The mountain Democrat., 1864-03-19

under the loving care of his maiden sister,
she had never realized her loss. Then as
IL the general and his sister were not of
themselves enough to spoil any young
maiden, there was the generals nephew
and heir, Jack Walsingham, the best.na-
tuVed, kindeSt. hearted, easiest.tempered
fellow in the world, always putting him
self at the beck and call Of the little beau
ty, ready to think all she did was right,
all she wanted reasonable, and perpetual
ly asserting that, do what she could, and
want what she might, she was the lowell
est and dearest little lady in all the land.
Now, it was perfectly well known to these
two playfellOws that it had been the ear
nest wish Of their respective parents that
their orphan children should espouSe one
another in fact, they had been betrothcd
from an early age, though no penalty
awaited the breaking OF the engagement,
if either party earnestly wished t,far less
was any compulSion to be used in its full.
fllment. But neither party had wished
kind dhearted John Walsingham with all
her heart, and never more than when she
took it into her romantic little head that
his easy, unexacting affection betrayed a
want Of all corresponding love for her.
So, when the deed was done, and with
all the dignity and composure she could
bring to her aid, she had declared her firm
belief in the insuficiency or Jacks affec.
ton to render either Of them happy, and
consequently her refusal to fulfill the en-
gagement contracted for them-when
Jack had heard this, with an anaZement
that but Unqualified him to plead his cause
at all eloquently and had finally departed,
more astounded and incredulous than ac-
tually overcome with glief, Rosamond re-
tired to her own room, locked herself in,
and cried until she had made herself more
really i'll than she had ever been in all her
life before.
But she had to grid herself up, call up
all tnat faltering pride, gather up the rem
nants of that troublesome dignity, that
was not all natural to Rosie, and cncoun-
ter the surprise and concern Of the kind
general, and far, far worse, the wonder
and condolences of his sister. The gen.
eral saw all the pain IN the poor little face
when he opened the subject, and though
something sore on his favorite nephew s
behalf, yet with chivalrous and delicate
courtesy, he contented himself with few
words Of regret, and alluded no more to
the matter. But Miss Adamina, poor la
dy, was scarcely so forbearing; her Gu,
riosity and sympathy were both unbound.
ed and | attn sorry to say that Rosamond
more than once was moved 10 sharpness
and wrath, in putting to silence all ques-
tions on a subject that, in truth, touched
the poor little heart too keenly as yet to
render touching at all endurablc.
And so a week went by-a fortnight
a month spring days melted into summer
ones; Mannerdaile looked its best the
general placidly enjoyed the beauties Of
his fair dwelling. place; Miss Manners Wis
tied her poor, and drove her ponies and
received her select circle of friends; and
Rosie pined like bird in 4 cage, and
thought OF sweet summer days that were
gone forever. For Jack Walsngham came
no more to Mannerdaile. How could he,
indeed p though when Rosamond had
declared their engagement at an end, she
had said. also, something wistfully, that
that must mako no difference in their
friendship, of course. But Jack had seen
his uncle in London, and had said that on
the whole he must drop Manne''iaile as
his home for while he didn't think he
could see Rosie as yet with merely friend
ly feelings; and if he was not to copbib.
ute to her happiness in the way he had
always hoped, God forbid he should vex
her kind little heart by carrying the wo-
bcgone countenance Of a discontented man
into her presence. So Jack came no
more. There are some among US who
can realize all that bare fact was to Rosie.
Some Of us, ah how many, know what
it is to miss kind, cheerful, manly pres
erce out Of our daily lives. All the mu.
sic of that pleasant whistle, sounding
through all the house the welcome coming
of those light, firm footsteps, the dear IA.
miliar voice, the merry atfectionate talk,
the pleasant care of having Some one S
crotchets and whims to care for and laugh
at who does not remember theset what
woman, who has had brother OF lover to
think for. plan for, pray for, nnd-part
with? Those who have will know what
the house was TO Rosie when they had all
departed. o, that dreary silence O,
the loneliness of those long days when
there was no one to look for, long for, and
welcomed Not till he had gone did she
realize all he had been.
81 the summer wore on and that
spring day when she had told Jack Wal
SiGgham she would not be his wife, seem.
ed far away removed by such whole years
of regret and grief that it was almost as if
it had happened in another existence
Equally true it was that in this quiet
RoSamond was quite another creature
from the petted. brilliant light-hearted
Rosie that the spring sun had shone upon.
Neither the general nor his sister ever
mentioned Jacks name, and from shrink
ing at the thought that they might do So
RooamOnd came to pine for the sound of
it with wild feveriSh longing that shock
ed herself Harriet Beauchamp, too, had
gone to visit her friends in the north, and
though she wrote daily to her friend, was
much too indignant on her cousins be-
half to speak of him or his doings.
But there came certain Sunday when
Rosamond once more saw her old playfel-
low. 1t was,I am sorry to at church,
when, as RoSaDond chanced to turn her
head, she saw, with great upward bound
of the heart, Jack Walsingham in the very
act Of entering the church with the Da-
cres. l fear, though Rosamond imme-
diately bent her eyes on the book, that
thenceforth the sacred duty she was there
to perform was interrupted by many dis
tracted and rebellious wanderings. Tho
she never looked in that direction, some.
how she seemed to see without looking.
Ah, deari how did she become conscious
of the attentive aSsiduity Of Mr.. Walsing.
ham in finding Mrs. Dacres' place in her
prayer. book! She was confident she