Mexico weekly ledger., 1877-02-15

Oh! said Aunt Deborah, what a multi
tude of people are content to live their
lives in that little range of delusive
glass, till it drops from the weakened
hand and lies a mass of brittle frag-
ments to lacerate the feet of the wan
derer On his weary pilgrimage into the
shadow and the darkness!
There came n day, continued Aunt
Deborah, to this Princess a Prince of
manly form and noble heart, who
wooed her in the tender poetry of an
honest love; but she took not her eyes
from the glass. Yet the music of his
voice "a sweeter than the minstrels'
lutes, and there was truth in the trem-
ulous accents that fell upon her ear. If
she cast her eyes upon him for a mo-
ment, it was only that they might daily
with his as a spoiled child dallies with
its last new toy. When the Prince had
tarried many days, said Aunt Deborah,
with a sigh, his heart fell sick of love
and disappointment, and he vowed ne
would 90 over the silvery sea to mourn
to secret his unrequited love. And
when he hoped. deep down in his heart,
that the Princess would by look or word
bid him tarry, she gazed in her glass,
and was too busy scanning her own
beauties to mark the love-lorn anguish
in his eyes.
And the gallant Prince sailed away,
and the minstrels played on their golden
lutes, and the jeweled courtiers flat
tered as before; but a change came
over the pretty Princess. She missed
the music of the Princes voice, and,
missing it, she was sad. Every day the
glass reflected a sadder face. The
bloom faded from the velvet cheek, and
tears would sometimes blind the soft
blue eyes. And then theface in the glass
began to reproach her, and she felt the
folly of centering all her heart
upon a fading vision; and then,
said Aunt Deborah with q ~suddenness
thatmade my little heart leap,she drop
ped the glass, and for the first time say
that the world was beautiful beyond.
The eyes that had been confined to the
limits of the crystal now roamed in
freedom over the aUteous land, and
the heart that had been blind now
found sight to look out farther still
away over the silvery se~a-straining to
catch the first glimpse of the home
bound ship as it should rise above the
horizon; but it did not come. And for
days and years she looked for the bark
that should bring back her gallant
Prince, and the shattered mirror of her
selfshness and pride lay at her feet;
out he did not come. And, chastened
by painful longings, she found sympa-
thy for those who longed and hoped and
suffered, too, and thus she sorrowed
with the sorrowing and lightened the
burden of the poor; but the ship came
not, and she still strained her eyes over
the silvery sea.
"Aunt Deborah, what makes you
cryP"
"Sympatny," said she, and she
brushed the tears from her cheeks.
"Aunty, has your ship a Prince on
boardp"
"It has a barley-sugar bird-cage and
a rocking-horse for my dear boy" said
aunt-as | now know--evasively; and
then [ mounted that imaginary rock
ing-horse and soon cantered off into the
land of dreams.
I often heard that story of the
Princess afterwards-up to the time
"ICh L was olCOChCO III 1l11ICO
collars and caps like an elongated con-
c~ertina, tapering to a tassel that offered
the attractions of a bell-rope to the vul-
gar boys of the village. 1 heard, too.
but aunt did not tell me, of Mr.. Some
body who had once wanted to marry
Aunt Deborah; but she Tilted him, my
father said, and Mr.. Somebody went
abroad. According to my father, he
wa supposed to have married in re-
venge ten savage wives, who brought
each a cotton pocket-handkerchief for
her trousseau; but my father said this
only to tease Aunt Deborah, and I
never believed it was true.
In that year l was breeched we lost
Aunt Deborah altogether. 1t was a
great year at Sweetcross, l remember.
1t was in the winter time. We had
kept Christmas merrily, in a downright
old-fashioned winter, and the TO-
made the village look like the top of a
twelfth-cake from Yuletide right up to
St. Valentines Eve. l mention St. VAL
entine's Eve because that was a red
letter day with US, for it pleased the
Fates that I should be born on a 18th
of February, and we always kept the an
niversary. l was allowed to sit up till
midnight in my own honor, and make
myself as Ill as bounteous good things
would permit. We had little company,
but we were a happy circle, full of good
humor and life. My father and some
other of the elders were full of nonsense
SO Aunt Deborah said-for they all
declared that she longed for the dawn
of day and the coming of the village
postman. There was a great joke to
the effect that the first male she looked
upon on the dawn of the suspicious 18th
would be her valentine, and Aunt laugh
ed and vowed she would look on none
other than her dear boy. When jokes
failed they took to storytelling, and
each had some merry tale to tell Of Dan
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