The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1868-06-28

passed from your hand TO mine, in,,'
continued the lady, and as you
walked along, supporting my ysteps, j
Ifthen, through my veil, distinctly.
saw your face and figure y 81
<. IN tigure!p said Fredefic, III
amazement. =, y',l ( y -. 4
Eyes, my friend, your figure; I, re-
turned his wife, ssit was to me- chat.
You gave aims on that night. It was
my Hfe-my honor, perhapswth
,tYou q mendioant--you,I SO young,
50 beautiful, and now SO rich, b cried
Eyes, my dearest eaa husband, h 2 re- :
Piled the lady, 81 have in nv life
received alms-once onlyAand from
you; and those aims have decided my
fate for life. .r,. ,.-,
Son the day following that mise
rable night, an old woman, in whom
I had inspired some sentiments of
pity, enabled me to enter as seam
stress in q respectable house. Cheer
fulness returned to me with labor.
had the good fortune to become
favorite with the mistress whom I
served, and, indeed, did my best,
by unwearied diligence and care, to
merit her favor. She was often
visited by people in high life. One
day, Sir James Melton, an English
man of great property, came to the
establishment along with party of
ladies'. He returned again. He
spoke with my mistress, and learnt
that I was of good family; in short,
learnt my whole history. The result
was, that he sat down by my side one
day, and asked me plainly if would
marry him.
Marry you'll" cried I, in surprise.
''Sir James Melton was man of
sixty, tall, pale and feeble looking.
In answer to my exclamation of
astonishment, he said: yes, I ask if
you will be my wife? I am rich,
but have no comfort-no happiness.
My relatives seem to yearn to see me
in my grave. I have ailments which
require degree of kindly care that
is not to be bought from servants.
have heard your story, and believe
you to be one who will support
prosperity as well as you have ad-
versity. I make my proposal sim
cerely and hope that you will agree
to it,
cat that time, Frederic" con-
tinued the lady, "I loved you. L
had seen you but once, but that
once was too memorable for me ever
to forget it, and something always
insinuated to me that we were
destined to pass through life togeth-
er. At the bottom of my soul,
believed this. Yet every one around
me pressed me to accept of the offer
made me, and the thou ght struck me
that 1 might one day make you
wealthy. At length, my main obiec-
tion to Sir James Melton's proposal
lay in disinclination to make myself
the instrument of vengeance in Sir
James hands against relatives whom
he might dislike without good
grounds. The objection, when
stated, only increased his anxiety for
10y consent, and finally, under the
impression that it would be, after
all, carrying romance the length of
folly to reject the advantageous
settlement offered to me, I consented
to Sir James proposal.
'This part OF the story, Frederic,
is really like a fairy tale. I, poor
orphan, penniless, became the wife
of one of the richest baronets of
England. Dressed in silks, and
sparkling with jewels, I could now
pass, in my carriage, through the
very streets, where, q few months
before, I had stood, in the rain and
darkness-a mendicant"
"Happy Sir James!' cried NJ. de
10 Tour, at this part of the story;
she could prove his love by enrich
ing you"
.'He was happy" resumed the
lady. "Our marriage, 80 strangely
assorted, proved much more conduc-
i've, it is probable, to his own COM
fort than if he had welded one with
whom all the parade of settlement, of
pin money, would have been neces-
sary.
"Never. I believe, did he for an
instant repent of our union. I, on
my part, conceived myself bound to
do my best for the solace of his de-
clining years; and he, on his part,
thought it incumbent on him to pro-
vide for my future welfare. He died,