The mountain Democrat., 1863-11-28
ANGLING FOR A HUSBAND.

letTeu 10 ouef thelr addresses. 1he cOnn
try was for her Teritable retreat; she
Stunned reunions and was only happy
IN soatuGe. The cfIurmS IF a chosen
circle, the pleasures Of chosen world
had for her no attraction and her favor.
4 ite recreation wa that of angling an
IA" uSement worthy Of an umfeeling wo.
man.
She was accustomed, every pleasant
day, tn station herself at the extremity Of
the lonely island Of Chaton, and there.
i wit her book in one hand and a line in
the other, her time was passed in fishing,
r, aiding or dreaming.
i A lover vito had always been intimi.
dated by her coldne$S, and who had never
venturrd on spoken or written decara-
lion, surprised her at her favo,ite pursuit
one day, whln he had come to the island
for the purpose Of enjoying n swimming
bath.
lc observed her a long time without
being discovered, and busted himself with
thinking how he might turn To his advan.
tage this lonely amusement Of angling
His reverigs were 50 deep and fortunate
that he at last hit upon the desired plan
- novel cx rdirnt, indeed d-always the
more successful with such women as pre-
/ tend To bc invuln,rable.
The next dav our amorous hero re-
turned to the island studied the ground,
made his arrangements, and when Mad
anne D. had resumed her accustomed
place, h. slipped away to a remote and
retired >heltcr,an after divcsting himself
OF his clothing, he entered the stream. -
An excellent swimmer and skilfu diver,
he trusted To hi, aquatic talents for the
success Of his enterprise. He swan TO
the end Of the island with the greatest
pr caution, favored by the banks and
bushes, which hung their dense foliage
above the water. In his lips was note
folded and sealed, and on arriving near
the spot where Madame D. was sit.
ting, he made dive, and lightly Seizing
the hook. he attached to it his letter.
Madame D., percelving the move
rnent of her line, supposed that a fish was
biting.
tic young man had retired as he came:
he had dnui,!cd the cape tha; extended
out into the water, separating them from
each other, aLd had rcSaIncd his spot
without tne least Iol>c III his Pa>>ag'' un-
der the willows. In. Il, ed was dnnc.
Madaine D. pulled IN her line, and
what was h'r surprise to observe dang
ling upon her hnuk, not the expected
fi>h, bat an unexpected lcttrr.
This was, however, tritli ,g; but her
surprise brcamc >tupt faction when, dc.
taching the bi'lct, she read upon lt-her
own name!
So, then, this letter she had fished up
was addressed 10 her.
This MAS somewhat miraculous She
was ahaiI. Her troubled glance >cruti
niZcd the surrounding space, but there
was n"iiinS to he see or heard all was
It'll aud lonely, h't' on land and water.
She quttci her sat, bat took away
t"ct'r5>eS .Ap SNnn ~ she y sfe cl,,>49s,>.
aI"'iv aud the paper Was dry-a pnvcI
p.ttc,iy ~~at,rIrnof aud written upon
with iudclhir ink k->hc unS, alrd tie let
tc' anl c"nn,. ucr it, py,u>al
d,ciIiatiun ut l"ve!' cried she at
the hl>t Morris. What in>n!ercc:"
StlI thc i">n.ct.ce had CONE tn her in
such hn cXuaprnluaiy mann,r that her
c"i">ity would not >niler her to treat
this lett t a. she had many "th'rs--riti.
>>ll bum it witE!ou' "a reading.
M, she read II qrtc through. The
lnv,r, who iatrd thi> letter from the bot
i"In al tic livcr. had skiliinI> adopted
tar aIlrs"'y, and intruduccd hlm>tit ~ n
.iUlr>qur iuiIahtniit of the waters. The
thhlr WAS gracefully mnnaScd, and with
the jr>tiug tome which he had aloptc,i
MAS mingcd Il true, serious. ardent srnti-
m,nt, expressed With beauty and elo-
qncncr.
The next day Madame D. returned
to the Island, not without emotion and a
trace OF fear.
She threw her line with a trembling
hand, aud Shuddercd, aS a moment after.
wards, she perceived movement of tue
hook.
Is it a FISH? Is 1t letter? 1t was a
letter.
Madame D. was no believer in mag-
ic-->'ll there was something strange aud
supernatural in all this.
She had an idea Of throwing the letter
back into the stream, but rclinqui>hed it,
The most stubborn and naughty woman
is always di>armcd in the face of mystery
" hich captivatcS their imagination.
The >ccoLd letter was more tender,
more passionate, more charming than the
first. Madame d. read it several
times, and could not help thinking about
the d. li:htiu norman that wrote such
bcW Witching letters.
On the ncZt day she attached her line
TO the bank and left it swimming in the
water, while she Withdrew to landing.
place at the extremity of the island. She
watched for long time, but saw nothing
Sne returned to the place, withdrew the
line-and thsre was the letter
This time an answer was requested.--
1t was rather premature; yet the aula
ciOuS request obtained full Success
The reply was written after some hesitn
tion, and the hook dropped into the wa.
ter. charged with letter that was in
tended to say nothing, and affecting a
sort Of badinage--which was, neverthe-
less, bulletin of victory gained over
the hard severity Of woman until then
unapprOachable.
Madame D. had too much shrewd-
ness net to guess that her mysterious
correspondent employed, Instead of mag
ic, the art of skiliul diver. ScrupleS
easily understood restrained her from
that portion of the bank VIII, re- she was
sure the diver would emerge from the
water.
But this game Of letters amused her,
and htr curiosity became 50 lively that
she wrote: Let US give up this jrSt,ng,
which has pleased me for the moment,
but should continue no longer, and come
with your apologies to Cha;on."
The lover answered.