The American patriot., 1855-07-07


sad and lonely"
"YeA my dear girl, in the fulness of the term
alone. There is little attractive to ardent active
mind like mine, in the secluded home Of my maiden
aunt, whose rooftree is my only earthly refuge.
Yet duty bids me 60 and cheer, and attend her de-
clining years. There will be many hours when my
desponding soul will almost sink when the gloom
will be more apparent contrastcd with the light
already experienced. Would that in those hours l
might have your sympathy to rivet the chain that
binds me to life! am convinced that Harrie will
never yield his promptngs of duty to the voice Of
.ove; with him it is vestal fire, so pure and hal
lowed it will never be extinguishcd; fidelity and
religion will keep its lustrc undimmed on its holy
altars; but since God demands the sacrifice, il mill
be oiycn. It ia noble disinterestedness that my
influence should not impede, eren were it equal to
the demand.
But you little know the sacrifice make. May
you never, my gentle Berta, know the agony of
breaking heart.
It is an earnest, God-likc attribute to love; but
Oh! the desolation of blghted hopes is almost too
much for US to bear
But come; your curls are almost as heavy with
the night as my eyes with tears, and my heart
with sadness, We will wander on the shores of
dream-and-perchance the ideal world will be more
enchanting than tho real Oh! that tomorrow
would be long in dawning for with it we must
part"
"Strength s born
In the deep silence Of long suffering hearts
Not amid JOY"
Far away among the rocky cliffs Of a distant
land, rearing it's princcly head against the unpil.
Jared dome Of heaven, stood lone mansion; its
walls, from long exposure, had become much d.
lapidated, but it formed an appearance at once
grand and imposing its self; reared upon massive
rock embowered alone by the jutting crags, it ap-
peared an edi6ce Of natures planting. At "a depth
below was the ever murmering sea now on its
calm bosom might be seen the gentle wavelets
lulled to slumber and anon aroused to anger by
the voice Of the storm spirit, would lash its foam
capped surges and be flung back from the cavcrned
battlements, until it would cause the beholder to
feel that the pillars Of the universe were shaken
excited nature. A beholder could not fail to be
.ilenced by the grandeur Of the surrounding
cenery; for there are the lofty and the beautiful
Mingled in wild sublmity.
It is melancholy, visionary place, filed with
,lics Of the past and realities Of the present
Within that dwelling are many of earths sons
lostered, in the performance of solemn VOWS
Among that number is Harrie Melden.
Long weary months had rolled away in the silent
discharge Of the holy duties he had assumed and
yet many more must pass ere the allotted proba.
ton for the first vo,s would be ended, for five
years were required for their accomplishment; and
then, if convinced, he was in the place assigned
him by his Creator, he would become inseparably
connected with monastic life.
His decision had been rendered az conscience
dictated. The allurements of fortune, high and
influential position, lofty talents, and bright promi.
ses Of future greatness were reinquished
A widowed mother whose loneliness seemed to
claim his protection, and Eta, the inspiration of
every ennob:ing thought, upon the shrine of
whose loveiness he had laid the fondest worship of
his heart could not detain him he dared not cont
promise what he believed the sole end and being
If his life. "Yet could the thoughts of his pri-
vate hours have been read, there would have been
seen contending emotions struggling at his heart,
both equally intense, and that perchance, the full
fillment Of his vow was not its only impulse"
There wcrc times when he doubted If he had
acted right in sacrificing the world, and the one
bright being, whose existence lent to it enchant.
uent. There were times when, could he have
azed upon those features instinct with life,
ngravcd upon his soul could he have lis-
cned to the tones Of that voice, whose melody
stil fingered on the hearts chords like echoes of
rich music gone, he would have rcnounced his
vows, and returned to his half Cancelled allegiance
But no! He had never known the deep devoted
hess Of the fond, trusting heart Of Eta, for she
bade him cherish his convictions of right, regard.
less Of loves overmastering power. She had ac-
knowledgcd the precedent claims of duty, and re.
fused any intercourse that might influence his de.
cision Occasionally they had corresponded, but
her replies breathed only sisterly regard, and he
might not fathom the bursting emotions, concealed
beneath the idle form Of words.
And now removed from every object he had ever
cherished in the deep rccesses Of his students
cell, he realized the overwhelming influence which
lingering through years - was still brigh.
and beautiful as when first it dawned upon his
boyhood dreams. He yearned for the sympa-
thizing voice whose gushing music thrilled upon
his car when she besought him not to permit hu.
man love, the mightiest, purest element of the i'm.
mortal soul, to win him from the path of holiness
and good. What il she was Hertic! if she
could not endorse the ancient faith which the pat
ron Saint had proclaimed, when he said "On this
rock build my church" she would vet be con-
vnced Of its purity, and disavow the foul apostacy