The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1868-10-28

.3-~ Deiiverance from the punishment, ~ a.
L Than full deliverance from the sin.
| weep because cannot weep sstss,s.-
Over these cherished sins of mine
sassaA And pray, because 1 cannot pray,
/ Notmy rebcllious will, but thine!
4 sapa i. [From the Chimney cornerl
A Dream Of Love. i
Was ever an ything SO lorely-so entranc
ing ?'.'' a9as'- .aa=a ssaa Ts g
It was a.picture, hans ing above The mantel
piece Of my dingy little room in the Greer
Lion Inn Of Thorpe Olney-a name not sci
down on the map of England A lovely
| picture evidently a portrait representing
young girl with laughing, hazel brown eyes
a saucy, exqpisitely curved lip, golden brown
Aais, rippling about white and rounded
neck and shoulders, and a nose and chin that
| might have belonged to Venus, % It was the
perfection Of physical beauty yet the chief
| charm lay in the expression, in the girlish
| grace of attitude, half proud and half CO.
qucttish, and in those eyes, macking, yet in
| wiling, which, the more I looked at them, the
more, deeply they seemed to sink into my
soul, stirring its depths as never yet they had
been stirred. Never yeti; and | was, now
two-and twenty. aesaA9i zoilaf14e}
I sat therein the lazy summer afternoon,
looking at the picture. I might have taken
| it for a fancy sketch, but for a certain sober
reality of detail, which, together with the
style of painting, hard and exact, marked it
the work Of an artist.not given to flights OF
fancy Each wave Of the golden-brown
hair seemed to have, been exactly copied, and
thetold of theSdress, and the figure Of the
rich lace about the neck arms, were as correct
ly represented IS though to serve as model
copy. =. ss.sg 55
The frame, too, was one Of those heavy,
solid affairs which one sees upon the walls .of
family picture galleries in old English coun-
try houses. Clearly, the picture was a por-
trait-a family portrait, probably !; but whose /?
and how came it here in this obscure inn /?
and, if living, how old was she now? Had
she married? And at this question / was
conscious Of a strange jealous pang, and a
wondering thought of what kind of a man
could have been the blessed possessor Of so
much beauty and fascination | was startled
atmy own feelings and it occurred to me
that, for the first time in my life, I was in
love-in love with picture
True, I, a secluded student had always
been called dreamy and visionary but that
it should have extended to this, passion for
picture, as though it were living thing
surprised even myself.
must, however, fnd out something about
this beautiful vision. For some days this
had been MY determination, and yet l felt
half ashamed or afraid to inquire Of any one,
lest my secret should be suspected.
But now, as sat in the j. chintz covered
armchair opposite the fireplace, while .anold
woman knelt on the hearth, industrously
scrubbing and grinding the red brick tiles
with piece Of broken brick dipped in wa
ter, it occurred to me to inquire of her,
Yet, sought to approach the subject in a
cowardly, roundabout way. soy x@.s
aHard work that, dame" said ], sympa-
thizingly. ut must tire your arms, should
think e5
stNo, it don't," answered She shortly.
"You seem very strong and active for one
of your age" resumed I, hastencning to cor
reet.myself, in tone Of insulting Aattery.a
aHump!' With an expression of contempt
sHave you lived here long ?" pursued L,
carefully feeling my way. i--s's
what do you call long ?"
Y sob, say about ten or fifteen years ?"
"No,''
Clearly could getnothing out of her by
these wild advances, so [ made bold plunge
s.That is a beautiful picture. Do you
know whose it is Z" III
elbow should I? Nobody here knows"
And she scrubbed and ground harder than
e or, 50 as to efectually put a stop to any
further conversation on my part.
looked at her then, for the first time
Hitherto had scarcely noticed her, except
to observe vaguely, as she occasionally enter
ed my room for some putting in order, :" that
she was past middle age, and forbidding in
look aud manner. ;sa5 ~ I'll.
L had instinctively Stunned her, SO that
until to-day no word had passed between us !;
but now, looking at her, l noticed that she
was tall and thin and stiff, with hollow eyes,
no teeth, and skin like sallow and shfiveled
parchment, strangely wrinkled about the
eyes and mouth. A few scanty, half-griz-
lied locks escaped from beneath her cap, and
her dress was of the coarest material and
sc antiest pattern. .sg
X A more uninviting object could scarce be
imagined; and Iturned from it with a sentis
ment Of dislike approaching loathihg.-s
Then, looking again at the picture, in its
fresh, laughing loneliness, i thought how
strange that two Of the same sex could be So
unlike. IS
When she was gone, I took down the paint
ing and examined it. There was 70 sigma
ture on. the face of the canvas, but upon
turning it, l saw, boldly written in chalk,
the name, &c, .Hipkins.
B Hopkins! what a name to be associated
with my lovely ideal !! For that it was her
own, could not for an instant fancy. This
young girl was ST., the scion Of some noble fami--
ly, for. only one Of high birth could boast
that air Of distinction which had struck me
on first sight Of the portrait. y