Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1857-05-28

cally wendell her way to the lowly cot, and
entering her little room, she! threw herself
upon the bed and there wept' bitter; tears of
grief-till sleep. sweet restorerof tired ma
ture, came. Al, ihow soon sleep will come
as messenger Of mercy to the innocent and
virtuous! God, in his wise providence, drops
the curtain between the eye Of his children
and misery, and sends the angel repose, who
transports their senses from the scores of
earth to the balmy groves of elysian bliss,
that they bask flor awhile, alternately in
the sunshine of bliss and the fragrant shades
of comfort. Here then we will leave Mary
for awhile and stopfor moment with Laura
As Mary leaves the house, Laura casts
after her q, whitening glance of hate. ..i
''She is handsome and intelligent; no
wonder that Charles Ingram should admire
her-but I have foiled her SO far and will
yet crush her out entirely, if by so doing I
sink my own soul to perdition J; Charles In
gram shall be mine" e,4 ~ se.s !.
This last she almost screached, and fell
back upon her lounge in a fit Of passion,
where for the present we will leave her.
Mary awoke late in the afternoon, and the
events Of the morning appeared as 4 con-
fused dream, but her mind was wandering.
Calm as was her sleep, quiet as was her re-
pose, a high fever had set in, and when the
kind friends Of the house came to the room
she was quite Misunderstanding often upon
the name of Laura and begging that she ex-
plain the cause Of her offence; and before
many hours had passed, the. family had
learned the whole Of her interview with
Laura from her incoherent speeches. 50.
For many days she continued in this state,
and when she awoke, from what to her had
been a sleep disturbed by many fightful
dreams, she fixed her eyes upon a strange
lady who was seated by her. Having salts
fed herself Of the reality Of her existence,
she attempted to speak to the stranger, but
her weakness overcame her and. she was
compelled to desist; she closed her eyes and
fell into sweet refreshing sleep. When
she awoke some hours later in the day, the
strange lady had gone, and on inquiring of
the family she learned that it was "a kind
lady from Virginia, who was visiting friend
in the village and who, having heard Of her
illness, had come like good angel to visit
her, and had learned her sad story of lone
Illness, which at once enlisted her good feel
ings in Mary's favor, and that she would re-
turn the next day. Once more, weak and
faint as was Mary, hope sprang up in her
bosom-hope that the same good Being who
had put it into the heart Of the kind lady to
visit her and minister to her, might. in the
plenitude of bis wise mercies, make her an
instrument through which she might find
employment, and hence, worldly comfort.
When told that many days had elapsed since
she had been stricken down, shecouldscarce-
ly believe it, for it seemed to her as but yes
terday that she had been to the house, and
in the presence Of the proud, naughty, and,
worse than all, cruel Laura Stanwood. And
when she thought over the trying interview.
the scornful look, the sarcastic and cruel
manner of Laura, her heart sickened and
her brain reeled-all hope seemed for the
time to forsake her but God was her trust.
He was her stay in affection and upon Him
she threw her hopes and her cause. Oh,
how the heart is lightened Of Its burden
the soul bouyed up-and the body strength
ened, when we can lay hold of the promises
of His word as the man of our counsel and
the rock of our hope-and this satisfaction
did Mary now experience amid her sad af-
fictions. +
On the next day, Mrs. Randolph called
upon Mary and found her, though weak and
unable to sit up, yet much improved and
strong enough to give her history and desire
to obtain work-of her failure to find it in
her native village, but not one word of
Laura or the interview with her did this
forgiving, generous girl mention. .aa57,
Before the conversation had ended it was
fully agreed that Mrs. Randolph was to take
Mary with her to her Southern home as a
teacher at her own residence, fully seeing
that could she have such a pattern, for her
three sweet little girls, there. could be but
little doubt that their after life would be Sc
cure from evil or the concentrations Of the
world, as too frequently are engendered in the
minds Of the young by foolish and giddy
tutoresses such as too frequently find their
way into the families Of those who were bet
ter without them. 5.E>a} y
Mary rapidly recovered, and in three
weeks was on her way to her new home in
the sunny South, where in a month she was
fixed as tutor. +
We must now pass over period Of two
years, during which time Mary continued
as we last saw her, with the exception that
she became very popular with her female
acquaintance, and soon her society was
sought by all who knew her. And on no
occasion was there tea party, or a social
reunion but that Mary was numbered with
the most welcomed guests. ;. It was on the
occasion of one of these reunions that Mary