The Opelousas patriot. [volume] (Opelousas, Parish of St. Landry, La.) 1855-1863, 1857-05-09

seen IN such a conveyance r. cy,a
Ilotte, with . slight toss Of her beautifm
Again Bella looked up, while ! painfi ssS
suffused her cheek. She WIS sorrv III sssN
lad thus spoken-sorry for her. rrieyaS v
}rnest. She; felt sure she could not hass y
MED him, tE4t whatever lie should AZ s~ssis
not pc improper Or wrong. How, then ss
her sister speak thus
Charlotte noticed the express EJ
read it's meaning. She did not,.se the renros
whichit conveyed, and, turning to her size ss2
somewhat seornfaily: S.@
perhaps my sister would go with III ~
VIII you, Bella? I"
"Will you, Bella y the yonngsnan repsait3
'~rnestfy, as lie bent on her . glance Nj
y every par &s'~ tYsrs 3@A
For o ,n---s..e the l.yJoJ Eoyers NJ
brow and neck-the next it rece ID, nd n
answered gaily;
"And NH BOT, indeed X
"ABut will You 60, Bella 2, again I'll
Ernest, in the straight forward manner whie24
ever characterized him.
should like it Of all things 7, aa~
the enthusiastic girl. forgetting 4 pal
the moment before.
But remember how we are TO go, onsius
ned Ernest, quickly.
lyon will be the observed Of all obse +sT
added Charlotte,
"And what of that ?' called back I'LL jS
N.-htcd girl, as she was halfway up Tic ~pfsi;s
ament all was ready; and gaiIysA /
ans '"ad- bve she was soon
Charlotte nall repented lei saiarx 6r;ao
! when she saw the tender g'a' 4 of Er,isessdf ~ !
ne pace ner, sent, anaHrF
oser me ioias} 1argr, warm shaw, il
winch she had ii the good sense to wraS5
herself as. too late now co toE;TT55
q bonn she pr5tare.l to srend tile rss
alone. In the mean time Ernest md ts
joined the motley throng now moving 4apil
ly,through the CITY
Now they drost wassrs
edge, where far as the eye could fSs ofe MI
nothing but the clear blue waters the laEcsssI
with its masts and sails, making think M
were upon the Atlantic coast, iGste, Juf 81
many miles in the interior. An gsIaeked
upon the wide-spread.ng rrair; ~,,2 nlIe :aWa
white with the new fallen sne rand Stretching
sir away till it was lost VI earth and III
seemed to meet. Then 6 III they Mere passing
through the wide and level streets Of The c5ty,ss
Oh there is life aud exhilaFation ii aiyiar
UP ones self to the enjoyment of the hoarj
Nature is a good mother to US all and when
we give ourselves into her keeping she .wilI
ever fill the hesr-Swith joy and gladueSsS
Would tbet more such exercises-nore si,ci
ont-of-dobf exercises were freely euiored 81
all This ing ones self up, so completcly
within door some do in winter, ii enough
10 driye roses from the cheek, oil ioy
nom the eye, aud all freshness j
from the>acart, making one old before BIZ
The spell Of the hour was then npon Them;
and as they sped merrily along, Ernest felt hs
heart warm more and more toward the pure
and artless girl by bis side. He had knovp 7
be. longs-he had known her well and she bill
ever seemed The same--ingenuous, truthful, aspd
good. lie wondered how, even for q moment
he had ever thought OF another for she seemed
tocssIm then. all that his heart could eyerswiai
Or desire. But could she ever be his? or WAS
she destined for another? The thought madk
desperate. He could MT endure it for VI
moment. Sthe question must be decided Il
once, aud with him, to resolve was to act.
They had been talking gaily Of tie scen6
around them-or Bella had been talking, hss
listening, for amid the multitude Of vehiclesin
the street, each had to attend pretty carefully
to his own; when turning to her with another
OF those chances which thrilled through eyersysll
fibre Of her being. he said, and his voice WV
low and earnest Us. he spoke:
Bella, | am q business man, and shall az
up things in q business fashion. + love yousy
Will you be my wife? ~
The young girl looked up astonished. She
had long liked him-liked him better than any
other On earth but she never dreamed of being Y
ms wye. lie was so much older, so much Miisety#SI
than she-for'she vas scarce, eighteen, and inls
heart o very child-wby did he not take dhes4
sister, She could not comprehend it at pll9
and almost doubted if she heard Alright.
For many moments shedid not reply. Ernest y
her closely. and read in her face Tie
unnttered thought. She was about to speak,
when, struck with the whole ludicrousness,
laughed outright. IL was his turn now 10 look
astonished. I.
why, Bella, what is the matter ?' be soon
asked, somewhat hurt.
N"Onlyfthink making love in a hogsheadt n 4
laughed the mischievous girl, more merrily than
before Who ever heard of sach a thing2s !
and this time Ernest joined her, even at his
own expense.
@Well, well, no matter WHERE continued
he, taking the little hand that Law for q mo-
ment outside her shawl. "Do YOU love me,
Bella and will you be my wife? Answer me-
truly, aeH yom be mine 2"
les, Ernest, yes but l must laugh, never
theless. The scene is so entirely and wholly \
lndicrous. Quite q new order Of romance z
and again her laugh rang out loud and cearaa
the sonasof q bird.
And this time Ernest joiucd in it as heartily
as she. He could we'll laugh now for had she
not promised to be hisY No matter where the
promise had been made no matter how, she
was his all his. And as he pressed her hand
at parting, he said:
Laugh, now, as much as yon like; but to-
night l shall come TO appoini the wedding day,
and arrange for its ceremonies. So good morn
ing, dearest !" and in a moment he was gone i
That night all was arranged, Squire Reed
and his wife giving a full and free consent ; and
I'M inst sly weaks fron, .4hat t;aa DALE pood J.