The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1866-12-22
LONG ENGAGEMENTS.
BY MRS. ANNA CORA RIroIiIE.

g "Whc the heart surrender confirm
n the blushing promise quickly at tn
affairs foot" is the nd uration Of ever
enamored suitor, eager for the clima.
Of the wedding ring.
y But the maiden who reflects will re
= spond with no hasty "amen' to tina
fond prayer Reflect Does not Kin!
Obcron still walk the earth, perform
ing as fantastic and amazing !eats wit!
q his magical flowers AS in the days o
+ Bull y Bottom? And did woman eve
reflect after the fairy monarch hat
" stolen upon her slmbers, and pressed
u the juice Of his purple blossoms upol
her folded lids? The portals Of hci
heart open with lcr eyes, when the lat
ter have once received the tonch %
that mystic flowers touch, and the cycl
take in and the heart cnthrones the
first being looked upon.
Let him wear what shape he may. he
is transformed and glorilled to her viz
! ion by loves glamour That moment
reason is unccremoniously sent out O.
doors. In vain she clamors to bt
, heard, and warns the infatuated fair one
against precipitancy; in vain she re-
= minds her that her happiness is more
easily periled than mans; that her sus.
capabilities are keeucr; that her SUI.
icrings will be greater; that her risks
, are q thousand fold more numerous.
Love fashions fools cap out Of his
madrgals, to bind it upon Reason s
brow, and from that hour sic passes
for Folly. ........
/ Goldsmith's Citizen Of the World
quantity remarks that Marriage has
been compared to Il gene of skill for
life: il is generous, then, in both parties
ito declare that they are sharpers at the
beginning. In England, AN told,
both parties are very apt to conceal
their defects from each other before
marriage, and the rest ofthcir lives can
be REGARDED as doing pcnance for their
dissjmulation.'
Is tAis Il malicious slandcr, or only a
rudclY expressed truth Are not
lovers, all the world over zcalously en-
gagged in cheating each other? Does
not the very state Of mental eXhalation
Iprodnccl by IN absorbing affection,
give birth to an unprecedented de
ception? Nay, has not love, in the
dawn Of is existence, 4 bcautitying in
iIuence upon the whole constitution Of
Il mans soul Are not common place
minds elevated and rendered poetic by
its refining power? What, thea, must
he It's effect upon spirits Of fine mould 7
TIE period Of an open, prosperous
hctrothal is the hlossoming season Of
life, The sun Of pare passion calls
forth the larcst ilower5 upol every
tree, and the air is filled with the me
lody of birds, caroling joyful promises
from their branches In the sunshine
OF bright Illusions, the cXhiIarating
atmosphere oralterna.c hopes and fears,
the heart glows aud swells, and takes
in all creation with unwontcd tender
ness; the duilest prospects are tingcd
with orient hucs; the simplest incidents
communicate Il thrill! Of joy; nature
puts on her gala dress, to welcome the
enamorcd pair, wherever they wander,
and shakes down odorous. tribute up
on their heads from every bough.
And it is we'll 1t is better for the
soul, even when love is misplaced, to
give u boundlc5s devotion, than to en-
tortain u tame affection for an object
worthy Of the whole wealth Of the
heart.
The man Of her choice is always q
hero to the woman who loves heartily,
and her fond fancy invests him with an
abundance of captivating attributes,
which possibly have not the most
shadowy existence out OF her imagina
ton. On the other hand, Shakespeare
tells us that, to men, 'wOmen are an
Gel, wooing." But, o! the bitter dis
cnchantmrn', If, in the glare OF lly-
mans torch, the ideal charms vanish
away, the mantle Of glory falls from
the hero's shoulders, ard the "angcl,
at whose shrine the lover dcyoutly wor-
, shipped, stands before him II most ter
restrial being, full Of tailiug3, wants,
caprces, inconsistencies. Unconscious
ly his eyes must then forget
''l'hc gentle ray
They wore on coirt,hip's smiling day"
His voice must lose
The tones that shed
A tenderness round all he said.f
The roses of her bridal chaplet mus
withcr, and leave martyrs crown o
thorns upon the brow they had enc;r
clcd. ...
The probation of long engagement
is the sIrcst talisman against this rud,
dissolving Of the spell that surround.
lovers. During the interval, their va
rious phases of character are revealed
by unforeseen chanccs--by lifc's inevi
table mutations, and, being discovered
at this blissful period, when no life
slackles make endurance compulsory
even grave faults and temper trying
peculiarities are readily tolerated and
excused. Mental angularitcs are worn
away, and rounded off to Il grateful
smoothness, by the attrition of constant
association. Their souls become at
timed to the same key, The indispen-
sablc-lcsson of mutual forbcarance is
conncd bctimcs.
Love has leisure allowed him to build
his temple upon the rock ofperlect trust
which no storm can shake. The flash
ing flames ofchhusiasm, by which its
shrine was illuminated ut consecration
are gradually replaced by that steady,
holy light, which iiercest gales cannot
extinguish.. Good spirits have whisper.
ed to tie wife elect that she will need
Marthas executive hands AMI Mary S
approaching soul to keep those altars
swept and garnished, and have mnrmur-
o1 l., 1k,r ,ortnar'c nn th nt he IN IISt rpiUn