Union County star and Lewisburg chronicle. [volume] (Lewisburg, Pa.) 1859-1864, 1863-10-30
BEAUTY.

1t was plain lace. Wy eye ie"'S~
unon it for a moment or two, and then
wandered away to the countenance OF
another maiden whose beauty ravished the
eyes of every beholder; and as l gazed
with feeling of delight upon its trans
scending loveliness, an impulse of thank
fulness stirred my hesrt-thankfulness to
the Creator of beauty. The first maiden
sat alone; around the other stood group
of admirers. So marked contrast be-
tween the two, as well in features as in the
impression made thereby, excited, first,
something like pity for her whom nature
had endowed So poorly and l turned to
look at her again with kinder feeling.
There she sat, all alone. Yes, her face
was plain, but it did not strike me as re-
pulsive. The mouth, which had nothing
of the ripe fullness that gave such an en-
amoring grace to the other maiden, was
placid; and though not encircled by a
perpetual wreath Of smiles, it calmly ell
throned the gentle spirit Of content. Her
eyes were small, the lashes thin, and the
arch above them family visible. Arch !!
l can scarcely give it that graceful desig-
nation. had not yet seen the express
ion Of those eyes. AS l looked toward
her, with that strange consciousness Of
observation which all have remarked, but
which few can explain, she turned her
eyes from another part of the room and
looked at me. They did not flash brill
iantly, nor strike me, a. the first glance,
as having in them anything peculiar.
| They were the common eyes We meet at
every turn-no soul in them. l give my
first impression. My second was differ
ent. l had turned my eyes away; but
something had seen caused them almost
involuntarily to wander back to the maid
ems face. A friend, whom ] highly re-
garded, had crossed the room, and was
standing before her. They were conver-
sing, and watched for some time the
play of that countenance, unattractive no
longer.
"Ahw said 1, "there is beautiful soul
within that casket."
And as spoke thus, in the silence Of
my own thoughts, l looked toward the
other maiden, who was still surrounded by
crowd of admirers.
"Her beauty is wonderful I could
not help the utterance of this tribute to
her charms. Yet scarcely had l spoken
the words, when she turned to one Of the
group which had gathered about her, a
slight curl of unlovely scorn upon her lips,
aud threw at him an arr0wy word that
wounded as it struck. She saw that it
hurt, and CLEAN Of pleasure went forth
from her eyes.
A flmy veil came between my eyes and
/ that countenance, which but little while
before had shone upon me with lowell
ness that was absolutely enchanting. l
turned again to the other maiden. Ny
friend still stood before her, and her eyes
were lifted to his face. She was uttering
some sentimcnts-what, l did not hear
but they must have been good and beau
tiful in conception, to have filled every
lineament with such winning grace.
"Ah." said l, the real truth drawing
upon my mind, "here is the inner, imper-
ishable beauty. The beauty which, in
stead of losing its spring time freshness,
for ever advances toward eternal youth"
A few week later, and my friend COM
municated to me the intelligence that his
heart had been won by the charms of this
unattractive maiden. Once he had been
worshiper at the other shrine-the
shrine of beauty-and knew that, only
few months before, heart and hand were
ready to be offered. Accepted they would
have been, for he had personal beauty, at
tractive manners, wealth, and, above all,
manly, honorable spirit.
"You know her well, l hope" I could
not help the utterance of this caution.
"She is not thought to be beautiful" he
replied, seeming to perceive my thoughts
"indsed, as to features, she is plain; yet,
in person she is tall, graceful, dignifed,
and with carriage queen might envy"
This was true to the letter. l had not
thought of it before. Nature had given
at least this compensation.
"But the higher beauty" he added, "is
of the soul. All else is soon diminished.
Scarcely has the blushing girl stepped for
ward through the opening door Of woman
hood, ere we see the lustre of her blossom
ing cheek beginning to tarnish in the So
cial atmosphere or to pale from hideous
disease. But the souls beauty dims not,
wanes not, dies not 1t is as imperisha-
bic as the soul is immortal"
"If she possesses this beauty?"
"I know that she possesses it," he an
swered, warmly. 81 have seen it looking
forth from her eyes, wreathing about her
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