The Sumter banner. [volume] (Sumterville, S.C.) 1846-1855, 1855-02-21
The Bride of the Wreck.


had enough, as my old mate yondcr
can tell you. | broke his head twice,
and his arm once, in fits oft; but he
has always seemed to love me all the
better, and he clings to inc now very
much as two pieces of the same chin
cling together when drifting at sea-
We arc the sole survivors of thou.
sand wrecks, and of the gallant com.
pany that sailed with us two years
ago, no other one is left ahoat had
bcen sailor from boyhood, and when
was twenty-five, may safely say no
man was more fit to command n yes.
sci among the mariners of EngIaud.-
And ut this lime my uncle died and
left me his fortune. | had never seen
him, and hardly knew of his existence;
but had now speaking evidence of
the fact that he had existed, and equ-
ally good proof that he existed no lon
ger.
| was very young, strong in liub,
and | think stout in heart, and was
possessed of n rental Of some thou.
sands per annum. What bar Was
there to my enjoyment OF the goods
Of life? No bar, indeed, but felt
s"rely the lack of means Of enjoyment.
| was q sailor in every sense. My
cducation was toIerabIc, and had
read some books. but my tastes were
nautical, and | pin, d on shore. You
will easily understand, then, why it
was that built q yacht and spent
most of my time on her She was u
fine craft, suited TO my taste in every
respect, and remember with a sigh,
now, the happy days have spent in
the Foam" | used to read considera.
bic in my cabin, and occasionally, in.
deed weekly, invited parties Of gen.
tlcmcn to cruise with me. But the
foot Of a lady mad rcvcr been on the
deck of my boat, and | began to have
an old bachelors pride in that fact =
Yet. | confess t" yon Il secret longing
for some sort Of affection different
lr IN any ! had heretofore known, and
rcstlcssness when men talked of
beautiful women in my presence.
One summer evening | was at the
Old hall IN which my uncle had died,
and was entirely alone Towards sun.
set | was surprised while !o"ll::ims eve:
my books, by the entrance of gentle.
men hastily announced. and giving in
dlcations of no little excitement.
Your pardon. sir, for my unccre.
moni"us entrance. My horses have
run away with my carriage. and dash.
rd it to pieces near y"ur park gate
My father was badly injured, and my
sister is now watching him. | have
taken the liberty to ask your pcrmis.
sion t" bring him to your residence"
"Ot course, my consent was instant.
~ given, aud my own c,,:riugc dis.
patched I" the park gate.
"Mr Sinclair WAS a gentleman of
fortune. residing about forty mics
from me, and his father. al invalid,
htty years or more of age, was on his
way, in company with his son, to that
sons house there to die and be buried.
They were strangers TO me, but made
them welcome to my house rs if il
were their own, and insisted on their
using it.
Miss Sinclair was the first woman
who had crossed my door->tnne since
| had been the possessor of the hail.
AID we'll might she have been loved
hy better men than !. She was very
small and very bcautifnl-of the size
OF Venus, which all men worship as
the perfection ofwomanIy beauty, but
having soft blue eye, strangely shud.
ed by jet black brows. Her face pre-.
senled the contrast of purity of white.
ness in the complexion, set off by raw.
Ell hair: and yet that hair hanging in
clustering curls, unbound by comb or
fillet, and the whole face lit up with an
expression o! gentle trust and com.
plctc confidence, either in all around
her or else in her own indomitable
determ nation. For Mary Sinclair
had u mind of her own, and far.sec.
ing one too. She was nineteen then.
"lier father died in my house and
attended the solemn procession that
bore his remains over hill and valley.
to the old church in which his anccs.
tors were laid. Once after that | call.
ed on the family, and then avoided
them. ! cannot tell you what was the
cause of the aversion had to entering
that house, or approaching the inlu.
ence OF that matchless girl. believe
that feared the magic of her beau.
ty and was impressed with my own
nnworthiness to love her or to be be.
loved by her. ] knew her associates
were OF the noble, the educated, tn
refined, and that was none of these.
What, then, could expect but misery,
it J yielded to the charm of that ex.
qn's'te beauty, or graces, which knew
were in her souIl
"a year passed, and was a very
boy in my continued thoughts of her;
! persuaded myself u thousand times
that did not love her, and thousand
times determined to prove it by ell.
tering her, presence. At length ]
g,.ihllr'c,,w44mryseif g.hl' g, into the vortex Of Lon.