The Union and eastern journal. [volume] (Biddeford [Me.]) 1854-1858, 1856-04-25


$ In ono motherly cares. She cried for Joy
4 she sobbed-she kissed her Aunt's col
hands, called her oaris,imd and odrina, an
. poured out food Of gratitude and low
3 half in Italian and half in bad English
/, sweeping away all power Of resistance D
the living force of her own tenderness. Al
was over. Little impulsive US was any trri
Everett, there was that in Estella which n
one could withstand-such depth, such ten
derness, such fervor, such childish faith
And although she was by birth 80 highl,
!, Objectionable, and albeit she had been bro
up abroad. and was therefore only half al
Englishwoman, the truth and trust Of hc
I nature were stronger then even Mrs. Mala
hides prejudices; 20, giving way once +
her own instincts, she folded the girl to he
heart and kissed her again and blessed her
Jessie Hilbert was delicate. She was or
dcred to the seaside; and Brighton beins
convenient on many accounts, Mrs. IIibber
took her there, notwithstanding the prsenc,
Of Mrs. Malahide, who was rather I" "cut,' ,
than sought after by the family. So sh,
packed up a carpet bag full Of tracts, and
1t being Paul's vacation time, they oil wen,
down tosthcr-poor Jessie growing palel
and paler every day, Mrs. HILBERT had
heard nothingof Etella. The correspond.
ence between her and her sisterwas too
slight and formal to suffer them to enter
into details; and when she arrived atBrigh-
ton with her daughter, and saw tall, for
cign looking girl among the Malahidc girls,
teaching one Italian and another singing,
showing the rules of perspective to third,
and explaining the meaning Of architecture
to fourth, she neither asked her name nor
dreamed of her condition; but treated her
as the HILBERT world in England treat gov
ernesses-with silence and contempt, pass
ing her by as something too low to demand
the rights of courtesy. Estclla, frightened
at Mrs. lIibbert's iron severity, prayed that
her real name might not be told-a prayer
Mrs. Malahide was only too glad to comply
with. Once, indeed, Mrs. HILBERT conde-
scended to say, Z" You seem to have rather a
superior kind Of gorerness there, Mrs. NAL
ahidc," in an acid tone, that seemed to end
the matter and ask no confirmation. So,
SIr. Malahide made no reply, and the mat
ter was dropped.
Estclla sat among the children like a
young Madonna-with such prodisality of
generous giving-both Of love and mental
wealth, both Of worldly gifts and intellec-
tual advantages-she was 80 fond, 80 de-
voted, so happy in the joys of others, 80
penetrated with love-that even Mrs. lib
bert watched her with a strange kind of in
terest, Us If new experience were laid out
before her. Jessie clung to Estclla as to a
sister, happy only in her society, and seem
ing to feel for the first time in her life what
was the reality of affection; and Paul
treated her now as princess and now as a
child, now with tender reverence that was
most beautiful and touching, and now with
a certain manly petulence and tyranny
They both loved her with all their hearts,
and were never happy away from her.
Jessie grew paler and palcr every day ;
she was thin and had a transparency in her
flesh painfully eloquent; her slight hands
showed the daylight almost purely through,
and her eyes were large and hollow--the
white of them pcarl-colord and clear
Shc complained little; suffering no pain,
and dying away one scarcely knew why
There was general look of fading and n
show of lassitude and weakness, as if the
essence of her life were slowly evapOnting;
as if she were resolving back to the ETHEREAL
elements which had met together for brief
season IN her. She was dying, she often
said, from the desire to die (; from tho want
of motive Of life she had nothing to live
for.
Mrs. HILBERT nursed her daughter as any
such woman would nurse fading girl.
with conscientiousness, but with hardness
doing her duty, but doing II withouta shad-
ow of tenderness. She had the best advice
Brighton could afford, and she took care
that the medicines were given at the exact
hours prescribed, and without fraction OF
difference in the mode prescribed. Fruit
and good books were there in abundance
but all wanted the living spirit.
On Estclla the weight Of consolation fell,
and no one could have fulfilled its duties
better. 1t was the spring time now, and
she would go out into the fields and lanes,
and bring homo large punches of forgct-me-
nots, and primroses, and daisies, with sprays
of the wild rose and of the honeysuckle; ;
and she sang to the dying girl, and some
times brought her sketching-book and
sketchcd the costumes Of Italy, the palaces
Of Genoa, and the glorious watersheds Of
Venice and she would sit and talk to her
of Italy, and tell her all that would most
interest her, most unlike the life Of home
And she would tell her anecdotes of Italian
history and wild stories Of Italian romance |;
and then they would talk Of grayer things
of the poetry of the Old Church, of it,
power in the past, Of its marvellous union OF
wickedncss and virtue; and then they would
sneak of the angels and Of God; and both
felt tina, one Of them would soon be face to
face with tho great mysteries of the future,
and would soon know Of what nature were
the secrets Of the world to come.
And all Of poetry, Of warmth, Of glorious
vision, and high-soulcd thought-all of ths
golden atmosphere Of religion, in which art