The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1869-12-25

at nIi enjoy her plum-puislng. We think that
Mary did enjoy hers thoroughly. She made u
little speech to the mattress of the house,
praisinS ourselves with warm words una tear
iiil eyes, and Immediately won the heart of II
new friend She allied herself warmly TO our
daughters. put up with the sciiOol-boy plcasan-
tries of our sons, and before the evening was
over was dressed up Ms ghost Tor the umusr-
were brought In to play snapdraSon. Mrs.
Grcslry, as she drank her tea aud crumblcd
her bill OF cake, seated on Il distant sofa, was
not so happy, partly because she remembered
her old gown, and partly because our wifi, was:
stranger 10 her. Mary had forgotten both
circumstances before The dinner was l,l over
She Was the sweetest ghost that ever WAS seen.
How plcaslnl would he our ideas of departed
spirits IL such ghosts " Juld visit us frequent
~! q.
They repeated their visits 10 ,s not unirc-
q'irntly during The twelve months ; but az the
whole interest attaching TO our Intercourse
Had reference To- circumstances which took
place in that cdi Urial room OF ours, il will not
he necessary 10 refer further to the hours. very
pleasant Ia ourselves, which she spent will us
In oiir domestic life. She was ever made wei
come wien she came, and wils known by us as
dear, wcll-brcd, modest, clever little girl.
The novel went on. Tla; catalogue OF the
skeletons gave us more trouble Than all the
rest. and many were the tears which Slln. shed
over IL, and sad were the mis;,vinSs by which
she WAS afflicted, though never yanuuishcd !!
How was IL 10 be expected that II girl OF
eighteen Should portray chnractvrs such us she
had never known? In hrr intercourse with
the curute all the intellect had been on her
side She hatl loved him bccauseit was rctiiii-
sit. TO l.cr To love some one ana ..ow, as she
had loved lih, she was Is true rs slcr to him.
But there had been almost nothing for her TO
learn from him. The plan oil the novel went
on, and as II did so we became more and more
dcspondrnt rs 10 lis success. And through IL
all we knew how contrary IL was to our own
Judgment TO expect, even 10 dream OF, any
thing but i;lilnrc. Though We went nn work
Ing with her, finding il IL be- quite Impossible
TO resist her cnircatics, -" f;d tell her from
day TO day that, even prcsmming she We're en-
titled to hope for ultimate success, she must
go through an apprenticeship of ten years
before she could reach il. Then she would
sit silent, REFRESHING her tears. .nd search
ing for arguments with which tu support her
| cause.
Working hard is apprenticeship she said
To lls once.
,,o,6 "YcS, ,.,6; Mary; M but the work win be
| wholesome, If you will take them for what
they are wOrtf.'
~ shall be dead In ten years" she said
''If YOU thought so you would moi intend TO
that such would bc your fate, how can that al
ter the state OF things The world will know
nothing of that; and if 1t did, would the world
bny your book ont of pity Z"
I want you to help me-" So we went on help
Ing her. At the end or four months she had
not put pen TO paper on the absolute body of
her projected novel; and yet she had worked
daily nj Il, arranging lis future construction.
VIII.
During the next month, when VIC were in the
middle OF March, n glcam of real success cumc
to her. We had told her frankly that we would
publish nothing Of hers in the periodical which
we were ourselves conducting She had be-
come too dear to us for us not to feel that
were we 10 do so, we should be tloip.r H.
rather for her sake than for that of our
readers. But we did procure for her the pub
iicaiion OF two short stories elsewhere. For
these she received twelve YSiincas, and 1t
seemed TO her that she had Rlnd an I'll Dora
do OF literary wealth. I shall never forget her
ecstasy when She knew that her work would
he printed, or her renewed triumph when the
first humble check was given into her hands
There are those who vii! think that such Il
sOrslid. For ourselves, We are ready To ac-
knowledge that money payment for worl, done
Is the best and most honest icei OF Success
We are sure that II Is so felt hy young birris-
trrs ana young doctors. and We do not see
why II t'oicine OIL such realization of long
cherished hope should be more vile with the
literary aspirant iban with them. "What do
you think I'll Ito first will IL ?' she saI. We
thought she meant 10 send something TO her
lover and we told her so. ''l'll buy in.linna 3,
bonnet to 30 to church In. didn't tell you
before, but she hasn't lrcn these three Sun
days because she hasn't one Ill ~ TIC seen"
changed the check for her, and she went of
and bought the bonnet.
Though was successful for her in regard TO
the two stories, could not 20 layond that
We could have filed pages of periodicals with
should Work Without fh nGn ElnE Sic She nar "c
sell was anxious for such work. thinking that
1t would lead 10 something better. But we op-
posed Il, and, indeed, would not permit II, he
licring that work SO done can be scrvlccablc
to none but those who accept it that pages may
be A.lcd without cost.
During the whole winter, while she was thus
working, she was In q Stale of alarm about her
lover. Her hope was ever that when warm
strong. We know nothing sadder than such
hope founded OH such Il source. For does not
the winter follow the summer, and then again
comes the killing spring? At this time she
which he seemed to speak of little but his own
health. In her literary ambition lie never
seemed to have taken part since she had de-
clarcd her Intention of writing profane novels
10 he In his truth TO her. He told her that In
his opinion they Two were as much joined to-
gcthcr as though the service OF the church
had bOund them; but even In saying that lie
spoke ever Of himself and not oil her. Well,
May came, dangerous, doubtful, dccctllll May,
and lie was worse. Then, for the first time,
the dread word, consumption, passed her lips.
Il had already passed ours, mentally, a score
would like 10 do. Would she desire TO 20
down to norscishre and see him She thought
awhile, and said that shc would wait lille
longer.
The novel went on, and at length, in June.
she was writing the actual words on which, rs
she thought, so much depended. She had
really brought the story Into some shape in
the arrangement OF her chapters; and 'sOlnc-
times even began 10 hope. There were mo-
Inents in which with her hope was nj
most certainty. Towards the end of
June Mr. Donnc declared himself TO be
hetrcr; He was to have holiday In
August, and then he intended to run up
to LOndon ai,i see his bctrothed. lie still give
details, which were distressing to us, OF his
own sympt oms;' but II was manifest that he
himself was not despondlng, and she was GOV.
by him. But when August came tho period OF
his visit was postponed. The heat had made
him weak, and he was to come in September.
IX.