The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1867-08-27

: ed to give my rivals little hint of m,
advantageous prospects.
l raised, therefore, somewhat the vel
which had concealed my modest conf
dence. But then came curious revela
tions My rivals, animated by my ex
ample, lifted likewise The veil from thei
respective prospects; and behold we al
three stood in precisely the same position
We all sighed; we all hoped we all ha,
souvenirs that we kissed in secret; and al
were, as it were, serpents, and bit thei
own tails
AT these unexpected revelations we al
exclaimed, "Ah" and left Grcendale to-
gether, each going his own way. My
fhher was little surprised TO see me re-
turn 80 soon.
"My dear Constantine" said he, 81
thought you intended to stay at Greendalc
a much longer time 7"
YES" | replied, with pensive air,
taking at the same moment large
monthful Of bread and butter; ''ycs but
l altered my mind when got there"
With this the conversation ended, and
the charm was broken, once and forever.
But with it was also broken one Ink out
of the rose time of my life. began to
regard all roses, whether real or typ fed,
with angry and suspicious looks. and to
speak of ''ihe illusions of life" and of
''giving them up" &c, &c. | made a
solemn vow with myself that the next OBJ
ject OF my affections, the next choice |
would make for my wife," should, in all
respects, be the very reverse of the fasci-
naIing but uaitorous Rose. had been
deceived, as imagined, by the poetry Of
life; now would keep to the sober
prose.
All in what noble form did my
new ideal present herself TO my eyes, AS
one evening | entered the hospitable sal
loon of Mrs A, the wife of the celia e
brated judge. Abba, her daughter, stood
ready 10 ofliciatc at the tea-tablc; her
features, her figure, her manners, were
dignificd and full of propriety. She look
ed like personlied Truth, in contrads
inctiun TO the fantastical, bcwitching
Rose. i instantly fell in love with this
beautiful image Of Minerva, and thought
OF 'ny wife"
Abba, however, seemed only TO think
of the tea, and looked neither t. the
left nor the. right. When tea was pour
ed into all the cups, she slowly turned
her splendid head, and heard, at the
same momcft bass voice exclaim,
"Sundholm !"
All! heavens! was that her voice 7
Was 1t not rather that Of the Angel Of
Jul cement. who in the middle of Mrs
As evening party. summoned the
sinner Snndhoim to hear his final doom
| could have believed anything, rather
than that such IA voice could issue from
the beautiful lips of Alba. But, when
bchcld Sunlholm advance TO the table
and receive the tea cups on his tray,
saw that the resounding bnssoon voice be-
longed to no other than the sweet lady
whom had just adored, and whom
had, in my heart, already called "my
wife"
1t required some little time before l
could reconcile my mind on this point.
''Sundholm!" sounded through my ears
for many long hour. l began to reason
on the subject. II, sail ], Nature has
bestowed bass voice on this beautiful
young lady, is it not noble and excellent
OF her not TO try 10 conceal or embcllsh
it! Docs it not prove her love of truth
her strength Of character, and her great
ness Of soul How easy 1t would have
been for her to cry "Sundholm !" in fall
setto; but she would not be false, even in
this! Not willing to assume disguise,
even for the sake of winning admiration,
she summons Sundholm in the voice
which God has given her. Is there not
something's grand in all this : One who
thus calls out "Sundholm !" will not de.
ccive an honest fellow with hollow words
or pretended feeling but will play an
open game with him, and let him under
stand the truth nt once.
was introduced to the handsome
Alba. There was no denying that the
voice was not fine but when you were
accustomed TO it, it ceased to be so very
disagrceable; besides which, her word,
were so simple and candid, and her face
so beautiful, that by-and.by was dazzled
My ears crept, as it were, into mi eyes,
and gazing day after day on ALlas fault
less profile, ! was conveyed at once into
the realms of love, and, ravished by my
sense of sight, asked Alba il she would
be ''my wife, She answered "Yes,"
with force of ultcrance that nearly
frightened me. We were betrothed. and
the nearer | gazed on her fine profile,
the more | was satisfied. This, however
did not last very long.
The period of betrothal is n very sin
gular one, period of hainess and incom.
p!eieness. Nevertheless il is a sensible
instituiion-whcn it docs not continue too
long. 1t is the prelude TO union that
nothing but death ought to dissolve; and,
If it should appear impossible TO execute
han moniously the duet which has now
commenced, there is yet time to break il
off calmly.
That we are all sinners in thought,
word and deed, is matter of fact, and
nobody was more willing TO admit il than
myself but 10 be reminded Of it every
moment, by ones best friend, is by no
means agreeable nor does it do any
good, especially when the nlnin sneaL ino