True American. [volume] (Steubenville [Ohio]) 1855-1861, 1856-03-05
sTEUBENVILLE, OHIO, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5. 1856.


ised to GO, and it shall be the last time,
for Mr.. Hewitt will be here day after to-
morrow. Twill be true to my husband,
and Lewis shall not guess" burst of
tears concluded the sentence. Oh! Miriam!
Miriam! the good angel in your heart Look
ed sorrowful. 1,.,l ...4.., .,l ..,ea,aru
And what of Lewis Cleaveland! Alas!
for the wreck Of honor and principle
alas for the memory of his childhood's
teachings, Of his duty to man and his love
of God. Miriam was his idol, his incar.
nation. For three years her memory had
stood alone in his heart, loved hopelessly
and with all the wild fervor of his deep,
impulsive, poetic nature. And now they
had been so strangely brought together,
how could he give her up? 81 cannot live
without her. know too, she loves me,
for have read it in those glorious eyes"
A storm of wild, mad passion shook his
soul, and in the midst ofit he whispered
(oh, shame, Lewis Cleveland!) "to-mOrrow
! will ask her to 60 with mel
They had come down from the cliffs,
whence they had looked off, and read a
passage of earth's grandest poem-the
ocean. At the foot of the cliffs were some
elegant private grounds, which the gener-
GUS proprietor threw open every summer tc
the visitors. And now under the whis
perlng of it's green trees, in words of thrill
ling beauty and passionate love, Levi:
Cleaveland told his story. 81 love you as
man never before loved woman. Fly with
me, for it is our only happiness" was it,
| alpha and omega.
And Miriam Hewitt bowed with low
groan, her white face upon her shaking
hands, and cried, "Lewis! lewis! do no
tempt me. lam the wife of another." ni,t
What sophistres he urged, endorsed no
by her conscience or reason but by he
heart--how long and elcquently he pleade
a cause whose very thought was sin an
shame to them both-I cannot tell l,u
at last Lewis Cleavrland wrung a consen
to meet him at the back garden gate of TIL
hotel, when the stars had looked for hal
hour ont of the sky, and-be pitiful to he
for she loved him, and you know how grea
was the temptat on. sr2FI io..n. .
1t was night again, and Mrs. Hewitt
lonked out from her window. and saw th
first stars moving softly in the sky. s..
What day it had been to ,her--a day
it seemed year, life, an age, as sh
stood there by the window and looked VI
at the clear mournful stars. She had secl
none but the waiter since morning, thougl
she had been beset by callers, for it wa
ascertained that the beautiful Mrs. Hewit
was at the hotel and everybody was on th,
qui vive to see her. +" uHa 1,5-
All was arranged nova small package
lay on the chair beside her, and she ha,
only to tie on her bonnet and 60 out. AL
day long her mind seemed land it is gener
ally the case before the first comm ssion o
a great wrong) in state of bewilderet
confusion, and she looked upon herself NJ
an automaton moved by fate she coul
not resist. ''"' 10
But with the frs, glance Of those clpa
stars, the friends of her childhood, chang
came over the lady's heart. All the year
of her life walked up, each like bodil
presence, and took their seats around he
and looked down solemnly, mournfnlly, in
to her soul. Then these faded away, an
the act she was about to commit stood u
before her in all its fearful darkness an
crimipality. ShuddcringIy she luoked
and the voice Of love ceased to speak i
her heart. She thought on what must b
her husbands agony andElizab beth's sham
and of that future life whose very low
would bo remorse, and then her tears brok
forth-tears which were her salvation. 3.
She sank upon her knees and prayed, an
when sherose up Miriam Hewitt had foun
her strength. Calmly she put OH her bon
net, and went down through the long gar
den to the back gate. 1t was the hour ap
pointed, and she found Lewis there. Will
the carriage stood few rods distant. ~
| my darling! my darling! you have com
to me, never to be separated and he wo'
have folded his arms around her. But sh
softly put them back, saying, ,,g'
"No, Lewis, the mists have fallen fror
my eyes. have come toitell you / can
not 60 withyop." 1-g ds1sK ,zo7eo1
"Mlriam3 he staggered back and looke
at her. aosa Hjad guiyst . Np bsgel ia ,1aQ
oh! il was well she had prayed tina
night the old ptayer1of her childhood 8
fsrvently. else her loving heart could no
have resisted the pathos Of those eyes. Ella
she must have yielded to the touching des
pair Of that word. But she did not no
even winnie held'her, hands and pnye
her to have mercy on him, and not duou
him tOthe arid barren life that, wilhou
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