The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1858-12-23

within her. IKE her DeXer than her preue-
cessor, because, while selff5rgetfal, she Is sill
selfgoverned. l think | should even like her
looks better than those of that possessed victim
of glory. They might, they would be, less de-
moniac, less maddened and maddening, but they
would be truer, juster, SUMMER; one would be
not unlikely to find in them, here and there,
amid all their inperfections, reflected glimpses
of the greatest of all minds, the mind of God.
If any Of those books fell in my way, l would
take them thankfully, and use them Just as she
desired, as magnifying glasses to look through
at life, and help me to see it more clearly
would not invert them, and use them to peer
back impertinently at her through the wrong
end. If could, | would write reviews of them,
such as should do good to that good heart of
hers-as free from paltry fattery as she from
vanity, and letting her individuality utterly
alone as she does-bestowing upon them hearty
praise and no less honest criticism, such as
should show her how for the future to polish
away all of the blemishes, of which she would
gladly be told, for the sake Of getting rid of
them" p
"Oh, Herman cried Constance, "let me
thank you, for herl HsnGn---you
deserve your name! A brother TO all man and
woman kind How much better than brother
| to me p
eyes; you thank me, and from your heart.
You have been taught to disbelieve your own
possession Of genius; and yet you receive a
| tribute to its possession and worthy exercise by
| any of your sisters, as tribute to you. Thus
generous noble women think and feel Nor do
they think and feel SO of genius only, but of
learning also. 1t is true, as the Bishop said,
that scholarship in women is not rewarded SO
abundantly as in men, by academical distinc-
tons and Mutual Admiration Societies. lam
afraid that it may be also true that there is a
very general and very narrow prejudice against
it; because good sense and good feeling are apt
to be in the minority on any question newly pre-
scented to this prejudiced old world. But all
those just and judicious persons whose opinion
is really worth regarding, like woman none
the less for being literally educated, provided
she is none the less conscientious practical,
gentle, and genial and such of your own sex,
particularly, as you would choose for compan-
ions and friends sweet friend, have quite re-
markable habit of gloryipg and delighting in
the requirements and achievements of other
worthy specimens ofwomankind quite as ifthey
were their own. 1t is as much as a mans life is
worth, among the former, to detract from the
latter"
a may study or write, then, sometimes, if l
will choose you for my director?"
! ION one or two conditions" III
What ones?" .i
You are not to become writing medium,
nor to drown your bloom and spirits in printers
ink; and your learned labors are to be pursued
at my elbow so that may have the honor of
lending my aid to smooth away any possible
difficulties, before they have had time to chron-
ice themselves in wrinkles"
"No, will never be an author or a scholar.
The conditions are too hard and so is the
work"
"What! Not ambitious, after ALP"
WHAT Do not yoa purpose to allow me a
Certainly; all that have"
"Then shall wan. no Others" murmured
she. But now / must tell you the rest of Ye
Nunne's Tale" The Bishop asked me, further
whether l had ever published anything. had
at Uncle Henrys entreaty, few times allowed
him to have few of my verses printed in a
magazine"
90 How were they received y inquired
Bishop Devereux.
f'They were praised by some of our &C
quaintances, because Uncle Henry told who
wrote them D
"nBut were they noticed by strangers
analysed, criticised
| ""Not at all
! "tThat which does not excite criticism i,
usually below criticism. | fear that literary
fame is not for you ). and literary fattery will
not fill or satisfy your mind. You are inor
dinately proud, Miss Aspenwall, since you
have given me leave to say so; but you are
not vain. Spontaneous inspiration you have
not. A masculine nature you have not, anC
you cannot whip yourself up daily to long tot
by the hope of the even wellearned praise Of
those who do not love you, and whom you dc
not love. To you, the world has nothing to
offer
a. Nothing!' exclaimed, and stopped
The word seemed to me to come out of my
heart, sounding like ,.n echo out of an empty
tomb.
/ a. Oh, yes said hey forgot. There is one
thing. You can wear the finest dresses and
drive the finest horses in Baltimore j burst
into tears. Daughter, daughter said he
Do not weep so. The world has, indeed, moth
ing to offer but ] have something, or could
never have steeled myself TO inhict upon you
all this cruel, this necessary, pain l cam
will-help and comfort you out of this deluge
of tears. You shall be saved, poor dove
warmed, and sheltered, and taken into the ark
The world is cruel to you and such as you
Come out of it. Come into the only true
church and you shall find full scope for you,
fine full nature, rest for your soul here-ant
hereafter, bliss unsp, akable. Set your ambi
ton on heavenly di,dem and you shall weal
and her hands are full of honors for her faith
full servants, among HON is neither male mol
female, bond nor free Her canonzed maiden,
like herself are calico blessed by all after gen
erations; and unless | deceive myself yer,
greatly, there is still an empty place among
them reserved for you. Hear what dignite.
she has conferred upon her faithful handmaids
even on earth and btryore the eyes of men, t.
confound their over Seening arrogance !! anG
then he broke forth ito one of his wonderful
approximations, Herm m until the very walls
around us seemed Il vanish from my eyes
while in an eternal etlpe not made with hands
and in pageant of ,wful grandeur and beau
ty, the holy saints, T. ,eresa, Agnes, catherine
and the rest, seemeteto pass before us in pro
cession, wearing crowns on their heads, and
reckoning to me. Wished to follow them.
could not bear to hay the vision fade.
+" When he ceased i told him how it had
seemed to me. Het aswered that had seen
more than he was cofscious Of describing, but
that 1t was glimpsslof the true reality; and
that among such visions / might pass my
earthly life, into suca realities should be born
when my earthly life .Sas over, if | would blu,
walk in the footsteps jf those saints here below
and come out of world which had nothing
but emptiness and vanity to offer me- Out Of
the world thought |. Oh,
| Anywhere, anylsaere. out Of the world.
Many and many time had repeated tina,
line to myself in those days and his words
appeared to me stran sely like an answer to it.
" But ! said nothing, He arose to go. Stay,
said. MY daught.b' he answered, tenderly
it pains me too M eh to look on, a useless
spectator merely of jim which / am not suffer
ed to relieve-the pain of one whose suffering
is sharper to me than my own. The wounded
has permitted the probe, but now repels the