St. Mary's beacon., 1861-04-04
LEONARD TOWN. MD" THURSDAY MORNING APRIL a. 1861

as the week pass and not bring ne my ac-
cus:aned litter.
Walter Lad been at home now for two
years, aud in that time had visited nie con-
stan;ly; yet We were onl ly friends: b. hat,
never by word or look iniimatsd that he
loved me lHore than brother might love a
sister. ut WAS the dearest friend | had
in the wollJ, and | did not dr.a,a
that any one would ever be -dearer
to me than he-my handsome.
my noble friend, l loved him With all
the intensity and ardor of my southerl ma
lure, though IS look back upon it now
twas something Of blind infatu.tion
mingled with an earnest love; for. Ike all
women Of my age anl xpercncc. closed
my eyes to the faults of the one loved. To
mc, he was al honor, all gcntltncs<, all puri-
II, all goodness. ! SAW no fault lii hinl-he
he was my ideal naver asked mysvlf
if hc rcciprocateI ny warm attcc!ous i,
seemed matter Of course, anl | acycr
doubted.
Twas five years ago-ive year, this
very day. am IN Old woman now. ia
all but years. ain very old; but was
young then; in the first bloom of woa.an-
hood. and Walter used to tell me | WIS
beautiful. may have been in his eyes, at
least he said SO, and believed all he said, ,
for he never deceived me.
The day had been warm and sul:ry, but
the evening was cool and pleasant We
had been taking of our childhood Walter
.,,,I 6 81, oil e,l.n,,1 1,o,,,., Al,
of the pale young teacher who now slept
in the churca yard; the sweet, patient crca-
turc who first led our trembling footsteps in
the path Of knowledge. We talked Of our
school mates and of ourselves: our pys
and sorrows, our pleasures and pains
Our VOICES were low and tender. and our
hearts We're sad. We walked up the
gravrllrd paths, Walter and |. and scood
i'll the shallow of the little arbor, bent be-
Meath its weight of woodbine and honey
suchlc.
believe I said before that it was twi-
light: the sweet breath of the June roses
periun,ed the air: no sound save the
sound OF the katy'lid and the chirp Of the,
cricket Broke the solemn Stiffness. We
stood there, silently, thoughtully, coil
muning with our own hearts Oh. how
memory wanicrs back to that evening of
happiness, forgetting the years of sorrow.
the dark years ot gloom that followed
overlooking The hopes and fear. the crush
cd spirit and laccratrd heart; forgetting
Ill the bitter tears. the agoniz,l PRAYERS.
the intense lungings for peace; forgetting
all tue events "f those five wears how
memory Tonight wandcrs back to that
hour of jov Twas then. in the pal,
glimncr Of the new moons light, that
Walter told me of the love of years. and
asked me to hc his wife placed my
hand III his anI promised to be his and his
alone. and hu drew he To his breast ami
blessed me with kisses an,; tears How |
loved hm-low trusted hiu.. Oh. if;
woman could retain that sweet confidence
in the hon"r AID love Of man-if she c,ul,,
but pass through life with that faith uu-
broken. -Alls. bitter and terrible i, the
lesson all must learn. that the human heart
is decciiiul above all things-that none are
to be trusted.
| was very happy for several months af-
ter our engagement: but all bright dreams
must have their awak' h.g, and SO had
mine. Walter caInc "!ic evening aud |
noticed that hc was unusually quiet and
thoughtful. He seemed so tender and
kind, yet so SAD. that | knew he was trou-
blcd. He was going away-going to
distant city t. practice law, and | would
be lef, alone. But | must BE- patient, for
was h. nor coming back in two years TO
take ne with him as his bride. Then he
would b. mille-ali mine-my Walter
my husband.
He left me one bright morning in Ocso-
bcr The sun was shining and the birds
singing, as if it were day for rejoicing.
ill nature seemed bright and happy: but
there was darkness in my heart-a dark.
gloomy foreboding. 1t seemed as if the
sun Of my life had set forever, and all was
dark But as time passed on and his lct-
tiers came, so kind, so loving, so earnest,
| was better r.conciled to his absence. and
looked eagerly and hopefully to the fu-
ture How I watched for his letters
those letters that were my daily food.
those letters that | lived on day after day:
they were aiw iys The saine-Warln, tender,
hopeful l was not unhappy. l was
patiently. eag:rly ~niting.
A letter ca,ne one day. about year af-
ter Walter went away. 1t ran a. follows:
'.Efie. darling, forgive me that | cause
you sorrow. cannot come to you penni-
less | will not claim your Eand until [
can give you lsfe's comforts and luxuries.
| have struggled here in vein. To-mor-
row sail fnr India. | write instead of
coming to you, for could not bear the
parting. COO willing, will return in
three years to claim you. God be with
you, darling. Forgive me, but never for
get your faithful
"WALTER."
Did you ever build castle in the air:
Did you see it fall to the earth and crush
beneath its ruins the love and hopes of.
years? Did you ever love. place ysur