The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1856-09-25

1 ston, hO REFUSAL, lrOm Sucn as ne. know him
well and had told you what knew of him,
and what he dared to speak of in my ear, he
would not now have breath to name himself by
your fathers name, nor life to spend in the en-.
Joyment Of your heritage.
How long space, how dreadful step, be-
tween your two last letters Was it kind.
Richard, to keep me in suspense so long, at last
put an end to by the realization of my worst of
fears? l enclose mere trife; have no
power to anticipate my payday, or it should be
more. How blessed, how glad feel, that it
will soon be in my power to set you out of reach
OF these hideous wants, to emulate in some little
measure the numberless and graceful kindness
es have received so long from you. You need
not mention him when you write, dearest. There
are some subjects / cannot rightly and with
propriety discuss, even with your own dear self.
Write very, very soon. Your anxious and de-
voted
The preceding must have been instantly An.
swered; the following letter is almost of the
same date, but written very rapidly, and i'll
punctuated:
DEAREST RICHARD: Do not write to me
such things as these, unless you want to kill me !;
do not sacrifice myself, do not periure N.Y.
sell, do not commit evil that good may come
| indeed, he is not as you describe him, Richard !;
1t Is the worst picture you evt painted if Sir
Gilbert had been ghoul and an ogre, instead
OF only magistrate and deputy lieutenant,
you could not have used worse expressions !;
y, Richard, Richard, how can you have the
heart to write Of sin and shame to me? l
shall be faithful and dutiful wife have told
HIM how feel towards you-as much at least
as he could understand of it-and he is not an
cry, only dare say thinks us very foolish do
not talk about his dirty money do not hurt
my feelings; whether adopted or natural they
are now mine, and you must think we'll of him
henceforth, as the husband of her who loves you
best on earth. return TO your last letter, but
one, Tor your very sorrows are less dreadful
than your anger; the picture of the Island
sold tor sovereign! 1t is enough to make
one distrust, almost, a Providence; how touch
ing, too, that story of the Portrait NY poor,
dear Richard, with the fat, rich people, trying
to catch his worshipfuls expression; what an
awfaily bad business you must have made of it,
can we'll imagine; you did not spare him q
pimple, nor give him hair too much, I'll an
swer for it; were it not for the pity of it, could
laugh at you, my Zeuxis; I do not think, ho,o
eoer, you could ecer paint a good portrait; you
never seemed to me to have your heart in work
OF that kind and without that, little can be done
! saw your little story in the magazine, standing
out from among the fables and compilations
hike fair statue amidst third-rate casts rec
ognised the place and characters, be sure, and
your own dear self in every line of it. hope
that employment may be crutch to you, but
most of all that you may not need to use it
look to see you standing yet erect above the
crowd, in day when, whether r. A. follow
your name or not, it shall be of little matter.
Do not write before you hear from your ever
loving
He never wrote-he never heard; that was
his last letter. A love beyond all love would
have ministered unto him, but he starved him.
self in his pride. Think of his wretched Cath.
crime, miserable bride, and Of her vain appeals
and frutless search for the self.willed, stubborn
boy; and yet he must have had much to love
In him, and on his part, too, must have deeply
loved again. Love, "more ideal artist he than
ALL" and love only, as it seems to me, could
have given to the "Catharine" its perfected
grace. Through
"These dead leaves that keep their green,
| These noble teIters Of the dead"
all Richards works are interesting and dear Il
me. His picture of the "Near Lake." Spoken
of in the first letter, has fine Elizabethar
house in the background so sent to all tn,
London estate agents, in hopes of discovering
its whereabouts, from which could of cours,
have got the rest. 1t certainly is from nature
and if equal to his representation of thu
"Beck "a most spirited rendering of thu
Thirlmere stream, known well to me-a YER,
truthful painting. l have put many advertise
ments in the papers, containing all she needed
if once the eye of love should light on them
have also, with small success, made acauaint
ance with half the Sir t4ilberts in the land, in
hopes of finding where this jewel hides; have
done all / could do, without disagreeable pub
licity; and at last | publish the whole story
thus. The sad recital, thus, syea. Catherine
may haply reach YOU at last Patent pitifu
woman A Iear this hair is gray, and those ~-.,
elm, by this time, that glow so Si-,,ouslv fortI
from thy Richards ceayassl e 'of'l