The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1869-10-13

| oeautiiui ouI pia1Dly 0reeSr0 girl WIN
would have been the, "star' Of Mrs La
cour's party that night if;she had bee,
attired in silk instead Of muslin. II,
remembered the little circle that gath
cred at the farther end Of the room, an.
the isatirical remarks which were mad,
upon the quiet little figure whose fac,
wore such an expression of pain--tl,,
wonderings by that regal beauty Mis-,
Stanley, chow. Mrs iLacour ever cam,
to invite that creature to her magnifi.
cent entertainments" He also remem.
bered that he had been one of that cir.
Gle, and that the naughty Miss Stanley
never failed to appeal to him to corrob-
crate her views. It was rather, embar-
RAISING, especially as the quiet bui
scornfnl smile Of Cora Beverly's lip, AZ
sho bent over her work, assured him
that she had understood it all. iydG /
q, That was an evening over to be re-
membered." he said, with feeble at
tempt at the vapid ofattcry which was
fashionable in his "setH r.o
Eyes, to be remembered truly ,o,i
Was there covered meaning in her
words, that he shrank away from. the
glance of her dark eyesf Perhaps 90.
I ! did not 60 that night, said Brandon
idly pulling apart tho petals Of a erin rim
son rose. Marvin-iie is a Judge in
snch matters, l belieye-he informed
me that it was remarkably pleasant
evening" III sss6
Especially pleasant. / amused my
self with reading what is generally
termed the varied pages of human ma
ture, AID some Of the pages were equal
" new and interesting.
Another covert thrust. Marvin be-
bame decidedly restless and uneasy.
She saw the effect Of her words, and,
with true womanly pity, she quietly
turned the tide of conversation into
another channel. For tue next half
hour Brandon listened to the welfare
of playful wit between the two. Mar
vim had always been esteemed the wit
Of the circle in which he moved, md he
sustained his part we'll; but Cora Bev-
erly was dazzling, brilliant. Marvin
soon discovered that hers was an intel.
lect of no ordinary scope, One mo-
ment she conld be gentle and enchant-
ing, next the playful warfare Of words
flashed ont dazzling. Once, when he
tauched upon the condition Of the
South, she looked up with flashing
eyes, and replied with an eloquent out
burst of enthusiasm that astonished
him. He struck the master chord, and
every pulse of her heart thrilled into
life. When is it ever otherwise with a
Southern womanf Her usually pale
face was burning crimson !; her eyes
sparkling ominously through the star
ting tears.
let US turn from this, If you want
pleasant Conversation" she said, shud
deriugly, after a short pause: at fires
my whole being. It renders me wild.
ly passionate. 1 never dare to touch
upon this subject. as9 n
Marvin listened as she went on, un-
til Brandon unwillingly reminded him
that they were infringing on an en-
gagement. They rose to depart. Miss
Beverly gave her hand to Brandon, and
bowed; somewhat coldly, he thought,
to Marvin, and then stood and watched
them as they rode away from the gate.
sis the ordeal over Cora7n asked a
gentle voice, and a kind hand was laid
on the girls shoulder.
eyes, mother, it is over. have tri-
umphed. l have convinced him that
there is an excellence in the world of
which he never dreamed, which he new
er noted, because it cid not come fortf
ROBBED in silk and satin-the mental ex-
cellence: His ridicule of the OTHER
night, which l overheard, stung me to
the very soul. do not know how l
controlled myself. Now Henri Marvin
may pass on, and act his own vapid
part in the word, fluttering, moth-likc
around the glarc with which Maud
Stanley surrounds herself: Let him
go. / am amply revenged. I-havc
Taught him that there is a glory in in
tellect which the world cannot equal.
There was quite q difference between
his snpercilions sarcasm, which he bes.
towed on me the other night; and the
respectful bow with which no left me
this evening. When, when will man
arise from this worship of wealtIl--this
accused thirst for goldin
Her speech was energetic. and even
passionate. Her mother looked down
into her faco with an involuntary sigh.
~ fear that you will be disappoint-
ed in Your search, my Cora,'' she said
The girl tnrncd hastily away, and
bent over ageranium to hide her start
ing tears. s.
us Maud Stanley, beautiful, Coraa''
"She is what the world calls beauti-
fdl. But I cannot admire the face
which only lights up to the empty nat