Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1859-11-16

nlgnt i went TO see feSIle, anu suCh an"O
time Uncle Bill did have! Her mother
urged upon Uncle Bill the propriety OF
marrying, and that too, while young. ohe
considered, (she said) that both Vest'e and :
Billy were then Of the proper age to marry
II was then eighteen, and Vestie had J
lust arrived at sweet sixteen Such a !
happy fellow was Billy again. l began to {
be Glad that Elsie did discard me. q
well, Uncle Bill he went, he compli-
mented, he admired, he loved Vestie; he
received many fiattcring compliments; get
he toved Elsie! A small, still voice seem
ed to say, did I not tell you that Elsie IS
your future rife? Why do yoa lo0e an
otherP And as | lay on my bed that
night, something like the sweet voice of
Elsie said-sBiUy, you'Ue deceived me! I
never discarded youU Come again ~!
resolved that night that Elsie should be
my wife; and as she had discarded Tour
ney, and would take no notice of any one
else but Billy, l thought the task nearly
completed. Uncle Billy now lavished his
gifts more freely than ever. Many miles
did he walk, gathering little notions for
Elsie, amoLg the trees and on the river
side. Now, thought Billy, all is right
Father and mother love Billy; Elsie loves
BILLY; andher little brothers love Billy; and
Uncle Bill was then the happiest little
creature on the earth.
tAt length the time came for Billy TO
leave the pleasant little village where Elsie
dwelt. His visits, after leaving the village,
were not very frequent, and Elsie treated
him more coldly every time. The time
came when Billy was to leave his native
land for the forests of the mighty West
His kind and affectionate Aunts, who had
ministered to him from his infancy, were
to be left behind. His many friends, who
had so often declared to him hat they
loved him like a brother, Billy was to see
no more! He visited the village to bid
Elsie a long farewell. Perhaps they were
to meet no moro on earth! In his farewell
address, Uncle Billy asked if she would not
write to him often, that he might know
how she was enjoying herself? No. she
replied, Il will not write to you. Ipossess
too small an amount of affection for you to
trouble myselfin such a way
'AhP thought Uncle Bill, L know the
cause. / r~ecollect what your cousin Nan
said the other night-'you are not for me.
The affection that / claim, is to be bestow,
ed on some one else. Pm undone! II
; go to my grave unmarried! Miserable
r oh miserable me! /! How truthful was tn
! adage of Kinch Stokes-swoman's heart 4
: untrue.''
! The day came for Billy to leave hi
= homo and friends. He left, resolving i
hlo mind 70 hn n naoa1 1acrS+a tho l1fHoI1
ties he had to surmount. He reached h
:. new home in a few days, and soon game
n the reputation of being an upright, stead
youth. Manhood soon came on he ha
- graduated with all the honors of his Ain
y Mater. Then began my public career:
!. served my country in the councils of tt
~ Nation thirty years; how faithfully, | lea
|. others to say. l now findmysclf sixty-thr
years of age, and a Bachelor! The res
- luton formed when leaving Elsie, has bee
n well kept. I'll go down to my grave U
!. marriedP
q 4 have never heard from her since l l.
= her; and therefore think she is most pro
ably Gead. But that love which was k
n died on our first meeting, continues to bu
IL, in my heart for her yet. That "still, sm
voice" continues to say, 'Your future sOJ
'cr and, Billy, 1 never discarded you; co
n again, Billy But Billy is now a gre
70 haired old man; he is lettering on t
70 verge Of the grave, and will soon 60
oil meet his Elsie in heaven
81 Now, Maggie said the old man, y
mo know why Uncle Bill is a Bachelor;
,ro no one else ever has known. Ny inhe
nd tance is yours. Maggie, you are now
'er. your tenth year. You lack only four ye
I'd Of being the age Elsie was when l first 10,
his her. Have a care, my young friend,
md little darling. You know not whose he
Ill you may darken with sorrow. Never 81
a mechanics son because he is not so rio
clad as others whose fathers are weaIt
80 We'll does Uncle Bill remember when
- was pointed at. because his clothes "
avo not imported from Paris. Uncle Bill
aroI now old; he has had many difficulties
root trials of life to contend with but in S
Of all, he has triumphed. Wealth has /
poured into his lap, and honors THU
.,a cluster on his brow. | have learned
tbo forgive, as we'll as to forget all injuries
e. wrongs done to me by others. l have
da.1 m~embered my Creator in the days of
,bo YOUTH and still put my trust in Him
x"ot that tho weight of years press heavily L
me. have remembered "the fathe
80 and widow in their affection" and stri'
keep myself ~unspotted from the wo
omiJ l have studied to exercise charity and
oud mercifully of all-but in spite of ey
reIa' thing, Mag, the words of Kinch 81
l;oa- wiU ring in my ears-"WoMAN's HEA
liz. FALSE" Lit true, Mag"
love rocccxza -~--n..