Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1856-09-03


in my life, Leila" said Elmira, cnldly I;
" you make as much fuss about this old
uncle as if he were made of gold I'don't
know what we shall do with him-for I'm
Gle Banks must have the handsomest cham
Der, and we must keep the next handsom-
est for company Then there is Cousin
Phillis' room and ours. The other cham
bers are very decent, but they have no fire.
places. He will be obliged to be satisfied
with one of them. Cousin Phillis never
will allow bed to be put in one Of the
lower apartmcust.n
I" Has our father no authority in his own
household, that every thing must be refer
red to Cousin Phillis, as you are pleased
to call her p asked Leila, trying to speak
calmly. elf find Uncle Clements COM
fort so entirely diregarded, / shall speak
to him, and see that he is properly atten-
ded to-"
Father would as soon cut off his right
hand, as counterdict any of Cousin Philis'
orders, l assure you," answered Elmira.
You are the only person who ever dared
to do it yet, and ycu will be very sorry for
it. She said before you came home, she
knew Aunt Lydia had spoiled you, and it
is true enough. You are exactly like her,
in thought, word, and action"
ooh! that were indeed like her." ex-
claimed Leila, :" for a gentler, purer, holier
being, never lived. All my virtues are
hers, all my faults my own. Let me new
er hear her reproached for follies or sins
which are the Legitimate offspring of my
own heart"
Unable to repress the tears which this
unkind allusion to relative so tenderly
beloved, and recently lost, excited, Leila
left the room. feeling more keenly than
she had every done before, that between
her sister and herself there was not one
feeling or principal in common. All that
is necessary to state of the previous his
tory of these two young sisters, may be
explained In few words. Deprived in
childhood of their mother, they were sep
arated Immediately after her death, placed
under influences as opposite as pole to pole.
Aunt Lydia, maiden sister of Mrs. Man
ners, received the orphan Leila from her dy-
ing mother as her own, and as such she edu.
cate and cherished her, till, her death making
her second time an orphan, she returned
to her fathers house. Elmira remained at
home, under the care of Miss Phillis Man
ners, who assumed the charge of her bro
theirs no usehold, with an authority as alb
solute and undisputed as the laws of the
Medcs and PersiaDs -.
Mr.. Manners was one of those good ma
tured men, who always avoid trouble and
contention, and have not moral courage
enough to follow up the principles they
profess to admire. He believed bis sister
one of the best managers in the world pro-
1 badly from the hustle attending all her
! movements, and thought himself very for
Il tunate in having so careful and discreet a
. guardian for his daughter. He regretted
> that Leila did not enjoy equal advantages,
}. Aunt Lydia was SO quiet and unpresuming,
and made SO little parade of her own good
8 deeds, and he was SO accustomed to the
: egotism and display of his sister, he ina
gined that Aunt Lydia was one of those
passive characters who exercised but little
a influence in her own household. Had
!. he reflected little on the great laws
" Of nature, he would have remembered tha
;. the most powerful influences are silent anc
q often unseen. The rays that illumine tht
J. immensity of the universe, as silently a.
brightly execute their glorious mission
), The dews that refresh the sultriness of ma
n ture, steal silent and unseen from their Sc
i cret dwelling place, and teach mankind
:, transformations charity" But Mr.. Man
r. ners never reasoned from analogy, indeed
,f he seldom reasoned at all, and it is no
strange that the unobtrusive virtues of Aun
a Lydia escaped his worldly observation.
True, when Leila returned, he would have
,s thought her very graceful, lovely, ant
, amiable, had not his minded siste
It discovered so many blemishes in her, AM
o such superior excellences in Elmira. H
m concluded, as usual, that she was bette
u Judge than himself, and her opinion wa
o. considered infallible.
n Miss Phillis Manners, alias Aunt Phillis
Mt alias Cousin Phillis, would have been i
al the full sweep of her glory, on the day G
= Mr.. Banks arrival, had not the expects
if tion of Mr.. Clements visit cast its dar
shadow befo.e 1t is not to be supposed
,ot that all her anxiety was disinterested, G
- that it was for the aggrandizement of he
!. nieces alone, she was hoping and toilins
rse and planning
is Mr.. Banks was a widower, and as ST
mr. passed her vernal morn and summer noe
ont in maiden siugeness Of heart, she was r
,ur solved that the quietude of her autumn
to eve should be spent in the shadow of tt
nv myrtle bower. Notwithstanding her si
cerity to her brother, and the truths b
a oft-cousulted mirror breathed of her wit
for eriug beauty, she fancicd every one ell
on must be laboriDg under an optical illusio
md and imagined herself still in the sprin
no. time of youth. It was great source
tre- vexation that she was compelled to own b
a. once dark, but now bleaching locks, tn
for detractng from the juvenility of her a
eks pearance, but she conso,ed herself with
her idea that turban was most becoming a
oriental style of head dress, admirably
at keeping with the erectness and dignity
unit her figure. This day she appeared dress
mot with elaborate elegance--on her white tt
eel ban she wore single artificial white ro
Won placed over her left ear, partly twisted
y 10 her long, flowing curls pearl ornamel
will on her neck, and robe of delicate Ill
clos coloured silk, fitted closely to her
nom ally fine form. No wrinkle was allowed
q mar the outline of her dress, and could
,;nk have exercised as arbitrary dominion
sba yer her face, it would have been as smo
- las Parian marble. She had been practic