The south-western. [volume] (Shreveport, La.) 1852-1870, 1856-12-03
The Game of Life

Pretty Alice Darlington! how lovely she look
ed, as she sat and puzzled and pondered ove1
the lettee in her hand alternately gazing ou
Of the window, or beating time with the tinies
of feet. A muslin morning dress of various
colors seemed Just the thing to set off her pure
skin of almost dazzling fairness, and it fitted ad-
mrably the faultless proportions of that sweet
figure. Through the open window came the
hum of youthful voices and peas of silvery
laughter from the balcony below; for Alice Car
rington sat in the large hotel of gay watering
place, pondering over her dilemmas, and won
dering if her puzzled ideas ever would arrange
| themselves in any definite form. Thus ran the
! letter;
Il nave basked in the sunshine of your pres
ence until fairly dazzled by its rays, | could
not lift my eyes to the happiness to which have
dared to aspire When alone-free from that
benumbling spell which seemed to chain my
tongue and to paralyse every faculty-I have
only remembered the sweet angel-lke nature
that sympathiSes ever with sorrow, and lost
sight OF that ''might and majesty of loyeIiness'
! that L have seen reprove, oh! SO witherngly!
| the approaches of sin and guilt. Alice! 'twere
! folly to say that l love you: every g glance has
shown it-every word has breathed in broken
numbers the one unending monotony, unceas-
ing as the song of the ocean waves-eyery ac-
ton has told the same tale. Answer me, Alice,
am weary with waiting-although willingly
would | serve seven years for thee my Rachel!
and yet seven years more. But let not these
mild eyes gaze sternly back over the blotted
record of the past-look 10 the future, Alice,
and pardon and hope"
Poor Aice No wonder that she pondered;
alone in the world, with no guardian or adviser
but married sister, she was seldom allowed to
! forget that she was the posscssor in her own
right, of fifty thousand dolars-a sum magui-
fed by rumor to at least three times the reality
Many had sought her for this golden charm,
but Alice remained cold to their words of love,
and sultoss began to despair of ever sharing the
wonderfully magnifed fifty thousand.
People were whatafrad of her, too; not
withstanding that she had been brought up in
the very atmosphere of fashion, by such sis
ter as the exclusive Mrs. Rayensham, Alice
seemed walk among the gay trihers, by whom
she was surrounded with the cold purity ola YES
tai virgin, her snowy garments scarcely touch
ing theirs as she passed. She was 'the saint, %
and perhaps she rather liked to be thus looked
up to and worshipped. In her the sweetest Of
natures was joined to firm religious principles;
she had but little in common with the rest of the
world-the gay world; and devoted to herpoor
her church, and her prayer-book, she seemed
doomed, like many loyel ly flower to bloom her
young life away unseen.
But lately there had been a change; the sta
tue had smiled into life beneath the touch OF
that skilful sculptor, Iove-and Alice came forth
from hermitage and mingled with the world.
''Now," thought her sister, ssshe really will
marry,' and the match was all that could be
desired. Handsome, intellectual and fascina-
ting, Harvey Edwards seemed born to be a con-
queror on any field he chose TO enter; and his
known wealth and high position were with Mrs.
Rayensham 'sans reproche.''
Alas! poor Alice; as people who have sharper
eyes and finer smelling organs than their neigh
bors are very apt to see and smell disagreeable
things, SO our young vestal began to make the
discovery that her hero was not altogether a
saint. Kind friends were particularly vigilant
in opening her eyes to this unwelcome fact; and
could she have believed all their statements,
poor Harvey would have stood before her a
monster of iniquity. They literally tore his
character to threads, and when nothing more
remained to be done, they employed them
selves in tearing these threads into others still
smaller.
No words love had advanced between them
as yet; such thing seemed almost as prepos-
tereus as it would seem to us Americans TO be
told that we were free. So that when Alice
gave him cold looks and colder words, Harvey
thought himself, at first, very ill-used but after
a while he grew more accustomed to it, and be-
gan to think it the natural consequence of her
saintship. How could she, from the height of
her immaculate goodness, look upon poor sin
ner like himself with anytling but contempt?
lfa stray ray Of sunshine, in the shape ola smile,
now and then played around him, he modestly
thought it quite as much as he deserved, and
humbly adored at the shrine of his patron deity.
With very little persuasion, Alice had accom-
panied her to gay watering place, very much
to her sisters surprise, and thither Harvey Ed
wards soon followed them. His feelings, how
ever, could not always be restrained within just
such a measure, and they had now boiled over
into the letter that has puzzled Alice. She sat
there for long time; finally, however, the lit
tie head gave an ominons shake, and she took
out gold pen and dainty sheet of paper, and'
wrote refusal as mildly as possible.
Il dare not marry you" she said, 81 have
not sufficient reliance on my own goodness TO do
it; and | can only pray that when you do mar
ry, it will be one, who, with greater strength of
character, will love you as fondly as do
Just as she had finished, Mrs, Ravensham
entered leading pretty child.
Il have roughtWillje to see you" said she,
as she glanced at her sisters burning cheek,
"but | am afraid that we are both somewhat
de trop."
ooh, no. said Alice, family, "come in"
Mrs. Ravensham saw in moment how mat
ters stood
''Now, Alice" said she, 'there is no use in
denying that you have had a proposal from
Harvey Edwards. I only hope that you have
not been foolish enough to refuse him?''
Il do think, continued her sister, 'that you
are the most provoking girl. Here was family,
fortune, intellect, appearance, everything II
What more could you possibly want?'
Goodness said Alice, in low tone.
GA saint, you mean, replied her sister, "and
let me tell you, that you will never fnd.''
There was silence for some time, and then
Mrs Ravensham continued:
Il don't believe, Alice, that you ever will
n,tirof1r