The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1858-12-22

4 SSiOOiASy was oNSNA AA"t5
of the Boston theaters and Louis and
myself, happening together in the even
ing, strolled to the play. In one ofthe
intervals between the acts, Louis turned
! to me and asked:
"Have you ever seen Mary?'
Il answered that had never had that
pleasure. E.--
DO you see.' he said, directing my
attention to remote part o: the house,
that young lady dressed in purple, with
dark plumes in her hat?'
Il replied that I did
well, that's Mary
Placed as we then We're, IN the glar-
ing light, conte see little beyond the
particulars of dress he had remarked !;
but the chances of the crowd, as we left
the theatre. brought me quite near her,
and thought then, Us thiuk now, that
had never looked into pair of deeper
or more bcart-full eyes. But we passed
! on chatting pleasantly together of in
different things, and that night I slept
as sound aud dreamless a sleep as if
there we're never a woman in Christen-
dom.
sNIayhap you have notieed-if you
have what people call an ear for music,
you certainly have-that you may listen
to piece of music which mag strike you
as being peculiarly beautiful, and g
away, and one hour afterward you could
not recall, SO as to articulate, single
note of it, though your life depended
upon SO doing, aud yet, days afterward,
when you least expected it, you shall
catch yourself humming strain after
strain, as easily as if you had known
them from childhoodi and in truth it
shall seem more like an echo of some
thing With which you had long ago been
familiar, than the acquisition of some
thing entirely new.
Just 30 was it to me wi,h Mary
Marshalfs eyes. l do not think |
thought of them for weeks after that
light, at the theater, until one morning
I was walking to my Office, thi king OF
declarations not in love, but in law,
when her image started out in my mem
ory more than the distinctness Of most
familiar faces. I cannot explain why
this should be so, any more than can
explain why it is that occasional periods
in every mans life there flashes across
his mind, with sort of curdling shud
der, shadowy consciousness of having
seen and heard all that is then passing,
at some remote point of the iilimitable
past. I only know that both are true.
The causes of, and the deductions from,
| leave to profounder spectators.
Once having presenteditself, it SEEM
ed determined not to be exercised, and
it maintained its position during the
entire morning, pertiuaciously returning
to the attack Whenever displaced for a
momcut by assiduoue application to the
pcrusal of Coke 1pon Littltton.'
'Iu the afternoon of the same day,
was passing slowly down fremont street.
There had been a warm sun for some
days. aud the snow was disappearing =
Now and then, when it was drifted upon
the roofs, the danpuiug of the states
occasioned it to slip from its position,
aud descend in miniature avalanches
into the streets below, sometimes carry
ing with it fragments of ice, which from
the last nights freezing, were clinging
10 the caves.
Suddenly one of these slides deluged
me with snow, and 2 lsdy, who had
been walking jus: before me for some
distance, was knocked down By frag
meDt of ice. tl-f
of course, my irst impulse was to
raise and carry her into the nearest
shop; the next to inquire if she was at
all injured. But the motion cf carry
ing commenced the work Determination, of
aud the restorative produced by some
ladies present in the shop, soon com
pleted it. and the same eyes l had seen
at the theatre again met my own.
at would be useless to detail to you
how it happened that Icalled a carriage
and accompanied her to her fathers
house; or how pleasant acquaintance
spraug out of that chance service; of a
thousand other things you can as we'll
imagine.
Let it be enough to tell you, what 1
suppose you already anticipate that a
friendship grew up between US, which,
lor g before the blossoms of the follow
ing spring had ripened into ackuowl-
deged love, and that all unheeding any
obstacle which might be set up between
us, we were happy as summer birds.
For some years previoue to this time,
little-nay nothing-had been said by
any party in regard to the contract long
before enterad into between the parents
Of Louig and Mary; and the latter,
whoge gay heart had scarcely given it a
thought until she me: with me, now
began to hope that it had been forgotten,
| or, at least. abandoned by taoit consent
But causes which will briefly allude tc
soon brought it to remembrdncc. = =
"For several months both the house: