The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1858-07-08

| should she have mlslnterpreted tnem. let mrs
WeatherhilPs conduct had been most prepos
ferrous. Had that lady had the discretion to
remain quiet, had she not prema.urely spoken
20 him on the subject of Lucy Austin, it is not
unlikely that the gentle charms of the fair girl
might have wakened in a heart that deemed it
self forever blighted purer passion than il
had ever known. But Mrs. Weatherhill could
not be passive; even when things locked mos,
favorably, she must interfere; and her eager
ness in this instance had defeated its own pur.
pose. Arthur Bennington, as he rode home
that day. came to q conviction that he had mar
rowly escaped the Vaccinations of an invete-
rate match maker, whose designs it was an abb
solute duty to circumvent.
Meanwhile, how Jared it with Lucy2 She
knew not, till some angry expressions from Mrs
| Weatherhill indicated the fact, that some VIC
lent aRd unsatisfactory explanation had occur
red between that lady and Arthur bennington /;
and, alas with that knowledge came the bitter
feeling that she had been compromised and de-
graded in his opinion by the imprudent conduct
of one who ought to have shielded her delicacy
with the care of mother. She said nothing !;
but her varying color and trembling limbs told
a tale of mental suffering most Ineligible to
good Miss Sanderson, who happened to be pres
ent when the disclosure took place. With that
tact which is an inestimable quality, when
| united to kindness of heart, she found q speedy
pretext for Withdrawing Lucy from the room,
and conducting her to the quiet precincts of
| her own chamber. There food of tears re-
ieved the poor girl, and told more elcquently
than words the wound that her womsnly feel
ings had received.
Alas it was too true that Lucy had ventured
to love- before her affections had been explicit
| ly sought by him to whom she had yielded
| 1 IL
ness which Mrs. Weatherhill was quite unable to
appreciate. All her regret consisted in the
| failure of her project for Hgood match :" and
she would have expected Lucy to be consoled
az once, could another as apparently suitable
have been found. To say that the station and
wealth OF Mr.. bennington had not contributed
to increase the brightness of the visions that
had Heated through Lucy's mind, would be say
iog too much; but still she was as far from be-
ing a mere specializing husband-seeker as any
one could possibly be. But she had kind and
generous nature, whose impulses her contracted
means had never yet permitted her to crafty
Her father was an officer and a gentleman;
but beyond his half pay, he had very little of
his worlds wealth, and Lucy had certainly ad-
mitted the idea of his happiness in her pros
perity. Sill, independent of all these consider.
atoms, she had loved dearly and truly; and now
dashed to pieces in a moment. There was
nothing to hope, except that Arthur Booming.
ton would utterly forget her, since, as her
awakened fears suggested, he could only re.
member her with contempt and disgust. Could
she have followed her own inclinations, she
would at once have returned home; but Mrs.
Weatherhill opposed her doing SO on two &C
counts first, that it would seem as if she were
leaving abruptly on Arthur Bonnington's &C.
count; and, secondly, that Mary CRANKY, who
was to be married next month. could by no
means dispense with her services as bridesmaid.
Mrs. Weatherhill had insisted that Miss Gran
by's Duptials should be solemnizsd at Alder6eld;
and the family of the bride, feeling all the con-
venience of the arrangement, had not offered
any very vehement opposition to it.
Lucy was spared the pain of seeing Mr.. Bon
nington again during her stay, by his departure
for the continent; and could she have found
consolation ia the propagation of an untruth,
she might have received it from the general re-
port of the neig hborhood, that he had left the
country in consequence of her refusal of him.
few days after his interview with Mrs
Weatherhill, he set out for London, and from
| thence proceeded to explore the beauties and
romantic features of the woods and mountains
of Germany, country he had expressed @
desire to visit. Amidst new scenes and people,
it was natural that tie events of the past should
rapidly become less prominent in his mind !;
still there were tines when the idea would in
lrude, that If Lucy Austin were not a design
log actor Ia Mrs. Weatherhll's schemes, she
bad rot been quite fairly treated and remem.
brances of her mild blue eyes, her varying
| cheek, and gentle voice, intruded amidst his
day dreams more frequently than was quite
| consistent with his peace. Meantime, Lucy,
under Mrs. Weatherhilrs auspices, was dragged
| tom scene tc scene of gaiety, in which her
sick heart could take no part, and was at once
longing for and dresding her return to her
| humble home. The bitter idea that she had
been lowered in the estimation of him whose
| regard she valued above that of every other
person, was a sting in Lucy's bosom for whose
poison there seemed to be no cure. TIE time
arrived for the marriage of Mary CRANKY and
Mr.. Scarborough, and Mrs. Weatherhill's ex.
| ultation knew no bounds. Here was match
that would in all probability have never taken
place but for her management; and 80 said
| the brides father, as he privately thanked her
| for the interest she had taken in his "dear
| girls" welfare.
Lucy Austin did not fall victim to brain
| fever, or perish within few months BY the
more insidious inrosds of consumption; but if
broken or blghted heart be one in which
nope and happy love are crushed forever, and
whose capacity for the keen enjoyment of life,
which youth should experience, is irretrievsbly
lost, such was hers from the time of her unfor-
Cuuate visit to Alder6eld. Her constitution
vas never robust; and now, without being sub.
jet to any specific disorder, she gradually fell
INTO delicate health, and in year or two was
considered among her friends as a confirmed
Invalid. Her father died and az the slender
provision he had been able to make for her
was insufficient to support her in the house
ley had hitherto occupied, she disposed of her
furniture, and went to board with widowed
t-uiale relative who resided at small water
ing-place on the east coast of England. She
never revisited Alder6eld, and her intercourse
with that neighborhood consisted almost en-.
tlrely in en- occasional correspondence with an
I'D acquaintance, Miss Sanderson, for whom
she retained the most affectionate regard.
Five or SIX years had now gone by, and how
had Mrs. Weatherhilrs match making pros.
pered with Mr.. and Mrs Scarborough Even
worse than poor Lucy's wooing; for it was
mere ueion of apparent suitabih;ies, without
any genuine foundation for mutual happiness
Mrs. Weatherhill had represented Mary CRANKY
to her botrothed as perfect treasure of in
geauity and industry and certainly in her
fathers house, compelled by circumstances,
she had displayed something of these qualities
But now, as wife, she thought she had right
to be exempt from what she termed "mere
drudgery," and having an overweening love Of
display, considerable stock of pride, and a
fondness for amusement, she was disposed to
exeIcise her activity more in spending money
than in saving it. She discovered also, within
e very short time after her marriage, that
Scarborough possessed most violent temper !;
aud TO avoid its explosions, and at the same
time to obtain what she wished to have, she
descended to many mean and despicable sub.
tertuges, which, when detected, were sure to
draw down unon her donhla nnrfinn- of her