Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1871-01-04

t0rily asserted her to be second Jane
Austen. They wondered | hadn't read
this of hers" aud wished had read that Of
hers,' until felt quite annoyed at their in
fatuation. " Richard and you look upon her
as quite light in literature" | said, sarcas-
ticaly. "What a pity the connection
couldn't have been made closer one between
you"
{" 1t never could be closer" the eldest
Miss Leicester said, rather coolly; she is
like sister to us ALL"
"Indced from what Richard confessed
this morning should not have supposed she
had been always quite like sister to him."
| said
" confessed !" they chorused.
" Yes, confessed" | replied, with a lit
tic bra ado. 1t was daring thing to tell
me, wasn't it, considering we are only just
engaged, that he asked her to marry him
once p
" Oh but, IIelen," one Of the girls said
with most ill-adyiscd candor, papa wouldn't
hear Of il :"
" So it was only " papa not hearing Of it"
that reserved Richard for me-" | said, saw
agely and they all seemed at great loss
what answer to make me for few moments
Then one of them, smitten with happy
thought" said
Richard quite feels that it was all for
the best now
could not bear it, 1t stung me to rage
and fury, and such pain as | had never felt
before, to be cooly told that resignation con-
cerning his fate was the principal feeling Of
my lover, of the man whom had believed
10 be as wholly mine as ] was his. | could
not bear it. astonished all those affection
ate sisters and wel.conductcd young women
by such burst Of tears and anger and dis
appointment as drove them in a frightened
flock to their mothers room, whence she
came presently with the following crumbs Of
comfort
My dear Helen what is all this I'm
shocked Lily would be the last person
in the world to interfere with your happi-
ness !"
" Bother Lily" cried fercely.
"Oh now, now, Helen, this Is foolish.
Why, it was over long ago"
But | can't bear to think that it ever
was begun, or that it ever existed | said.
" He ought to have told me about II it
was mean to deceive me.
Richard could not do any thing mean,
said the mother in arms at once.
And I'm sure Lilly would have zone be-
fore you came if she had thought you'd be
put out in this way" one Of his sisters urged,
injudicously.
And she's going tomorrow" sa,d another,
as if her going" did away witt the wrong
she had done me in ever having been loved by
Richard Leicester. No, no. He must love
me " not at all, or all in ALL" | felt that all
my happiness depended on his proving that
he did this latter thing within the next few
days.
The next morning, as pcrverse fate would
have it, something occurred to detain Miss
Bray, and to delay her journey to town. 1t
was some wretchcd triflc-some letter foi
which she was bound to wait did not arrive
[ bclievc--but, at any rate, this was the re.
suit She staid on at Welby Hall, and all
the inhabitants thereof were evidently de-
lighted that she did so stay on.
Before that day was over | ceased TO won.
der at his having loved her, she was so Iowa
Bile, so quick, so clever so charming and
graceful and pretty. loved her myself
though | called myself fool for doing so
But she wound herself abont one so, ant
amused one, and pleased ones eye. More
over, she was so independent in her friendless
ness that bowed down before her superior
womanhoOd before we had been many hour
together
Nevertheless, was supremcly wretched
] Ihar4a xsftl,it, f.r
that there would never be a marriage between
Richard and me, and loved him very dearly
But my love did not blind me it only con
fused me- and rendered me uncertain for
while. lnstinctvely | shrank from his ca
resses now. Not that he was slow to ofe
them, or that he offered them coldly, but some
thing within me said they were not offered b,
my future husband.
And if this result, of which | had pre-
sentiment, came about, should have u pain
ful ordeal to pass.
A painful ordeal quite Independent of m
own sufferings-quite independent Of m
wounded heart and mockcd and wasted love
My parents were very tenacious about m
dignity and their own. If it transpired tina
must appear before tho world, as Que slighte
and rejected by Richard Leicester, the woun
would not be suffered to heal very speedily.
| could not feel sure Of anything that wa
what rendered me SO exquisitely miserabl
and uncertain. If | could only have felt sur
that Richard loved her better than he love
me now, would have renounced him I
once. But could not feel sure of this, f
her conduct towards him was always so fran
and cousinly that he was forced into a core
ponding frank and cousinly manner in retur
| ceased utterly to sneer at her as blu
stocking when learned how the brave hear
cd young girl had preferred to utilize Il
talent God had given her, instead Of pande
ing to an oil mans whims who offered
, make her his heiress if she would only Ii,
t with him, and yield him the obedience of
7 daughter. He was rich, and he was nei
relative, and the world would only ha'
: counted the orphan worldly-wise if she hi
3 sunk down in the Castle of Indolence in viii,
a he would have lodged her. But she cho
the harder part of battling single-handed
d the great fight the army Of the professors
literature are always making against no
$ success and oblivion. "The many fail h
u one huCcSuus. Cuc ndu succeeded, Ml
f many a snub from fortune and publishers "a
reviewers. The great public had set the Sc
Q of appreciation upon her. and it was in va
4 that carping critic Ia rival novelist and
a failure probably pronounced her, in o
Q paragraph, to be "absurdly untrue to nature
I and "ridiculously realistic" Her boo
q were read and liked though men whose ov
II grammar was very loose declared that, q"
| all the canons of art and grammar and 60
Q taste, they ought to drop still-born from t
press" She neither dealt with bigamy, n
. murder nor the breaking of the seventh CO.
. - mandment, and yet her novels were to the f
as interesting as are any of those in viii
these dainty and delicate subjects are sery
I up with piquancy.
,cl Well for three or four days | went
- liking her and respecting her against my ol
. wish. She was staying on at Welby Ha
- waiting for check from publisher to ,
y able her to stand the expenses of her Lond
~ campaign She would accept no pecunia
assistance from her uncle andaunt but wpl
:, Just " bide her iime," she said, and her " 81
T would be sure to come home at last
IA T.. A. q 4 n 9.