Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1871-03-16
THE.BR0KEN.REaRT.

'l- ''.'-'s AT never heard
OF anv true aHsotion, but twas nipt
with care,,tbat, hke.the caterpillar eats .--
The leaves of the springs sweetest book, the rose
.'>-f"e - MIDDLETON.
It is common practice with those
who have {oautived the susceptibility Of
early feeling, or have been brought up
in tho gay. heartleasness Of. dissipated
life, to laugh at all love stories, and to
treat the, tales of romantic passion as
mere fctionss of noyelists and poets. My
observations on human nature have in
duced meto think otherwise. They
have convinced me that however the
surface of the character may be chilled
and frozen.by the cares of the world
or cultivated into mere smiles by the
arts of society, still there are. dormant
fires lurking in the depths of the cold
est bosom, which, when once enkindled,
become inpetuous and are sometimes
desolating Ii their effects. Indeed, /
am a true believer in the blind deity,
and go to- the; full extent of his doc
trrines. Shall I confess it? I believe
in broker. hearts, and the possibility Of
dying of disappointed love. do not,
however, consider it a malady. often ia
tai to my own sex; but I firmly believe
that it withers down many alovely wo-
man into ,anrearly grave. Man is the
creature ofdnterest and ambition. His
nature leadsshim forth into the struggle
and bustleoof the world. Love is but
the establishment of his early life, or
a song piped in the intervals Of the acts.
He seeks for fame, forfortune, for space
in the worlds thought, and dominion
over his fellow men. But woman 8
whole life is a history of the affections.
The heart is her world it is there her
avarice seeks for hidden treasures. She
sends forthsher sympathies on adven-
ture; she embarks her whole soul in the
traffic. of affection; and if shipwrecked,
her case i, s.ssrcc':5svfor ssr it is bankrupt
cy of the lleart. .
To a man, the disappointment of love
may occasion some bitter pangs; it
wounds some feelings of tenderness
it blasts some prospects of felicity but
he is an active being ng-he may dissipate
his thoughts in the whirl Of varied oc-
cupation, or may plunge into the tide
of pleasure; or, if the scene of disap-
pointment be too full of painful associ-
atoms, he can shift his abode at will
and taking as it were the wings of the
morning, can fly tothe uttermost parts
of the earth. and be at rest.
But woman's is comparatively fix
ed, secluded, and q meditative, life.
She is more the companion of her own
thoughts and feelings; ); and if they are
turned toAuinisters of sorrow where
shall she look for consolation? Her lot
is to be wooed and won; and if urhap-
py in love, her heart is like some for
tress that has been captured, and sack
ed, and abandoned, and left desolate.
How many bright eyes grow dim-how
many so,t cheeks grow pale-how many
lovely forms fade away into the tomb,
and none can tell the cause that blight
ed their loveliness As the dove will
clasp its wings to itsside and cover and
conceal the arrow that is preying on its
vitals, SO is it the nature of woman to
hide from the world the pangs of wound
ed affection. The love of q delicate fe-
male is always shy and silent. Even
when fortunate, she scarcely breathes
it to herself; but when otherwise she
buries it in the recesses of her bosom
and there letsit cover and brood among
the ruins of her peace. With her the
desire of her heart has failed. The
great charm of existence is at an end.
She neglects allthe cheerful exercises
which gladden. the spirits, quicken the
pulses, and send the tide of life in
healthful currents through the veins.
Her rest is broken-the sweet refresh
ment Of sleep is poisoned by melancho-
ly dreams" dry sorrow drinks her
blood" until her enfeebled frame sinks
under the slightest external injury.
Look for her, after while, and you
find friendship weeping over her un-
timely grave, and wondering that one,
who but lately glowed with all the
radiance Of health and. beauty, should
so speedily be brought down to " dark
ness and the worm" You will be told
of some wintry chill, some casual indis-
position that laid her low; but no
one knows of the mental malady that
previously capped her strength and
made her SO easy prey to the spoiler
She is like some tender tree, the pride
and beauty of the grove-graceful in
its form, bright in its foliage, but with
the worm preying at its heart. We
find it suddenly whitening, when it
should be most fresh and luxuriant.
We see it dropping it's branches to the
earth, and shedding leaf by leaf, until,
wasted and perished away, it falls even
in the stiffness of the forest and as we
muse over the beautiful ruin, we strive
in vain to recollect the blast or thun-
derbolt that could have smitten it with
decay.
I have seen many instances of wo-
men running to waste and self-neglect,
and disappearing gradually from the
earth, almost as if they had been ex-
hailed to heaven and have repeatedly
fancied that I could trace their death
through the various declensions, Of con-
cold, debility, languor, mel
ancholy, until / reached the first symp-
tom of disappointed love. But an in
stance of the kind was lately told to
me the circumstances are well known
in the country where they happened,
and I shall but give them in the man
ner in which they were related.
Every one must recollect the tragi-
oo1 ctorv of vonnp E.. the Irish