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

dawned upon the, before long, that hel
self-righteousncss md want Of charity tC
others was, indeed, one Of the creates
conceivable faults. One fine day, there
fore, l told her my mind, in good earnest
terms, and the following duet occurred
between us
She.-I cannot be otherwise than am
1t you do not like me you can let IN,
alone.
LII you will not be amiable toward
me, must cease to love you.
Me.-That is Of no consequence.
can go my own way by myself.
$50 can I.
She -Good bye, then, sir.
L-Good bye, Miss A.
"Ihank Heaven it was not too late T.
thought l to myself, as, after my dismissal
L fastened to my little farm in the coun-
try. Although this abrupt termination
OF my second love affair caused but little
pain to my heart, | felt considerable NOR
tiiication and secret hostility sprang up
in my soul toward the whole female sex
1t happened, however, very luckily for
me, that while remained in this state of
mind l met with one of my neighbors
who was precisely in the same condition
lie had been for some time divorced from
wife with whom he had lived very un
happily, and he drove about in his sulky,
upon which he had had motto inscribed
in golden letters:
at is better TO be alone than he l-,ccompanied ~
The sentiment struck me as very cI
celent, and my neighbor and often met,
and agreed admirably in the abuse of the
ladies. In the meantime | occupied
myself with books and agriculture.
l have great esteem for books, and |
bow myself 10 the dust before learning 1;
but,l know not how it is, further than that
cannot 90 esteem and venerstion I feel, =,
but assuredIy my affections never grow in
that soil My love for agriculture took
me forth into Nature, and Nature is love.
ly. But Adam was uneasy in paradise,
and did not wake TO life and happiness
until Eve came; and !, who did not pos
sess paradise, found myself very lonely
and melancholy at "Stenbacke." Trees,
after all, are wooden and dull things
when we crave for human sympathies +;
and echo, the voice of the rocks, is the
most wcarlsome voice | know. No!
heart to heart. eye to eye, that is the life.
and to live together, happy and rural
life, to work for the happiness of those
who depend upon us-to regulate the
home, 10 live, to think, to love, to rejoice
together. ALI "my wife still stood
wildly before my Imagination.
My experience in the realms of love
had, however, made me suspicious
feared that could never be happy ac-
cording to my ideas of happiness. which
my neishbor friend characterized MS
''reposins in the shade of pair Of slip
pers." l was in low spirits; and accord
ingly one day, after having finished the
last OF six'dozen Of cigars, and quarrellcd
with my neighbor, who bored me with
his everlasting and dolcful TRADES against
the ladies, | set off in my own sukey to
amuse myself by good drive.
drove considerable distance to the
house of an old friend, vino had been a
fellow student with me at the Military
College at Carleberg, and who had often
invited me to visit him. lie was now
married, and was, in fact, the father of
eight children. A large family, thought,
at first; but not one too many, said TO
myself, after single day spent IN this
family, which had given me the impression
OF II heaven upon earth.
The mistress of the house, the wife
and mother, was the silent soul of all.
at is she-it is she, who is my happiness"
said the fortunate husband but she said,
1T is he; it is he."
"My dear friend" said | to him one
day, show have you managed to be so
happy in your marriage p
"Jh," replied he, smiling. 81 have
secret to tell you"
"a sccrctl for goodness sake what is
ity
"From my youth upward" he replied,
81 have prayed to God to give me good
wife"
YES" thought to myself, 'that is it.
Here am | unmarried, because | have
never discovered this secret. | may not
venture to choose my wife"
A younger sister Of my friends wife
lived in the family. No one would have
been attracted to her for external charms,
but short time brought you completely
under the spell of her kindness, the intel
lectual expression of her countcnance,
and the cheerful friendliness OF her man
ncrs All the household loved her she
was kind and amiable TO all To myself,
however, it seemed that there was an
exception thou.ft her somewhat cold
and distant, but was almost sorry when
perceived that she was grieyed by this.
A short time convinced me that | had
really fallen in love with this young lady.
There was, however, "a great difference
between this and my former love alta RS.
Formerly. l had permitted external
charms 10 lead and blind me; now, on
the contrary, / was attracted TO the soul,
and its beauty alone had captivated my
heart. But why then was 50 excellent a
soul so cold toward mel
My friend said that it was because
Maria had heard me represented as
tickle young fellow one who amused
himself with broken alliances. Righteous
Heavens! was that indeed one of any