The Republican journal., 1877-11-22
ga Perfect Treasure. ("

! Hdli, III llic way vi Il lltliSt. Ntldlt
! Temple is going to take his family tc
! Europe, and when he heard what you
wanted, offered to let us have their nurse
whom they will not want"
heard a low sigh Virginia, Frank
only sister, had been sitting in corner
Of the drawing room. She rose now ano
slipped out.
"How could you, Frank ." | said, fol
lowing her with sad eyes. ~ have never
heard your sister speak Of the Temples
since she has lived with us; the very
mention Of their name brings back the
memory of Gerald's brother, and all that
sad tragedy.
"a am sorry," said Frank, but ! did
not know that she was in the room. Poor
Virginia ~
"Ges Poor Virginia" :" | said to my
self. But once the loveliest little crea-
ture ever knew" 1t is something of a
story, but It's an Cover true tale" and
will tell it III the shortest way / can
Virginia and Frank We're orphans, and
old Mrs. Chichester, their grandmother,
had adopted Virginia almost from her in
fancy. The old lady had very ambitious
hopes of making a splendid match fol
her beautiful grandchid. But Virginia
thought different and when she was
seventeen, at the time of my wedding,
she and Langley Temple were insane
enough to fall desperately in love with
each other Langley was franks most
intimate friend, and the pair met contin-
uallv at our house, until grandma Chi
chester found it out. After Il while
Langley was ordered to his ship (he was
in the navy but Frank waged war
with grandma until he obtained Il viper
ish consent that the lovers might CORE
spond. Grandma took pains not to let
Frank know how Virginia was tormented
and tyrannized over, until the poor child
consented to go out into society again ::
and there she met and made ready con
quest OF the very man whom grandma had
intended for her beauty-HOrace Kent.
Virginia refused him but grandma said
scorntully, ''that made no difference, she
would come to her senses soon" and to
my utter amaZement, the hiOussc07t went
on, and by and by we were bdden to the
wedding a quiet elegant affair, where
Virginia walked and talked as if she were
frozen. Frank and | confessed to each
other that night, that the business passed
our comprehension, for We had no idea
then of foul play.
Kent and Virginia were to sail for E.u-
rope within fortnight of their marriage,
and went to Washington and Baltimore
to pass that time. Left alone, one even
ing in Baltimore, with a severe headache,
Virginia remembered to have seen some
aromatic vinegar in her husbands dress
ing case. Kent was peculiar in his care
ful way up locking up his belonging, and
she took her own bunch of keys to open
the box, when, rather to her surprise, she
found the key left in the box. Some list
less, vague impulse which she could never
afterward account for prompted her to
lift the upper tray, although she had found
the vinegar already. Underneath to her
surprise, she found papers, and was about
returning the tray to its place without fur
ther examination, when her eyes caught
the words-"My own Virginia" in a dear,
a too well known handwriting
When Kent came back that night. he
found his beautiful Young wife senseless
upon her bed, with two letters crnmpled
between her cold fingers. One, the last
letter Langley had actually written her,
the other, the base forgery, in which he
asked to be released from his engagement
Kent was not at all bad He loved he1
madly, and you may be sure that his sore
punishment began, when, after the ply
sician had brought her out of that death
like sWOon, the first words that came to
tone, which is far worse thOn anger, Were
Z
never"
They came back to New York for a
single day but Virginia saw no one but
her grandmother, The old lady, upon
her deathbed, raved of that interview,
and vainly implored her forgiveness tol
urging Kent on to his treachery. The
newly welded pair sailed in the Inflated
ship which took fire off the coast OF Nova
Scotia, and whose name still carries ter
ror to many a heart. Virginia was one
OF that handful of survivors; her unhappy
husband fought for her place in the boat
and remaining behind himself, persisted
with the ship, The agony Of terror, the
| long night which she spent at the mercy
of the waves, proved too much strain upol
her already overwhelmed frame, anC
!
| graph to her at Halifax, where she lay
for days unconscious with a brain fever
And then, to add to her misery, when re-
covering, she was thrown into a nearly
! fatal relapse by seeing accidentally thai
| the Tecumseh had gone down, in the at
| tack on Mobile harbor, with every sou
on board. The Tecumseh was Langley
ship.
Virginia came to live with us about two
years before the commencement of IN,
story. She seemed to feel a sorrowful re
morse about her husband, which was no
| grief. and yet it cast Il shadow over hel
| life. ''lle was treacherOuS and false, sht
said to me one day, "and he broke ny
heart-but what right have | to judge
him. Harrie, | told him | would neve
forgive him. and he died thinking himsel
untorgiven." OF Langley she never spoke
Well, the ''pertect treasure made he
appearance. She was a rather young
woman with a pleasant, low voice, anC
very good manners for one of her station
| was charmed. Certainly this girl seemed
determined to please me she cid hel
work in faultless, neat way; she amused
and played with the twins; and baby hat
more quiet nights than have known hin
to have for weeks. SO, after month
trial, | began to sing Alice's praises, and
allowed her full control in her depart
ment, with a good many privileges Nir
ginia, alone, did not seem to like her
Virginia had a curious way of looking a
new faces, a searching, penetrating glance
that always thought had a sort Of mes
merism in it, all the stranger because he
eyes were so gentle and soft. Alice neve
met the look fairly, as | remembered
afterward.
1t was in the spring of IS. The closin2
scenes of the war were crowding thicl
and fast upon each other Virginia KEEP