The Lancaster ledger. [volume] (Lancaster, S.C.) 1852-1905, 1858-07-14

Her dancing was perfect, her rouge deli.
cately sofiened off, and her muslins spot
Iess,-ihat is, when not spotted with gold
or silver tinsel.
But high spirited girl, full of native
sive provincial life, is diSpIeased TO hear
of questionable companiouships on the
part of those on whom her affections be.
| gin to be fixed. Does he take as much
| pleasure in the society of people like those
AS in mine Z said Sophia to herself
Does he think that because he is rich,
| and | am portionless, will ever consent
/ to be put on q par with, or neglected for,
, public dancer Ills sister saws it is
nothing but thoughtless levity but il he
loves me as / thought he did, his whole
attentions ought to be centered il my.
, self Vie ought to live for me, and for me
alone
AID then there were matrons, with
daughters of their own TO marry, who
would have accepted the life tenant of any
! entailed estate with or without indscre
ton on his back, who fed Sophia's un.
happiness by daily reports how that dear
Sir Charles WAS enjoying the lately -acqui
red freedom Of majority. Sir Charles too
was carefully informed Of Sophia's dis.
pleasure ; and the result on him was the
sage reflection, that i; would never do to
give way 10 womcn's fancies; that If
man submitted to unreasonable dic.ation
I aud causeless suspicion before marriage,
he might rs well make up his mind %
Weld thepantaoons ever afterwards and
great deal more ratiociuation TO match.
In short, at the end of tue season, Instead
of ST. Georges, Hanover Square, and
bridesmaids, and dJeUncr, and trav.
elilug-cnrriage, the lovers destiny was q
dissolution OF any possible partnership by
mutual consent. Sophia and her friend
Sarah Enfield returned 10 the country
Sir Charles started with "A courier speak.
ing hall a dozen languages, on a Ger.
Observation-Disclosures tour. Both
he and Sophia had separately and firmly
vowed in their own minds that they would
never again either write TO, speak TO, think
oi, Or look at, or listen to news Of each
other; no, never! Really, they meant
what they said no, never
Travelling. even with fast courier and
plenty OF money to spend, pals in time
Man must have = resting place both for
the sole ot lis foot and tie aflectations al
his heart. And SO il is no great wonder
. if Sir Charles, after he had ratified through
lIalhland, the Alps, the Lakes, and the
Pyrenees, did sometimes think with "A
slight impulsiye yearning Of his old Eng
Iish country mansion and his ol sweet
heart Sophia M. M.,.uuTsL. .ut 10 90
straight home at once, and confess that
he had been no better than foolish hob.
biedehoy, required more magnanimity
than he was gifted with as yet. lie there
fore made n sort Of half settlement by
wintering at Paris, carefully concealr
from his most intimate friends the inc-ess.
ing twinges of his DlGiddie dU pays, or
homesckness. The carnival fell early,
and with 1t came the usual succession Of
operas, balls, ard baiIets, the most distin.
guished ornament Of the latter being
Mademoiselle A,halie herself OF course
the London Acquaintance was renewed
but the attentions on lhc part Of the gen
tieman were invariably SO discreet, so re
Spec;fn, and go delicate, that mademoi
sele began to conceive ambitious hopes
her serious Auglais, ler formal Sir Enfield,
as she called him, might lie medirating
matrimonial arrargements-withh herself
She might be 'miIadi : such things had
happened, and therefore might happen
again. Her ruling passion had chance
OF being gratitied In manner beyond all
expectation. Now ambition was not her
ruling passion; nor was love, nor vanity:
the Object Of her life was--ayarice. Her
terpsichorean friends, who knew her best,
SAID tha. she was not a Jewess certainly,
but that most assuredly she t0Gs Jew.
All this while Sarah Enfield kept up a
close correspondence with tie moody
tourist, who replied with very fraternal
puDctualty. How could n brother and
sister alone in the world do otherwise =
How, too, could she help mentioning So
phia; and how could a sharp wtted girl
like her avoid observing the change m
her brothers feelings. and the obvious di
rection in which they tendedl She un.
dertook the Office, blessed both on earth
and in heaven, Of peace maker, med
ltator, an expunger Of iIl-wiIl and an
exeter OF affection. Her diplomacy pro
ceeded with such triumphant success, that
one day Sir Charles wrole in black and
white, and with bis name autually signed
at the bottom. that he would gladly
return to reside at Enfield If lie were as
surcd that Sophia really wished to see
him there. BY return of post came
letter from Sophia's self, couched in most
friendly and ye: maidenly phrase, which
elected rejoinder that we should be glad
to be able to reproduce here for the graf
ification Of eonnoisenrs in love letters -
but it is safe under lock and key in So.
phia's casket.
a few days afterwards, a morning visit
at Mademoiselle Athalie's elegant apart
ment concluded with the unexpected an
uouhcement,-'l am going to England to
morrow. Can do anything for you