Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1856-03-24
EVENING STAR,
THE STAR WINDo
} )R, THE OLD MANS DARLING.
I CONCLUDED.
CHAPTER Nv.

Through the ways Of care and pain
Three long years had brous sht me thither;
l forgot the heart nigh broken.
And the tears that fell like rain;
God, thank thee God, | thank thee,
That meet him once again
Doubt and Fear have fed forever
Pride has bent her naughty crest
While thine eyes rained tears upon me
AsI lay upon thy breast,
Three sweet angels came beside me-
Faith, and Place, and Perfect Rest.-W. w.
Of the two years that followed, shall say
little. They were full of follies and mistakes
made memorable by many a broken friend.
| ship and by olr buried love. For, as NAV
easily be imgained, the tie that bound the un-
sophisticated boy and girl In their quiet
country home, was weakened and finally
broken when the hand Of the world was upon
our souls, and Clyde and were again no more
| to each other than brother and sister 1 liked
this better, for, growing wiser as grew older,
saw too we'll that he was not for me- Nv
place was on the mountain tops of Fame-he
| loved best the quiet vallies of peace and hap
piness. So, without meeting, we dissolved
the new tie--called each other by the dear old
names, and loved with the dear old love- He
found another mate, and his pleasant home
| now resounds with the music of happy chill
| dren's voices, while, as he watches his young
| and graceful wife, and meets her glance of
fond affection, he blesses the kind fate that
withheld him from committing the mistake
of lifetime" by wedding me --.
And /! Freed from the tie that had fet-
tered and CALLED me, built a fair and godIy
| temple, whose foundations were on the sand.
| l placed therein an idol, stately, noble ard
| beautiful with such beauty as the world sell
| dom sees, and bowed down and worsbipped it.
The temple crumbled-the idol looked coldIy
down upon me, and all my love and alteration
were in vain. That which was due to the
ofnrT 20 H.
my reward.
stood, one day, in a crowded church, and
saw and heard him whom 1 had loved utter
the vows that bound him forever to another
l joined the throng that crowded around the
| happy pair, and uttered many congratulations
with theirs-I pressed the hand that had SO
often held my own ; saw with an aching heart.
the same beaming smile shed down upon me-
looked for the last time in that beautiful face,
| and turned away, feeling that for me the
light and beauty Of earth had passed away
| forever.
The same letter that bore the tidings of the
dissolution CT this early engagement, to my
guardian, contained also few lines, written
| in the height of my anguish over the last be-
| reavement, that L told him all was but a
child in years, and pinned for sympathy from
him in my sorrow. But his answer, cold and
cautious, and carefully and guardedly worded
made me dislike Miss Harland still more. and
| shut my painful secret within my own heart,
| from that time. Here, L thrught, was speci.
men OF the dark ladys's' influence-baneful
and gloomy it was And if, for a moment. I
| had pined for my quiet home, and lonced to
weep my heart out on his breast, these thoughts
fed quickly as 1 read his words, and clothed
myself with strength, and met the battle alone
1t was fought well, and steadily, and brave
ly. give my reader no details, but let him.
at least, take my own word for this
La \
out into the world alone Not this time in
search of happiness, but endowed with kind
OF stern and indomitable energy, and deter
mined to win fame, since love had failed me
Once launched upon the broad ocean of life
was an active and daring swimmer. Strong
and desperate strokes L made, and the bill.
lows that threatened, at first, to engulf me,
opened before me and showed a safe and
shining passage to the distant shore Yes,
was successful even beyond my widest dreams.
and thousands who had never gazed upon nv
face, or heard my voice, were swayed and
guided by my written words. cast the bit.
ter past behind me, and lived only for, and in
the present L based in the noontide of sue.
cess; drank large draughts of adulation.
and my thirst was still unquenched. was
the star of many an assembly-the AOnne of |
many a source; L forgot my unhappy love in
a whirl of excitement revelry and pleasure
But l could not forget the green and peaceful
quiet of my early years as well. felt that
all around me was false and hollow. and 1 |
pined and wearied for the tender confidence,
the manly affection, the fearless truth that
had always surrounded me there
The third year of my self-exile was RAPIDLY
drawing to a close L sat alone in nv
chamber, lonely and sad, and thought of the
stirring events that had followed one another |
SO rapidly in my brief career 1t was short |
but brilliant triumph; yet, somehow, as 1 |
looked at it that night, the glory faded all |
away The wind walled among the maple
trees outside with wild music that went to |
my very soul. grew restless; thought of |
Aleck in his distant home, free, yet, from |
the despotic sway of his plighted bride, with |
strange longing.
"Oh, if l could only see him once again
only hear him speak to me-
sighed-and turning to my escrotoire to
while away the gloomy moments, chanced |
upon packet of letters, written TO Clyde, |
by me, and returned, when our brief engage |
ment was broken. glanced them over care
lessly, till my eyes fell upon a paper in Alexis
own firm hand writing 1t was a letter t.
Clyde, of recent date, placed in that packet
by merciful mistake, and told me a story
that made my heart beat loudly and the color
leave my cheek. Aleck loved me He had |
loved me from my childhood He, SO wise,
so dignifed, SO noble! Oh, fool that 1 had
been.
Those burning words drew the thick veil
from my own eyes, and trembled with greet
and Sudden joy. Here was the key to the |
restless unhappiness Of the past year-hers
was the reason Of my secre3 discontent The |
deep and passionate affection had always
felt for my guardian had grown, during those
months of loneliness, into a love as fervent as
his. That love might have slumbered forever
but for the sudden shock that woke them into
life and actien.
"And now the way is clear before me
Oh, Aleck. Aleck."
made some hasty arrangements with my
publishers and business friends-packed my
trunks, and in the early dawn of the next day
was hurrying on to love, and home, and
happiness-three blessed words,
The sun was setting as L leaped from the
carriage, and ran up the long avenue, to sur
prise them all The verandah was empty;
the music room was silent; the whole house
had an empty and deserted look. threw of
nv things in the hall and ran up the broad
stairs for nv heart told me where I should |