The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1860-12-06
An anteresting storn.
nv FIRST LOVE-

handsome man than otherwise In tact,
whatever may have been the opinion OF
certain of the cnvious and malignant, L
had myself nc doubt whatever on the
subject. I was not rich, it is true, but my
family was as old as the conquest, my
father-a baronet, and myself q cornet OF
dragons
I have no doubt that the generality OF
people would consider my position-ex-
cepting the fact of possessing an elder
brother-an exceedingly enviable one.
They are mistaken. A younger son with
an estate strictly cntailed is no such cn-
viable parsonage after all, as he himself
soon discovers.
Still L was happy 1t was Christmas
time, and Lady Maria Templcton was on
a visit to my mothers and sisters.
1 never did and I-ncver shall again see
such beauty as hers 1t shed light as she
walked. She was dazzlingly fair in siln'
and yet her ha>> was black. She was
tall, light and sylph-lilSc! and yet no man
could venture to call her any other than
a naughty beauty. But her eyes, talk OF
eyes of most unholy blue, of sapphlres
boaming with gem-lilSc sparlSlcs L know
not what to compare hers to.
There was my. brother Tom, the heir to
the baronctcy, Fanny and Mary, Lady
Maria and myself. She was our cousin
and an heircss-
She has five thousand a year This l
did not know at the time, or possibly
much that followed might not have oc-
curred. I was not old enough to be a
fortune hunter, while my pride would
have prevented the chance Of my falling
in love under circumstances which might
have made me suspected. But l did
though, and up to my very ears.
Tom was hearty fellow, fond OF ms
gun and his dogs his horses and hounds
and not averse to indulgence in those
Bacchic revels which, even to this day,
are not unpatronizcd by somo of the gen
tlemen of England. He was, have
heard Also the terror of rural SWANS ana
the admired Of every lady within ten
miles of Courtney Chase. But even he
was struck by Lady Maria.
] met her at eventide. We had met
before. often. but as mere children, when
wehad quarrelled and made it up, and
been fast friends and bitter enemies with
in an hour. But now she was lovely
woman, and I q cornct Of Dragons.
I never was SO taken aback in my life.
Young as 1 was, 1 had put down the I'M
pcrtinence of one or two older men, who
thought they had caught green hand.
| had made decent figure at mess, and
club, and Almack's, and generally, in fact,
was supposed to know thing or two.
1 had stared lady once out of countc-
nance at the opera, but when [ stepped
up to Maria to compliment her, as every
body else was doing, I blushed, stammer-
ed, and finally II ended in my mattering
something about happy-ncxt dance"
aCertainly," said Lady Maria, in the
most unaffected manner in the world,
taking my arm as she spoke. =" Now,
don't look SO wo-begone, Mr.. Thomas, or
L shall laugh. So Harry you are in the
army. Why don't you come down in
uniform, spurs and all?"
There was something so easy, SO whm-
steal, so bantering in her tone, that
could not help blushing up to the eyes.
Was that merry, delightful laugh with
me or at ?, For the life of me I could not
tell. a.s.,.
"You are aware, Lady Maria," I began
in a somewhat stately tone, "that, unless
upon State occasions, wo dispense with
our uniform as much as possible
"Oh, yes, Mr.. Cornet Harcourt," she
replied, II am fully aware Of the etiquette
of the thing; but then 1 thought-you
were SO new to it-that you might like to
make sensation for once"
For once! I, the handsome man in
"ours,' to be talked to in this way, and
by little girl who year ago had been
in pinafores Icould not reply on the
instant, and so pretended to pull my
gloves on.
We. danced. AS we moved to the soft
cadence of the music, my heart began to
beat with unusual rapidity. In the dawn
of manhood, while the feelings are fresh
and virgin, when everything on earth ap-