Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1869-10-08
THE MAGNETIC PATIENT.
BY HARRIET PRESCOTT sPoFFoRD.
CONTINUED

There was positively nothing in the
child-a good girl rather than vicious
one-a trIViai, thoughtless tn ing,
though rather vain of her one gift, rath-
er angry with the world for not ac-
kuOWledgiUg il in a shower of gold she
had no b-auty except that of yOut b f,
and as lit le intellect as sue could get
along with. Nevertheless, there was
som thing interps, ing in the quaint
a unaccu-tOned accent with which
she spike aud Mr.. Knight, who had
always fancied himself a hsrd-heRded
man, but who was not in The least 10,
could not look at the intense blackness
Of her somewhat melancholy eyes
melancholy more from cOnfiguration
han sentimeDt-without having all
the tropics, with their beauty and
splendOr, cOnjured up before b m. He
nad never found the leisure from mOu-
ey-malxing to travel, but now all the
rom4nces of Italy and the ApenBines
seemed to have Travelled to him in the
shape of this salluw girl. His thoughts
dwelJ upon her as they had never dwelt
upon Hortense; his eyes followed her
with n different gaze from that with
which they we're used to follow Hur"
tense. The fact that she had memories
unfamiliar to him gave her an atmos-
Uhere perpetuaIly rare and strange,
and into which his imagination was
faS cInHfed to pHIlr1rate. de read this
and that poem to Felicita, who looked
up at him with her great moOny eyes,
but had no more comprehension of the
verses than if they had been Sanscrit-
but the eyes answered all the purpose
necessary. He told her countless small
sxueriences of his boyhnod and youth,
which he had never dreamed of recall
Il q for the enlightenment of HOrtense,
and the novel way in which they struck
he foreign girl m 4de them novel and
HI R,Nf II tn n q Inin
ed her, one morning following another,
in her little sunrise strOlls be had al
ways been an early riser. HOrtense,
though she saw them come in together
wet with the morning dew, never gave
he matter a Thought. By-and-by he
Iook Felicita with HIM day after day
upon his drives nor was there any
thing in that, either, htly to alarm Hor-
Geuse The exigencies of her household,
full of strangers, demanded too much
Uf her own time to allow her now that
I'D enjoyment of the long distances be-
ween the wool-fArms, with her hus-
uand beside her, high up on the noun
tain slopes alone, where she b d always
felt as If there were nobody but him
and herself in ali the world. Neverthe
! less, it did not disturb her the least tri-
| de that might be-she said 10 hersei
tnat she didn't like the appearances o.
such things /; but then FeiiciLa was for
|
ways over here. AS for blaming hel
/ husband 4! HOrtense would sooner have
j b amed the sun and stars. Now, then
/ it WIS Ftllcita with whom he paused
/ far up The steep height, to show her thu
\ ralnbOws spanning all a valley, thu
| uisLs breaking away in rose and aZur'
/ from silver mOuntain-peak, a hill-sid'
which lilted its lOng sheet of dewy tur
! 70 glitter like the grass which Dant,
saw AS green as freshiy-hroken eIner
| a DIS, till she might dec are her purp1
| heavens and tids1 less seas forgotten il
the sight. Sometimes they did not re
turn till the late night, and when tn
darkness of the mountain shadows an
the stars aud the strange stupendnu
compauIou in an Involuntary awe; HuT
tense then perhaps would meet her hus
| band at the door, with her Smilr- grow
little tremulOus, and at that Felicits
half aware that there was somethin
| wrong would pour out voluble excuse
for their drlentiun in her pretty broke
speech TIL Mr.. knight sllenced them
angered one atom by the tremulOu
~mile for the child was an innocen
md piuus body after her own fashion
| aud was quite sure within herself, O
would have been had she ever shape
the thought, that Mr.. knights maj
| riage, so far from being an impedimeu
her cOmPauionship, only allowe
her the greater freedom in it. Tim
after time Mr.. Knight saw Horrense re
htVlng FeIieita of her dew damp WraE
= pings aud gently murmuFlng to ht
some kindly pOliUeness, begging her NJ
, 10 speak of it, saying that she remen
btI ed how lagged the horses became o
the hard roads and how impossible
2 oasten. that night fell earlier now
time after time Mr.. knight saw the VI
noticeable little scene without KNOWN
mat he saw it but by-and oy, OF
I night. as he stood looking at il in i
. .ecurreuce, at his Wlfe's sad face an
F., Iistless movement, hearing her hal
: pathetic tones, he felt sudden dlslit
| Of HOrtense spring up like a pOisonOI
0 weed fuli-grOwn in his breast, and
+; turned away, his eyes full of bitterness
i calling her his jailUr, and saying th
: he hated her-ssying il silently, but
8 Intensely that it seemed as il she mig
u have heard IL in the loud beatings
d his heart that night the night long b
she heard no sound of it-she lay the
only remembering the look otthOse ey
full OF bitterness.
t'Yuu have never sung for me, FeliC
ta," be said, one twilight not long afte
ward.
For answer she rose and went dov
= the long room, one end of which t
sunset yet ilumined, but whose 9th
rnd was dusk in the rich glow of ear
evening" anu spAC0u W Wltu bio bIGdku
honey -suckle and sweet-brier climbI
round lis windows that opened on t
ground; and she drew forward a lit
way the great golden harp that b
BEEN provided against such ever
There were one or Two guests in t
sunset end of the room, but they we
occupied with each olher and
knight, full of strange fever of {
20 biood, followed Felicia and stood leH
ing against pedestal half dozen ste
: away, while her hand CLEANED in a
out tine strings, and sound arose Hs
The evening wind alone had brush
in between them, swelling till her Vo
as we led forth aud dwelt on sustain
bright of sweetness and sank aw
~ again in passionate minor tones,
which the tears themselves seemed