Eastern times. [volume] (Bath, Me.) 1846-1857, 1855-07-12
and her thonehtfnl brow gave her more ina

| n
mother, had been left under the guardianship
of her grandparents, who INDUCED her to a
fault. She had been sent as day scholar to
one of the most fashionable schools in the city,
and at the weekly soirees had met Harry Gil
mour, wopld-be sprig of republican aristoc-
racy, who made love to her. He supposed
that as she was the only grand-child in the
family, that she would inherit her grand
parents wealth as well as that of her father.
Abby loved him, and lent willing gar to all
that he said. Her grandparents, finding that
things had gone so far, and that they could
not get her to listen to their advice, had sent
for her father, (who lived on his plantation in
the far South,) to come and take her home for
while, thinking that absence would, efface
the impression that Harry had made upon her
young and susceptible heart, in which still
sounded the words of love that found an easy
entrance. To her Harry's professions seemed
the very embodiment of truth. She judged
his love by her own. How short-sighted are
the young and trusting Could Abby have
read his true motives, she would have found
peared more beautiful in person, or that her
voice struck his ear as more musical than the
rest of her schoolmates, but because her
fathers plantation could boast of many hundred
broad acres well stocked with slaves, and that
her grandfather's railroad stocks were increas-
Ing daily in value, besides the ready cash both
these were known to have always in bank
These were the considerations that made Har-
ry Gilmour worship Abby Woodman. He
did not love her. Ida Clifford, however, he
did love, and often did the wish rise in his
heart that her wealth equalled Abby's. Had
Abby been less firm, he would have succeeded
in carrying off the richest heiress in Madam
Ms school. She managed TO put off the
evil day for time, and bidding farewell to all
her friends, with an aching heart, she soon
found herself at home, and the sole mistress
of her fathers southern house-for he had
never found one to supply the place of the dear
wife he had lost. The novelty of her new posi-
ton for while made Abby forget her troubles,
yet as that wore off, her love, which was in
destructible, burned brighter and deeper. In
vain did her father and friends try TO amuse
her and make her feel at home among strangers,
but daily she became more silent and more re-
served. Several months passed in this man
ner. Her father witnessed her silent grief,
but supposed that she was grieving because
she was Separated from her grandmother who
had heen mother to her. Mr.. Woodman Of
tered to send for her. He little dreamed that
the ailment really grew out of love for Harry
Gilmour. He thought she had forgotten him,
yet that was the true secret to all her unhappi-
ness. If she could have forgotten him, she
could not have been otherwise than happy in
that beautiful home in the sunny south, where
every other desire of her heart could be graft
fed, for Mr.. Woodman boasted of having the
handsomest place of any in the surrounding
country. Abby thought she would rather live
on a crust with Harry than have all the luxu-
ries of the land away from him, and deter
mined ifever she should see him again to
marry him at once, and risk the chance of her
fathers forgiveness. Things went on for
more than year, Abby receiving letters from
her friend Ida, quite often, with occasionally
one enclosed from Harry, who swore eternal
constancy. At last the fever broke out with
great violence in the vicinity of Mr.. Wood
mans house, and as his daughter had not be-
come fairly acclimated, he feared its effects
upon her. One morning he sent for her 10
come to his library, where she found him
seated in his large arm chair smoking fra
grant Havana, waiting for her. Drawing her
tenderly upon his knee, he said, Abby, how
would you like to go back to grandma q
'Oh, very much indeed l do not like the
south, aud wish that you would go and live
with grandma, too
That, my daughter, cannot do. Besides,
1 think the south a very beautiful country
We have no deep SHOWS here, no icy, breath
cutting winds and gloomy sky. The birds
seek this as their retreat from the biting frosts
of the north, and the flowers here are always
in bloom. The sky is always bright and
clear the air soft aad salubrious. What
more could we wisht When we have around
us all that our great Creator has so bountifully
showered upon earth-that is beautiful to the
eye and fragrant to the SMELL am afraid you
are not very warm admirer of the beauties of
nature, my pet
Yes, papa, but also like and admire the
last and greatest of Gods good works. l ad-
mire the beautiful bird whose song now sounds
so sweetly, as he sits perched upon the vine
that clusters around the casement-the little
fragile flower that not only adorns the path of
erring creatures like us, but sends up its in
cense offering to the great Creator, and
at the same time furnishes food for the busy
bee-but above all do love those with whom
we can interchange thought and feeling for
of how much more inestimable value is the
pure and undivided love of one true friend,
than thousand bright and fragrant flowers,
that scarce bloom before they are scattered by
the winds away from our sightl while the
love of one heart for another gathers strength
the longer it blooms, and its soil grows richer
every hour-never fading until He who gave