The St. Cloud journal. [volume] (St. Cloud, Minn.) 1866-1876, 1870-09-22


a. NO. TO-.
ish regard for appearances at the bot
tom Of her heart. She had not lived
long enough to estimate the ,compara-
tive unimportance Of such tribute:
And, 10 truth, TO all young people ap-
'pearauces are important. The coia is
still current in the Empire Of Youth.
It rapidly loses its value in the Repub-
lican Of Middle Age. p -
Next day, when Armar. came, he
said that his picture had come home
from Sir Georges i; the colors, which
he feared were fading already, had Ger
tainly revived, since Sir George had
sood-naturedly vanished it for him.
There are all sorts of Wedding, and
marriages ; it would take mary pages
to register them, from the marriage Of
true minds to that Of couple of mon
ey-bags, sometimes the bride aud
and bride groom are two masked dg-
ures, tricked up and disguised, 50 that it
would be hard to say which is the most
deceived in the other sometimes it is
a living creature united to a shadow.
Have you ever known man married
to doll? He chose her out, and paid
for her. What a sweet face it is!
What high-bred calm! And then,
again, come: the happy lovers, two aud
two; as they pass before the high al
tars, the long white wells Of the brides
sweep along the gray aisles Of the
churches their happiness lightens up
the taces looking on. Then, perhaps,
some blooming young girl comes up,
bringing a crutch and a bronchial
wheeze and it now and then happens
that youth appears, leading wig Of
false plaitg, a set Of artificial teeth, and
half a century Of bones to the altar.
The disparity is not SO great as you
might imagine. There may be heart
beating still beneath all these adjust
ments, while the bridegroom, for all his
youth and good looks, has not one
single drop Of warm blood in his
body. So, bad, good, and Indifferent,
they pass on their wav. Sometimes it
is. Peace and Goodwill who go by hand
in hand. What does it matter if Good
willis beard is grizzlcd, and Peace has
crow's-feet round about her loving
eyes? =? Sometimes it is Pride and Vain
glory, that go sweeping past down the
long church, out into the churchyard
beyond. They are fine-looking COUP
lie as they sail along, and the look to
see their reflection in the eyes Of the
bystandsrs. Sometimes-aud this IS ne
very strange phenomenon-it is only
the past of one Of the contracting par.
ties that is united to the present Of the
other. They find it out too late.
[ 1 do not know what sort OF marriage
this was'between Henry Armar and 1sa-
bella: < He loved, and she hoped that
she. should love him. Often enough,
these are materials to make up life's
;happiness; ; but it depends upon the
lives and the people who live them.
Hope and faith are not enough as We
know, by themselves, and I think char
ity must have been wanting in Isabel
las heart. She had none absolutely
!or her lover. She could not help her
self: Day after day she used to meet
Armar. She felt merciless. All his
kindness and gentleness only seemed
to repel her more. Aud yet she meant
to be good and to be grateful, and she
struggled hard against herself:
Lady B., seeing Isabella so ner-
vous and out of spirits, thought that .
little gayety would be good prescrip-
tion, and proposed to take her to a ball
with her own daughter, who had just
come out. Flowers, music, diamond
ladies, dancers floating by in rhythm,
what a good medicine for nerves and
hypochondria! 1t is poison it taken
in large quantities, but single dose
now and then acts as wonderful elk
ir.
Was this Isabella =. Henry Armar,
who came late to the ball, could hardly
believe it as he saw her floating up to
him on her partners arm. She was
draped in white, light, and radiance.
d aer race was illumined with happiness;
her breath came and went; her hands
trembled little still from the exertion
Of dancing. All the music seemed re-
Aected from her sweet eyes. She could
scarcely stand still; her whole, heart
seemed in the dance, keeping time to
the strains Of the, musicians. They
E~e ere playing I. cheerful vulgar tune
that was ia vogue. in !. those days; il
was called "The Grecian Bend; aud
though il il did small credit to the taste
Of the musical critics, it jigged, on in a
a gay, dancing, irresistible measure, a
dactyl-and-spondee sort of tune, that
carried the dancers away with it like
leaves before the wind; flying,
floating, laughing, turning, as the great
white rush swept by. IL.
"Come-O, please come aud dance,' y
said Isabella, imploringly, to Armari