Monmouth weekly herald., 1859-01-20
Juttrtstinp Storg.
MARY ATWILL,.
BY HENRY A. DWIGHT.

BY HENRY A. DWIGHT.
Mary Atwill was young lady of an
amiable disposition, but OF little stability
lofmlnd. In many respects she was wor
1thy OF imitation and praise-not in all.
She was so apt to recede from her engage
nents, and, therefore, too little reliable as
companion or friend. Now she was Of
this iilind-now of that--to-day one
thing, tomorrow another. AT one time
she would acceGe to this or that proposal
at another she would Fly from it.
Such Was the character Of Mary Atwill.
and yet she had thany admirers. Some
times they admired, indeed, only to exc
crate afterwards-for. whilst she captur-
ed with her charms, she neglected her
victim --she conquered to kill, not to save
the captive. Broken hearts were never
source OF unhappiness to her. for she
considered the loss Of others rather their
own fault than hers They admired on
their own possibilities, and were. of
course, answeraJle for the consequence.
She did, i deed, eucouragethe attentions
ot her sultors, still it was not with fix.
ed design or, If SO, with only for a tran
sient period. She was willing to be en-.
gagged, with the tacit privilege, however,
Eof Slndering the engagement. She didn't
think that matrimonial promises were
binding, though she was willing that 9th
ets should regard them in this light, if
they thought proper.
" But Why" she said, 6 should one ad
here to what he deSpises Why, if he
has made rash promise, break it'll A
lady at least, should have the privilege
Of being free to act in these matters as
inclination may prompt. A gentleman,
TOO. should never marry if averse TO the
union SO Mary reasoned, whether ra.
tionally or not, her future shall decide.
h But such were the principles of Mary's
conduct in matrimonial anticlpations aud
these principles originated from her fek-
elness OF ulnd. Had she duly reflected
on her relations to others, the sensibili-
ties Of her admirers, the Obligations which
each individual Of the same class OF socl
ETY. Sastalns TO tie other, and the adyan-
tages arising from a proper observance
of the mutual claims which all PEI sous
have upon each other, she woa d have
unquesllonabiy rendered justice 10 all
anu secured her own ultlma e good
But NO, Mary was TO reckless " be under
very rigid moral restraint, that is to
make reason and conscience the arUlters
OF her conduct. OF necessity therefore
she was easily changed from one inteu
tion to another, one engagement to a sue
ceeding one.
Still, Mary Atwill. had SO many re
deemlng qualities, that her want VI sta
bill y was overlooked. She was lively
ami witty i'll conversation, polite and af-
taoie ia department, kind iii her feelings,
at least or the moment, and Always
ready 10 meet her friends aud acq0ain
| talces with smile. LII her personal ap-
pearance too, she was d Charm ,-fascina
tion even to the most phlegnatic. Not
to know her, was 10 love her, for at Irst
| sight, rather than alter more intimate
acquaintance. tue eye was greatly pleas.
ed. The stranger even was taken with
her beauty--such an image to fancy was
she such anldol to admire.
| Accordingly, Mary never felt the want
Of admirers. she always had them at com
mand. Still on no one Of them could she
fix her eye, aud retain it there. Ali
pleased her more or leSs-none absolute
liy. 10 make a asse.ection. therefore, was
quite impossible for her: or, if lor u time
she made one. she could not adhere to it,
not in her own mind. Ii this one urged
his suit, she required delay il that one,
she did not like to Commit herself, except
for time. Many one hoped-all were
disappointed and yet Mary was not a
coeuette she did not encourage her suit
ors wantonly she bad no desire to dis
appoint them her objections seemed to
her to be real, and for the time insur
lnoRutable she longed to marry-if she
married at all. u please herself if her
admirers did not suit her inspection, she
set them aside. Perfection was her mod
ell, fancy her guide
For few years she thus continued to
encourage and to disappoint the expecta
tlons of her suitors.
At length, having become more mature
/ in Judgment, she concluded to listen with
willing ear to the solicitations of a
young gentleman living in neighborine
village. This young man was highly es
teemed By al who knew him. AS tc
4 property, too, he was in comfortable cir
cumstances, and could easily maintain a
/ family aud live in genteel style. Noreas
.onable objection could be made against
him as. proper candidate for matrimo
my Many q young lady, indeed, would
have thought herself highly honored tc
4 bnx,a raonivad lNic affaurff,ri sas
In point OF education, too, he was su
! perior to many Of his associates, having
prosecuted his studies, in his youthful
Gays, beyond his conpeefs. Already hsc