The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1871-11-10

.
things, so that the victory in n grea
thing was not so difficult.
) "Marquis d'EntremOnt," he said
; breaking into his room, "you mus
not go away. You love Priscilla
, You have everything-learning, mon
; ey, travel. I have nothing"
'Nothing but a good heart, which
have not" said d'EntremOnt.
~ will never marry PRISCILLA" said
Henry, "unIess she deliberately chOOs.
es to have me in preference to you"
My readers will say that this Incl
dent, oftwO men unselfi-h in an affair
of this sort, is impossible. / should
never have written it but that this
incident is fact.
To this arrangement, so equitable,
the Marquis consented, and the mat
ter was submitted 10 Priscilla by letter.
Could she love either, and if either,
which? She asked week for delibe-
ration.
Ii was not easy to decide. BY all
her habits of thought aud feeling, by
all her prejudices, by all her religious
life, she was drawn toward the Ieace-
full and perhars prosperous life that
opened before her as the wife Of Henry
Stevens, living in her native village,
near TO her mother, surrounded by
her old frien Is, and with the best OF
Christian men for husband. But by
all the clamOr of her intellectual ma
ture for something better than her
narrow life-by all her 10y in the con-
versatiOn of d'EutremOnt, the only
man herequal in culture she had ever
known, she felt drawn to be the wife
OF the Marquis. But if there were
roses, there were thOrns in such q
ath The village girl knew that
| MdCidHiC {u MltrqHjSe must lead a life
very different from any she had
! known. Sine must bear with hus-
| band whose mind was ever in state
| of unrest ana skepticism, and she
must meet the great world.
In truth there We're two Priscillas.
There was the Priscilla that her neigZ-
bors knew, the Priscilla that went to
| church, the Priscilla that taught
| Primary School No. 3. There was
| the other Priscilla, that read ChaUcer
aud Shakespeare, MOliere and De
| Stael. With this Priscilla New Ge-
neva had nothing to do. And it was
/ the dOubleness of her nature that ag-
| gravated her indecisiOn.
Then her conscience came in. Be
cause there might be worldly attrac-
tions on the one siie, she leaned to
the other. To reject "a poor suitOr an /
accept a rich and titled one, had
something of treason in it.
AT the end Of Il week she sent for
them both. Henry Steveus's flat
boat had been ready to start for New
Orleans for two days. And Chaiieau,
Lafort & Co., were expecting the Mar
quis, who was in some sort ward Of
theirs. Henry Stevens and the Mar
quis Antoine d'EntremOnt walked
side by side, in an awkward silence,
to the little vine-cOvered cottage. OF
that interview do not know enough
to write fully. But | know that PIis-
ella said such words as these
"Thi5 is an awful responsibility. ]
suppose a judge tremb.es when lie
must pass sentence of death. But j
must make decision that involves
the hsppiDess of both my friends and
myself. ! cannot do it now. God
does not give me to see my duty clear
ly, and nothing but duty should speak
in making such a decision. Will you
wait until you both return in the
spring? / have reason that | can
not explain for wishing this matter
postponed. God will decide for me
perhaps"
do not know that she said igst
those words, and know she did not
say them all at once. But 50 they
parted. Aud Miss Nancy More, who
Tetailed ribbons aud scandal, and
whose only effort at mental improve
ment had been the plucking out Of the
hairs contiguous to her forehead, that
she might look intellectual-Mis
Nancy More from her lookout at the
window described the two friends
walking away fIom Mrs. Haines's
cottage, and remarked, as she had
often remarked before, that it was
absolutely scandaliOus for a young
woman who was 6 professor TO have
two beauX at once, and such good
, friends, tOow
have noticed that gifted girls like
Priscilla have q background in some
friend, intelligent, quiet, restful. Anna
POindeXter, q dark, thoughtful, and
altogether excellent girl, was some
times spoken of as "Prisciila's
double; bur she was rather PrisciIla's
opposite; all her gifts were compile
mentary to those of her friend. The
two were all but inseprable; and so,
when Priscilla found herself the next
evening on the hank of the river, she
naturally found Anna with her
Slowly tie flat-boat of which Henry
Stevens was owner and captain drifl-
ed by, while the three or four men at
each long oar strobe back and forward
on the deck as they urged the boat on.
Henry was standing on the elevated
bench made for the pilot, holding the
long "steeriug-Oar" and guiding the
craft. As his manly form in the
western sunlight attracted their at
tentiOu, both the girls were struck
with adm ration for the noble fellow.
Both waved their haDkerchiefS, and
Henry returned the adieu by swing
ing his hat. So intent was he on
watching them that he forgot his
duty, aud one of the men was obliged
to call out: ''SwiDg her round, Cap
tain, or the mail-bJat I'll sink us"
Hardly was the boat swung out of
the way when the tall-chimneyed
maii-boat swept by.
''See the Marquis" cried Anne, and
again adieuz were waved. And the
Marquis stepped to the guard and
called out to Henry, "Pll see you in
New Orleans,n and the swift steamer
Immediately bore him out of speak
ing distance. And Henry watched
him disappear, with choking feeling
that thus the nobleman was to out
strip him in life.
"Seem said Anne, "you are a lucky
girl. You have your choice; you can
go through life on tEe steamboat or
on the flat-bOat. OF course you'll go
by steam."
"fhere are explosions" said Pris-
ella. Then turning, she noticed a
singular expression on Annals face.
Her insight was quick, and she said,
"Confess that you would choose the
fiat-boat" And Anna turned away.
"Two strings to her bow, or two
beaux to her string, / should say"
aud she did say it, for this was Miss
More's comment on the fact which
she had just learned, that Miss HaiDes
had received letters from "the lower
country" the handwriting Oh the di-
rections of which indicated that she
had a6vices from both her friends.
But poor Miss More, with never
string, might be forgiven for shooting
arrows that did no harm.
There was time when Priscilla
had letters from only one. Henry
was very sick, and d Eutremont wrote
bulletins of his condition to Priscilla
and to his family. In one of these he
was beyond recovery, and Priscilla
and Anna mingled their tears tOgetn-
err. Then there came letter that he
was better. Then be was worse again.
Aud tuen better.
In those days the mail was brought
wholly by steamboats,, and it took
many days for intelligence to come.
But the next letter that Priscilla had