Monmouth weekly herald. [volume] (Freehold, N.J.) 1854-1860, 1859-04-28

- sHS AAho0N1 - otOAAbN IA ~ Jldb
time among fashionable people, and |
made good use Of my time to create, if
possible, a favorable impression on the
only woman | had then met who touched
my heart. From her manner and con.
~versation, | found myself not an unwel
come friend, and during the time which
elapsed between the dance, | had accep-
ted an invitation TO call upon her at home
at my earliest convenience.
1t is needless for Inc to say hat the
next day found me on horseback, on my
way to Alice. and for many days and
months after, | paid my daily visits with
out interruption. Our intercourse com
menced with the usual sensations incident
to an Introduction, followed by the nat
ural sentiment which overfows the minds
of young people !; and We had wandered
far into the labyrinth If romance. while
the practical reality that was to follow
had never been dreamed Of or discussed.
TO be frank with you, my dear boy,
| was deyotedly in love with the gentle
Alice Lawton, without any consideration
or thought for the consequences likely
to follow such an indiscretlon. She was
SO far as wealth and family station were
concerned, much my superior; and though
| had by culture improved a mind sus-
c~eptible to advantages, | was in no pecu-
mary condition to assume the response
bilities OF matrimony.
For nearly a year l led the dreamy
life Of happiness which we attends a
youthful spirit in its first embrace Of the
holy passion butt was destined to feel
how far the the contemplated hopes of a
visionary heart we're from tie real and
material truths # the world. AS was to
be expected, the tather of Alice was APP
prised Of my amour, and much to my
ehargin, became deElsiNeensed atwhat
he was pleased to term "a betrayal Of
the hospitality Of his house."
Il was driven in disgrace from Law
ton Manor and ere long | had become
a target for the sneers of all those who
had become acquainted with my presump
ton in wooing Alice Lawton. 1 writhed
under the poverty which had exiled me
from her forever, and though we seldom
met after my dismissal, | had means Of
knowing that l was not wholly forgot
ten.
"Af few months rolled round, and again
it was race week. | had lost my old pas
sion for the turf, but was once more all
attendant at the scene. The same crowd
of fashionables, the same sprigs Of nobili
ty, and the same collection Of less ele-
CANT people were again gathered together.
The race dinner and ball were again
given, and with this fact is connected the
history of my antique ring. The cinner
given at Lawten MahoRz-was. ~patronized
by the invited gentry, among whom was
u cousin OF Alice, who had recently ar
rived from England, where he resided.
My name, by some strange fatality, was
ham was particularly offensive in his de.
uunciatlons of my conduct. AS his blood
grew warm from llbations, language eff
fecting my honor was freely INDUCED in,
and some not over-complimentary re
marks about the propriety OF the conduct
OF his cousin Alice were openly proclaim
ed. OF course she had no defender, and
as Markham was known to be of a fiery
disposition, there was none present anx.
ious to measure swords with him on the
question.
Rejecting gloomily over the circum-
stances which had debarred me from the
pleasures Of the agreeable society at
Lawton Manor, | was handed a note by
a servant from the Manor House, the SUI
prescription Of whick | had no difficulty
IN recognizing. 1t ran as follows:
AY DEAR HENRY-Luke Markham, my cousin,
outraged all ~propriety at the dinner table yesterday
by denouncing you as a scouudrel and vagabond.-
lie also violated the sanctiJy Of my home by ribald
illusions to myself. There is but one method among
gentlemen to punish such towards as malign a wo-
man in her absence. / leave in your keeping the
honor OF ALICE LAwToN.
1t did not require many minutes to
make up my mind on the proper course
to pursue, and within an hour from the
receipt of the letter Of Alice, my friend
was on his way to Luke Markham with
a challenge. 1t was accepted, and the
next morning two men who had never
seen each other were to meet in mortal
combat. / wrote to Alice, asking an in
terview, and that evening within q short
distance from her home We met for the
last time. Thirty-6ve years have passed
since | pressed the soil Of my native land,
and | am no more to view again its hal
lowed scenery, or enjoy the associations
and pleasures of my youth.
NV interview with Alice was of the
most painful character, and after rehear-
sing our old love, and trusting to the tu
ture for its perpetuation and recognition
we pledged for the first time eternal
fidelity to our trust. | informed her of
my meeting with Markham, at daybreak,
which she listened to in silence, re-
spending only by transferring from her
finger the ring which now lies in the hol-
low Of my hand. That ring saved my
life, my dear boy, though | have never
looked since upon the gentle face Of its
donor. At daybreak | met Markham,
aud after the preliminaries were arranged
/ gave him one look which must have
struck him to his soul, for his unmanly