Staunton vindicator and general advertiser. (Staunton, Augusta County, Va.) 1858-1860, 1859-09-16

borhood with her conjuratlons, was invested
by John With higher supernatural attributes
than even the ignorant peasantry gave him
credit for; but this was less the result Of
weak credulity than Of that wild poetic tenn
permanent which in the early days Of Greece
peopled the banks of the dark Acheron With
appropriate ghosts and 6ends. But though
fond Of lone sitting BY the shores Of old
romance" young Trevanion, unlike the
generality Of such dreamy enthusiasts, was
Of an energetic, enterprising character, and
never cast glance at the portraits Of his
gallant ancestors without regretting that he
had attained his twentieth year. aud had
yet sigpaized himself by no act worthy to
be held ia remembrance.
It was at this period of his life, when pan
ting to enter. the world where he felt assn
red he should achieve renown,s that cir
cumstance occurred which changed the whole
current of his ideas. He fell in love, a
malady to which youth is peculiarly liable.
The object Of his sudden idolatry was the
only daughter ola Somersetshire gentle
man. Of retired habits and straitened means,
who had lately come to take up his abode in
one Of those picturesque cottages in which,
as have before observed, this quarter of
South Devon abounds. TWAS while wan
dering alone one evening by the ruins Of an
abbey which bordered on the moor, that
John first encountered this lovely appari-
ton. She was leaning on her fathers arm
atthe time, and flushed with exercise, and
radiant with health and youth, presented as
attractive an image as lovers eye could de-
sire to gaze on From this moment John
felt himself changed man. Hitherto, he
had been all for ambition; thenceforth he
was all for sentiment. And this alteration
was not gradual, but instantaneous. His
passion was not the result of reflection, but
Of impulse. It was irst-lovein all its fren-
~. Though he had seen her but once, yet
his memory retained vivid impression Of
the charms of the fair unknown-of her
dark earnest eyes, her luxuriant tresses,
the classic outline Of her countenance, her
swan like neck, her graceful buoyant tread,
and the perfect symmetry Of her form, while
his fancy, equally vivid, invested her mind
with corresponding attractions.
For whole week afterwards, Trevanion
could think of nothing but who the unknown
was, and when he should see her again
She was his reverie by day, his dream BY
night, and SO worked upon his Imagination
that he did not rest until he had not only
acquainted himself with her name and place
Of abode, but even established himself as a
visitor at her fathers cottage.
The rest follows as matter Of course. -
The young couple became deeply enamored
Of each other. From talking together they
got to walking together, reading together,
and, it might be signing together-for first
love is apt to be exceedingly hysterical,
while Mr.. Mordaunt, Mary's father, who
was widower, neither encouraged nor
checked their intimacy, but let it take. its
course, unconscious apparently-so incuri-
BUS and unsuspicious was his nature that
It passed the bounds of ordinary acquain-
5ance. ssap9]
And so months rolled on, happy months
which passed with the speed Of thought. 10y
Seldom day now elapsed but John was
visitor at the cottage; he had always some
1ew book to lend or to borrow, or some new
walk to propose to Mary and her father. ~
Evening after evening found them lettering
,long the edge Of the moor, or, in the gloom
If twilight, when none were likely to dis
cover them, through the leafy grove that
'kirted Trevanion Park, where they would
wander for hours, weaving brilliant fancics
o the diligent exclusion Of all probability.
ill tho hooting Of the night-owl warned
hem that it was time to separate
It has often been asserted that 6rst-love
IS blind. lam inclined to doubt this apho-|
ism, and to believe that it is particularly
}uick- sighted. In the present instance, at
east, it was SO to a surprising, extent, for
not one mental grace did Johns magma
lion endow Mary with, but he found on be-.
coming acquainted with her, she possessed.
She was indeed not less attractive 10 intel
lect than in person, having been educated
by Mr. Mordaunt, who doated on her, with
a care by no means common in the sever.
teenth century. But it was not merely a.
refined, well -instructed mind that John re-
,ognised in Mary; he was, if possible, still
more struck with her frmness and strength
Of character, and the depth of her devotion
20 her father. In fact, 50 completely did
his young girl enthral his heart, that he
became almost wholly estranged from his
'amily, seldom joining the conyivial parties
1t the hall, and when he did SO for appear !
ances' sake, or to avoid the coarse insinua- 4
ions Of his brother Edward that he felt him.
self too good for them, hurrying away from
he table at the earliest possible opportuni-
y.
The time, however, was at hand when
John and Mary we're destined to realize the
adage that s.the course Of true love never
lid run smooth" During the oarly period
If their acquaintance, Trevanion, well
knowing his fathers prejudices on the score
If rank, and also how prone a country vii
age is to scandal, was cautious Of parading
bis intimacy with the Mordaunts, and usu-
ally oontrived to meet them, as if by acct
dent, on the moor, which was one of their.
favorite walks. BY degrees, however, as
he became more and more interested in
Mary, be laid aside this caution, and even
seemed to take pride in displaying his at
tachments to her, resentlng the iests Of his
having frequently seen the
parties together, half-suspected the state Of
their affections-with bitterness that soon
produced GOODNESS between the young men
the more marked on Edwards part. be-
cause he too had often cast an admiring
glance at Mary, though not with hymeneal