
little difficulty in soothing her fears, and win
ming back the sunshine of her happy smiles.
A few days after this they were married, and
three succeeding years, which glided past SC
| happily with them, are marked in characters Of
blood in their country's annals.s Now it was
that the innate NOBILITY of the mind asserted its
superiority over mere hereditary nobility rank
and station-that the barriers of rank and aris-
tocracy were beaten down, and men owned nc
limits to their own wild wills. Claude Auber-
tin was revolutionist in the best sense of the
word-his proud spirit had been stung by the
worldly scorn of those whom he inwardly de-
spsed; but not for this did he turn upon his op-
pressors-not for any feeling save the pure and
/ holy love OF liberty; and when that name became
prostrituted to the very worst purposes when
it was made the watchword to crime and blood
shed-he yet clung to it as in his first hour OF
youthful enthusiasm, and trusted everything to
its power when the first intoxicaton should have
passed away, and be succeeded by an age of
reason and nationality.
e Lestelle loved her husband too well not to
have imbibed his principles; and thescostly sa-
looms OF la belle cheyenne, were nightly throng-
ed with the leading political characters of the
times. But Lestelle was no longer a girl, laugh
ing from the overhowngs of a gladstone spirit;
her smiles were less frequent, and had often a
purpose to answer which those who looked upon
her fair and bright face never dreamed Of
There was many proud aristocrat who, al
though he knew it rot owed life and fortune to
that beautiful and resistless pleader.
The only cloud that rested on the happiness
of Lestelle was occasioned by the scrupulous
reserve of Aubertin on all affairs connected with
her property nor could her fondness and deyo-
ton remove the unpleasant feeling which a con
sciousness Of his total dependence upon bis wife
was likely to engender in his proud and sensi
tive spirit; and although she tried to obviate the
difficulty by liberality which panied far more
than it pleased him, still there were moments
when he bitterly felt the want of funds which
could only be drawn through her instrumental
ity, and which be would have died rather than
asked for.
Of late it had been observed that Lestelle
was much altered: she would sit for hours in
an attitude of deep thought, ard was peevish
and abstracted when reused, as if the plans
she was evidently arranpinr in her own mind