Clarksville chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1857-1865, 1857-10-30
ioaetbere She drew bersse,if M proudly,

as if she despised herself for her weakness,
crushed the letter which had fallen from
herietrembfing I6ngors, contemptuously
under foot, and then picked itup with .
iiloek of disgust, as if it. had, been. some
loathsoine thing, ndcputting on her hal
and shawl, she walked firmly out Of. the
lroVnh ffH "a o1neig "a oif 4n. fsisti
She went rapidly on, till she reached,a
low, white cottages ,s-she entered it, and
passed Quickly through the little sitting
room to her own apartment, Here she
took from an inlaid box pakage Of let
ters, and, adding that she had lastrcceined
to the number, she hastily collected
every rnemento, however triAing, which
had been the gift of Louis Meredith, and
placed them securely together In readiness
to return to him. Then carefully arrahg-
ing her toilet she. returned to the sitting
room, An old lady, dressed with scrupul-
GUS nicely, was its only occupant, she was
quietly knitting The table was spread
for the evenings meal, and she had evil
dcntly been waiting her daughters return.
~ ..'eYop J are late tonight, Beatrice" She
said, "but I suppose Louis came for you
to go towalk,s 1t is 50 foolish TO take such
unreasonable hours for his walks. Tea
has been waiting this half hour.' res ~
~ 81 am sorry to have kept you waiting
mothcr,' returned her daughters silvery
voice; "but those long walks will trouble
you, no longer. Louis Meredith and 1 are
parted forever" t,,.-....'..- ,-,.s..,
The old lady dropped her knitting work
in her lap, and looked at her daughter in
astonishment, AT length she spoke;s
tfttO, IL see; a,lover]s quarrel. 81 But you
will make it up in day or two, and beal
the happier for it, Well, well-4better
disagree before than after marriage" '''41
EMother,n said Beatrice, "listen to me.
1 shall never marry Louis Meredith;-
Nothing on-earth could induce me to do
so. As [ said, we, are parted forever; and
now let me beg you never again mention
his name to me; let the subject never
again be alluded to between us, let all be
as if we had never known him. u y Her
voice softened "You will not be sorry,
mother dear, to have your Beatrice all
your own ,aSainlia And she took her
parents shriyelled hand fondly between
her own.
Mrs. Lancaster was touched by this ex-
preston of her tenderness; for Beatrice,
though a most devoted daughter, in fact
the cnly support of her widowed mother,
rarely made any demonstration Of her at
tachment, and this caress, slight as it was,
filled the mothers heart with joy. She
drew her child to her side, and kissed her
tenderly, but Beatrice escaped from her
embrace, and saying cheerfully ''are we
never going to have supper?D led the way
to the table. She talked gaily during the
supper, and, though she ehttle, succeed
cd in Withdrawing her mothers attention
from her want of appetite. r7 e-.as %
Not the most watchful eye could have
dstected shade of sadness in her face or
manner that evening; indeed, she was
gayer than usual No wonder that her
mothcr-good, unobservant soul-believ7
ed that she was happy in her release from
the tie that had bound her
u A few evenings had passed, and Beat
rice stood in the little sitting room, dress
ed for a party, Never had she looked
more beautiful than now, in her simple
white dress, with its crimson ribbons, and
red rosebud in her hair. Mrs Lancas-
ter looked at her in admiration; nor was
she alone in her appreciation of her childs
She was the belle of the evening at Mrs
Nlercer's, and not even the beautiful
heiress, in honor of whom the party had
be,n given, and to whom Louis Meredith
was said to be aGianccd, could divide the
honors of the belle-ship with her.
1t had been well known throughout the
village that Beatrice aud Louis had been
engaged, and the fact of their separation
was equally we'll understoOdi but though
she was narrowly watched, no look or ges-
ture betrayed that She had been moved by
the sundering of the tic.
She was surrounded by admirers; she
had a smile for this one, command for a
second, and merry words for others; and
osif attracted by some irresistible charm
Louis Meredith lowered near her-eveu
Ivhcn tolkin0 with his ofhonced bride