The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1859-01-13

| (" 1t is much better. CT course, to be saint
than poet or artist, one cannot be, as some
| persons have been, besi ; but it is not necessa-
ry that one saint should trick another into saint
hood by persuading b; under false pretences-
no. won't say that VI doubtful evidence, that
she cannot be poet artist and that there
fore, faitte de brush chisel, or pen, she must
take the palm as a ,R'-aller. Oh there was
one thing more! d wish l could know how
that copy of verses I4opened to come to you
out of the casket." S
any dear Herman, DO you not know?"
81 know how yo9ai think it did, | believe.
Will you tell me once ,fIore? ;"
u The Bishop thought of me when he was
/ writing it, and in pa. y described me and his
wishes for me. By aszadd coincidence, such as
will happen sometimeSswhen Aunt Cora dealt
the papers round at r&s 1om, that one came to
me-"
| Precisely; that va what he meant you
should think. l shou5 like to know how Mrs.
Ronaldson came to giss, it to you"
! q ou shall know at ace from her, if the fact
does not speak for itself | shall be glad to be
able to prove to you tn groundessness of one
of your suspicious, dess Herman; and then
am sure you will dismi all the rest, as unlike
you and unworthy of vel"
Constance walked OF of the obm with
| firmer step and higheeo head than usual, and
/ found Mrs. Ronaldsorf her nursery. Aunt
! Cora" whispered she ou remember the night
/ of the children's part: When Annette was
! the Sybil?"
! "Oh, YES love; hows the little dears did en-
JOY themselves. We gust have another"
:" YES dear aunt. 1f,ut do You remember
how it was that you caR4s1 to give to me that par
ticrllar copy of verses = hat the Bishop wrote
out of the casket?'
"Why, he directed. 4 to you, love, did he
not 2"
"No, Aunt Cora; il was not directed at ALL
1t was in blank envei pc
/" Are you SURE i thought it was. No.
can't positively recollett; it was so long ago.
I'm almost sure the otlers were directed Oh,
yes do remember That was it. Each of
the other young ladies ad one directed to her !;
and gave you the bla k one. because knew
there must have been some mistake. The
Bishop never would hav meant to leave YOU out.
Pretty, wassit not?''
"Very pretty, indeet~f" said Constance. The
one halt-proved prevas alton served as clue
by means Of which her memory flashed back
along long series of more palpable deceits
and articles. She ha 5lly knew how she got
out into the passage; Lut when there, she put
her hands to her burstir-g temples, and exclaim-
! ed, tricEed cheated, .1ttered, beguiled, where
| trusted most He ICED me to the top of my
Dtut W nat vain yak 1oOl nave Deen
Thank Heaven, that | ad already shown it to
Herman, before foun6it out myself
Minds like hers ST, lect TO tremendous re-
WILSON'S of feeling. In proportion to her I'M
bounded trust was now ler unbounded distrust.
Returning with avertea ewes to her seat bv
. Herrnan's side, she satn let ms never men
ton that mans name Fgain. All that he ever
. said to me of religion is-.s it were unsaid You
must guide and teaei. me Herman. Your
church shall be my cfssch and we will serve
one God together"
+, Herman pressed her Sand, but did not pur-
sue the subject. He pss sorry for her mortifi-
cation--not sorry to4 ze, as every Christian
householder ought to be, the bishop of the
church in his own house. He said only, " We
will study the Bible and the hest religious books
together, and shall be most glad if We can
, think alike"
There were few difficulties in the way of it
Constance had become a Romanist from ro
nance rather than from conviction. In one OF
her sweet confessions to her new director she
said, one day: Il need not blame another's
disingenuousness. | was not upright myself
think, candidly that it was with me much as
? it was with Henry of Navarro. / wanted the
coInichon, just as he wanted the crown Of
, France. l saw ne way to reach it, except
through the door fthe church of Rome and
, through the door ofthe church of Rome went
! accordingly, as fast as | could. | listened tC
| the arguments on one side only, and | knew
: nothing of those on the other so that my con
| version was a sure and speedy process. 1 can
r not bear to think of it now |; but indeed at the
time, did not dream that might be helping
, TO tamper so dreadfully, as / now fear that
r was, with the gospel of Christ. AS have otter
told you, / acted like an actress. Life did not
/ seem to me at all the solemn and responsible
/ | fbaf / har o,n
; consider it, but a sort of phantasmal tragic
t drama; and all that thought of was, to make
t it as dramatic as possible, fill it with action
play it out, and have it over"
. Perhaps answered Herman, "when we
, are twenty years older, and forty times wiser
. and more experienced, the young men and
| maidens in our neighborhood, who wish to
, escape from their empty, disappointed, or un
satisfied hearts, and take refuge in the service
r of Christ, will no longer need to serve an ap
| premiership to Rome, but will come to Father
r Herman and Mother Constance to be taught
how and where to work for a day, month OF
a year."
t ''To me, Herman ~
{ 9 Why should they not Several of the best
| girls in our parish begipning to come to
, Clara already; and she is not forty, nor thirty
/ She gives them money to spend in aims for her
, buying, think, a triple blessing TO herself
them, and the receivers of their bounty. These
, young almoners render her O strict account OF
what they spend, and how, and consult her in
difficult cases about the disposal of it. They
. admire and love her. as it is IN the nature OF
; girls To admire and love woman ike Clara
From time to time, she rewards them by enga-
+ glng some good master or mistress to give them
lessons with her, and at her expense, in some
pleasant accomplishment This makes them
feet the better acquainted with her, and the
more at their ease i'll seeking her counsel in
2 their little perplexities. Clara has afne judg-
ment, when she dares to exercise it, in most
matters OF everyday life and believe that her
influence and example have done incalcula Sic
D good already
r Clara ! | can easily believe itLso calm,
; SO sweet, and so consideratel But + have been
5 SO utterly hayward and unstable. How could
you ever trust me to advise poor girls ?" -
Il appeal, said he with his cordial smile
J. :" from Constance past to Constance future"
Herman would no; let Constance fall into the
s bitterness of a renegade, as at first she had
/ seemed likely to do, from the vehemence of her
! natural temperament, ever prone to extremes
: and her special Indignation at her conviction
I which grew stronger and stronger the more she
: reviewed the past, that she had been unfairly
r fattered and decOyed into the Romish com
/; munion. He took pains to seek out as many
as he could Of Bishop Devereuxs good and
beautiful deeds, which we're not far to seek, and
laid the glowing list before her, saving, " If he
Z had but been frank and sincere, he would have
been perfect, Constance" But frank and sin
+ cere, his reverence's best friends. among his
sincere and discerning friends, could not say
that he was Some shook their heads, some
! laughed, when that point came up.