The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1858-03-25

- y 00v0r - 0WkW8fUs never 50 UnRT8CefuI.
never 50 disagreeable. as when they are making love.
A friend 10 q luxury-s husband ditto. I suppose:
put that determittent class Of human beings denom-
mattel : lovers are terrible bores. 1t does very well
Tor . woman to bLush and look hustered now and
then, when occasion makes it desirable; but to see q
man with his face ~ red a. q ripe cherry, and q real
parcel Of strong mindedness. selfreliance, and mas
Suune dignity done mp in broadcloth and starched
nnen, quAklng from the toe Of his boot to the top of
N: shirt-collar, his mouth awry. and his tongue
twisted into convulsions, IN the vain attempt to say
something sweet-O gracious r."
So said saucy Sophie Lynn aloud to herself as she
sat swinging backwards and forwards before the win
dow, haf-buried in the cushions Of q luxurious arm
chair, and playing with a delicate ivory fan that lay
upon her lap.
at always seems 50 strange, not to say tiresome,',
she continued, with . running, musical laugh. g after
one has waltzed and sung, quoted poetry and talked
nonsense, with anybody till one is puzzled to know
companion, to hear him come plump down on the
subject of m~atrimony, as though that was the legi-
innate result Of every such insipid acquaintanceship !
Ior my part l never had a lover there Sophie fut-
than one that l wasn't sick Of after he had pro-
posed There was Capt. MorrisL thought him the
handsomest man in my whole circle of acquaintance,
until he went on his knees to me and swore he should
die If didn't take pity on him. Somehow he always
looked like a fright to me afterwards. Then there
was DIR. Wilkins-he was really agreeable, and peo-
pie said very learned I was delighted with him for
. time; but he spoiled it all with that offer of his
what lons-winded adjectives I. and how the poor fellow
blushed, and pulled, perspired He called me an
adorable creature, and hiccoughed in the middle
o! : adorable, Horrors! 1 have detested him ever
Here Sophie started. She heard the door bell ring.
With a nervous spring she stood before her mirror, |
smoothing down her brown hair with a haste truly
comical.
at won't do to seem interested, - she said, as she
took a finishing survey Of her person in the glass,
and shook out, with her plump. jewelled fingers, the
folds of her airy muslin dress.
The moment afterwards when n servant entered IN \
announce Mr. Harry Ainslee. she was back on her old
seat by the window, rocking and playing with her
IAN, apparently as unconcerned and listless as though
that name had not sent n quicker thrill to her heart,
or the betraying crimson all over her pretty face.
TEL him l win be down presently she said.
The girl disappeared, and Sophie flung open the
window, that the cool, fresh air might fan away the
extra rosiness from her complexion. Then she went
again to the mirror, and after composing her bright,
eager, happy face into an expression Of Occurrences,
descended to the parlor. A smile broke over her
features, and she reached out both her hands to her
guest; but, as If suddenly recollecting herself. drew
them back again, and with a formal bow of recogni-
ton, she passed him and seated herself in a further
1t was very evident that something was wrong with
Sophie; that she had made up her mind, either not
to be pleased, or not to please. Could it be that she
had foreseen what was coming, that a presentiment
of that visit and its result had dictated the merry
speeches in her chamber! Be that as it may, a half
hour had not elapsed before that Harry Ainslee's
hand and fortune. (Which latter, by the way. was
otuuh NohicIluf.J WIRE II the same place where 4
Captain MOrris's and DIR. Wilkins, had been before
them.
"The first man that I ever heard say such things
without making a fool of HIMSELF muttered Sophie
emphaticalIy from behind her fan, as she sat blush
ing, and evidently grati6ed, yet without deigning any
reply to the gallant, straightforward speech in which
her lover had risked his all of hope.
HE had ought to do penance for the pretty way
he manages his tongue. He's altogether too calm to
suit me-" And Sophie shook her curly head mean
ingly, holding her fan before her for a screen-did
she forget what she had been saying. "I wonder if
l could snore the way old Uncle Jones used to in
church 20 she soliloquized. "Wouldn't it be fun
and wouldn't it plague Harry if he thought I had
been asleep while he was talking."
sophie's blue eyes danced with suppressed merri-
ment as she gave two or three heavy breathings, and
followed them up with a nasal explosion worthy of an
orthodox deacon 1t was well done-sheatrically
done; and poor Harry sprang bolt upright-sur-
stand it no longer. and Sophie gave vent to her mirth
in a burst OF triumphant laughter.
"Y-o-u little wifch-you mischief-you spirit Of
evil l' exclaimed the relieved Harry, as he sprang to
her side and caught her by the arm with a grippe that
made her scream "fou deserve a shaking for your
behavior - Then lowering his voice. he added
gravely.
Will you never have done tormenting me.-hl
you love me, can you not be generous enough to tell
me so'-and If you do not, am I not, at least worthy
of n candid refusal,'
Words sprang to Sophie's lips that would have
done credit to her womanly nature, aud made her
lovers heart bound with rapture; for the whole
depths Of her being were stirred and drawn towards
him as they never before had been to any man.
But she could not quite give up her raillery then.
She would go one step further from him ere she laid
her hand IN his, and told him he was ,Iearer than all
the world beside So she checked the tender response
that trembled on her tongue, and finging off his
grasp, with a mocking gesture and q ringing laugh,
danced across the room to the piano.
She seated herself, she ran her fingers gracefully
over the keys, and broke out in n vii |, brilliant, de-
FAINT song. that made her listeners ears Jingle as he
stood watching her, and choking back the indignant
words that came c~rowding to his lips for utterance.
"Sophie, listen to me ~ he said ut length, as she
paused from sheer exhaustion els IL generous-is
it just, to triHe with me SOL to turn into ridicule the
emotions of a heart that offers you its most reverent
afrctionss
~ have loved you, because under this volatile
surface character Of yours, I thought I saw truthful
ness and simplicity, purity Of soul. and a warm cur
rent Of tender, womanly feeling, that would battle
with blessings the whole life Of him whose hand was
fortunate to touch its secret springs You are an
heiress, and I only n poor student; but if that is the
reason why you treat my suit so scornfully, you are
less than the noble woman that I thought you"
Sophie's head vas averted, and a suspicious mois-
ture gIistened in her eyes as Harry ceased speaking.
All : why is it that we sometimes hold our highest
happiness so lghtly-carrying it carelessly in our
hands as though it were but dross and stalking it all
upon an idle caprice!
When she turned her countenance towards him
again, the same mocking light was in her eyes, the
same coquetsish smile wreathed her red lips.
speaking Of heiresses,'' said Sophie, stherc's
Helen Myrtle, whose father is worth twice as much
As mine. Perhaps you had better transfer your at
tentions to her, Mr.. Ainslee. The difference in our
dowries would no doubt be quite an in~ducement, and
possibly she might consider your case more seriously
than l have DONE"
Like an insulted prince, Harry Ainslee stood up
before her-the hot fiery, indignant blood dashing in
q fierce torrent over his Eace-his arms crossed tight
" upon his breast as if to keep his heart from burst
ing with its uprising indigRation-his lips compress
ed, and his dark eyes flashing. Sophie, cruel
Sophie. You added one drop too much to your cup
Of sarcasm. You ~trespassed upon his sorbearance
one little step further than you would have dared,
had you known his proud sensitive nature.
Not till he was ne-go without a single word
o. expostulation, leaving only q grave goodbye
and the memory Of his pale face to plead for him
did the thoughtless girl wake to a realization of what
she had done Then a Quick terrible fear shof