Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1858-1860, 1858-05-08

| about the book we read. OF what he thought
( of it: of whether it stirred him as it stirred
me: of whether be believed it, knew nothing.
| bore this ignorance at first passiyely; pre-
sently / bore it, growing feyerish under 1t;
| finally, rebelled against it. he might be
above me high as the sky was above the earth
| yet / was not utterly inanimate clay. be
might speak one word to me; was not wood
| that could not understand.
When he would not speak, at last spoke
| to him. chose moment when, one day |
had been reading till my cheek burned with
an excitement that took cowardice away. In
that moment raised my head.
Noel, - cried. sis it true ~
My question startled him for an instant he
was surprised I; then:
''You must judge for yourself, Ruth" he
said.
But my lips once Enclosed, l could speak
"How can judge for myself, when know
nothing? And do not want to Judge
cried passionately; Il want to beleve.D
''You have what you want there,' he said;
''you do believe"
Yes! believe! but / have no one to tell
me If ] am right. am believing like child
not knowing truth from falsehood."
Twas speaking like child, too. passionate
ly and petulantly; and he made me no reply.
In the silence that followed my momentarily
excited courage passed away. i had spoken,
and what had my speaking gained for me
Deeper than before the color flushed to my
cheek: in humility and pain my eyes filed
with hot tears.
j would have returned to the book again,
but the words swan before me could not
go on till my tears went back. i sat looking
down upon the page; and as so sat, Noel's
voice came again to me;
Ruth" he said gently, ''what do you
want?''
But my woods were gone then; could
only answer
'.Nothing-never mind-nothing now" and
would hurriedly have begun to read, but as
L commenced, he interrupted me.
Ruth" he said quickly, Il am often blind
and selfish, SO that do not see things l ought
to know. But am not welded to my faults,
| am taciturn, morose, unloveable man; but
| do not rant TO be feared. do not acant to
be left forever to my own thoughts. Ruth, do
not you be afraid of me. Tell me again what
you were going to say"
raised my head, Enclosed my lips; quick
ened by those words / could speak again.
With swift impulsive courage | began; told
him of my ignorance. told him what l
wanted. / asked him to give me help.
What followed was an hour whose happiness
words cannot utter. / had become his pupil
he was my master. He led me where my foot
steps could follow. When he spoke, he chang
ed my darkness into daylight, and my twilight
into sunshine. We had been together before
and for me his heart and soul had been like
sealed book. The change was now as the an
cient flowing of the water when the rod struck
the stony rock.
Once, and once only. there came pang of
pain over my joy-but alas it came as flood.
upon its close. The book had been reading
lay on my knee still; the hour that was past
had been as if that book had spoken to me
with living voice. When it was nearly end
ed. in the gratitude of my heart told him so.
Alas! that the thought came to me- or that.
| uttered it. His face changed as l spoke;
with a sudden flash it changed to the old like
ness it had worn before his illness The anx-
iOus pain, the Wearied turmoil all came back.
Ruth, he said hurriedly, Il am not like
that man. If | could barter my life, would
sell the whole of it TO be as that man is for
one single day.. You do not understand me
My cousin, this is the difference between US:
he Is clothed with power as a giant is with
strength, and-GOd help mel;' he suddenly
cried, Il have the arm of a child"
My heart rose up in arms.
"NOel, il is not true''
at is true, Ruth | can aspire, and / can
struggle, but | cannot conquer. | shall strive
to my lite's end, and, bound as | am, hours
will come again, perhaps, as they have come
already, when, for a moment, L shall have
strength like him of old. to break the withes,
as thread of tow is broken when it toucheth
the fire; but for all that the struggle only will
be mine, and not the victory. My little cous-
in, do not look at me so sOrrowfully; even
though the warfare lasts through life, life itself
sometimes is not very longW
Was 1t true oh was it true? | stopped
my head, l turned my face from him, and
nj of
ing had drawn on, and he could not see me-
He sat looking out upon the glowing sky-and
he neither knew my sorrow nor my joy.
TO BE CONTINUED.