The weekly north Iowa times. [volume] (McGregor, Iowa) 1857-1867, 1863-08-19
McGREGOR, IOWA, WEDNESDAY, AUG. 49, 1863

L, AUU' IL, Il
full. All" he added, II have found, in.
deed, . treasure! Morning and evening !
thank the good Giver, that he opened my
eyes to see deeper than the unalluring sur.
face. was dszzed once by q glittering
exterior; but have clearer vision now"
! swim her, and wear her, thcn," replied,
"and may she be to you all your fancy
pictures"
| "She is won," he answered, land shall
wear her proudly IN the eyes of all men,"
| There was a world of surprise when it
became known that my handsome friend
was about leading his chosen bride to the
marriage altar.
How could he throw himself away upon
such an ugly creature p said one coarsely.
''He might have taken his choice from
the lovelest," remarked another.
| "He will tire of that face in month";
All the gold Of Ophir would not bribe me
to sit opposite it for one year."
! And so the changes rung.
But my friend knew what hc was doing.
I was present at the wedding.
"If she were not so homely r. heard
lady remark, as she stood beside her hus.
band. "What can he see in her to like"
turned and looked at the speaker. Ma
ture had been kind in giving her an xttrac-
tive face; but the slight curl of contempt
that was on her lip marred everything. ]
glanced back to the young brides counte.
nance her soul was shining through it,
like light through veil. 10 me, she seem
ed more beautiful than the other, and far
more worthy to be loved.
The brilliantly beautiful maiden Of whom
| have spoken, gave her hand in marriage
about the same time. Her husband was a
man Of good character, kind feelings, and
| with q sufficient income to enable them to
live in = style Of imposing elegance. A
| series Of gay parties was the social welcome
given to the social bride. But such honor
did not attend the nuptials Of her palmer
sister.
A few years later. and the spiritual quail.
tiles Of each were more apparent in their
faces. l remember meeting both, in COM
pany, ten years after the marriage. I was
standing at one end Of the room, when an
overdresscd woman with snowy face, came
in, accompanied by gentleman whom
knew, not as an acquaintance. but IS man
Of business and the husband of tho beauty
[ would not have recognized her but for
him. What change was there At q
distance, the face struck you as still beau
tiful, but on closer view the illusion van
ished. The mouth had grown sensual. and
| ill.natured; the eyes were bright, but the
brightness repellcd rather than attracted
After while, wondering ut the change, l
drew near and entered into conversation
with her. The music Of her voice | re-
menbcred. There was no music in it now,
at least none for my ear. A certain abrupt.
ness in here manners, born Of pride, or
snperciliousncss was to me particularly
offensive. tried her on various subjects,
in order to bring out some better aspects Of
her character. The Swedish Nightingale
had just been here and had sung to my
heart As no living man or woman had ever
>ung-I spoke Of her. "Too artificial"
was the reply, with an air Of critical vanity.
that gave tu my feelings ripple Of indig
nation. l referred to new poem. admir-
able for its purity Of STYLE she ccldly re-
ma, ked with depreciation on some Of its
special beauties, merely rep, ating, as !
knew, a certain captious reviewer. ! was in
doubt whether she had read even page OF
the book. Then spoke Of lady present.
She tossed her head, and arched her Zip.
saying, She's too fond Of gentlemen's s
attentions"
| varied still my efforts, but to no good
purpose. The more | conversed With her
the less beautiful became her face, for the
unloveliness Of her true character was per
petually cleaning through and spelling the
already sadly marked features. LETT her
side on the first good opportunity, glad to
get away. Ten years ago. in all companies
she was the cynosure Of every eye. The
praise Of her beauty was on every lip. Blu,
so changed was she now, that none bent to
do h.r reverence. / noticed her sitting
alone with discontented look, long after
had left my place by her side. Her huS.
! band fer all the attention he paid her dur
ing the evening, might have been uncon
scirus Of her presence. -
But there was another lady in the room
who was all the while the centre OF an nd
miring circle. None, perhaps, considered
her face beautiful; yet to every one who
looked upon it came perception of beauty
that associated itself with her individuality
In repose her features were plain, yet moi
repulsive in tho slightest particular. Blu
; when thought and feeling flowed into them
every eye was charmed. There was :
, nameless grace in her maner that gave he
additional power to the attractions Of be-
countenance. .-'
, was half in doubt, at first, of her iden
tity, as gazed upon her from distant par
Of the room; she looked, in my eyes, s.
really beautiful. But the presence of m,
old friend in the group, my old friend wh'
had been wise enough to prefer beauty o
, soul to beauty of face, removed all questions
! and passing over, | added another to tn
circle which had gathered around her.
There was nothing obtrusive in her con
: versation, nothing Of conscious pride; bu
! calm, and, at times, earnest utterance o
true sentiment Not once during the even
ing did hear word from her lips tina
' Jared the better feelings.
J 1.-THE good are beautlfulr' Many time
! did this sentiment 6nd spontaneous utter
! anoe in my thoughts ~ looked upon her
! and ,hea turned my eyes to the discomfort
ed face If another, who few years before
carried of, in every company, the palm o
loveliness.
Yes, here was the imperishable beauty
Maiden would you find this beautyr N
$ matter If your features were not cast il
P classic mould higher, truer beauty may b
D yours if you will seek for the denial Of sci
fishness, and the repression Of discomfort
4 The good are beautiful" Lay that up il
your thoughts. Treasure il As the mos
sublime wisdom.
/, Gather into the storehouse Of your mind
sentiments Of regard for others; and le
J your hands engage in gentle charities. T
do good and to communicates. forget not; ]
tempted to. urmur, think of your man,
blessings; II to repine, Of tho thousand
who are sick and in suffering. Be humble
gentle, forgiving, and above oil useful
These are the gracss that shine through
the outer covering Oi the soul. and reyes