St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1881-04-16
A Romance of st. Landry.
For the Country Visitor. ]

tFor the Country Visitorl
"Charles Merrick visited this place
to snend the summer months in retire
ment, i'm the hope that the repose of
country life and purer air would restore
his strength, which for some months
passed had been waning"
From our first acquaintance he es-
corted me to all the picnlcs and parties
that attended, and | shall never forget
the affectionate expression OF his beauti
fnl ewes when his thin fingers trenb-
lineIy clasped my hand, nor the i'm
pressiye tone of his rich voice when he
told me that without my sunny smile to
cheer him, his pathway through life
would be dreary and hopeless indeed !;
and he begged me to promise him that
ere another twelve months had passed
away that | would be his bride. Be-
Meath the friendly shade Of an old oak
tree, on that ever to be remembered
evening, with naught to disturb the
stiffness of the hour save the occasional
flight of some winged sOngster as it
passed from limb to limb, we exchanged
rings as mementoes of the occasion,
and pledged eternal love and constancy
to each other"
"Time flew so rapidly by that the
few intervening weeks proceeding
Charles return to New Orleans passed
as though they were but days. Sep
TENDER came, and with it the day when
the Fates had decreed that we must
part-alas! it proved forever. His
affectionate farewell, uttered with all
that depth of feeling that none but a
woman can appreciate, gave confidence
to my hopes in my future with him who
was the idol Of my affections, and in
whom, next to my God, l had contided a
sacred trust"
"For time his letters to me were
frequent and full of affection, which
much relieved the distress l felt at
parting; but it was not long before l
noticed dminution OF their previous
warmth of expression and that the
intervals between their reception
heightened still l had the same conf
dence in his pledges that | previously
entertained, and attributed the change
to the pressure and worry OF his
business"
"One day, at the dinner table, letter
was brought to ME. | Immediately
recognized the hand writing, which
NV parents had failed to notice, and
slipped it into my pocket, as [ did not
wish to read it in their presence. When
dinner was over, fastened to my room,
and with tremulous hands opening the
envelope, | found to my unutterable
grief that the contents of the letter
read al follows:
NEW ORLEANS, La.
November 9th, IS
"My darling Eva,
I left YOU with the full and sincere
determination to make you my wife,
but, when reached this city aud met
my uncle, who has supported me since
the death of my parents, he reminded
me that | was dependent upon him,
and informed me that he would least
me loose" (were his words) il | did not
marry a girl he had selected for me.
How he came 10y the knowledge OF our
engagement | do not know, and you
can imagine my mental distress, dear
Eva, at such an unexpected announce:
ment. But | ask you, what could l do
without an adequate income to support
you, | could have only dragged you
through life of poverty and misery:
In view of such consequences | accepted
my uncle's proposal, which resulted in
my marriage yesterday to the girl that
he had chosen for me. God knows, my
heart breaks when think Of the dis
| u
this letter.
cd bless you, and forever adieu.
CHARLES MERRICK.
"I read and re-read this cruel letter
scarcely able to realize the possibility
that he could have written it; | exam
ined the hand writing and the signature
in the forlorn hope that might dis
cover a fraud that some malicious being
had tried to perpetrate, but all in vain
it was plainly, Enthusiastically Charley
Merrick."
"The full realization of this terrible
blow sent cold shiver through my
frame, and felt that my future pros
poets for happiness were blighted for
ever. Love, hope and faith in solemn
pledges vanished with the discovery
that Charles Merrick had proved ia lse.
From that time no one could have
appeared colder or more unsympathlz
ing than |. My pride prevented MI
from communicating my trouble to any
one, and claimed a severe cold as thu
cause of my keeping my room for two
days. After that l again made my ap
pearance in public, and was still con
sidered the same graceful, dignifiee
Eva, the same bright eyed, cheerfn
girl that had ever been. Externall,
nothing betrayed the change within
which was known only to myself ant
my Maker"
aTrue, people spoke Of their surprise
that the elegant Mr.. Merrick did no
visit the town any more, as he had ex
pressed himself SO much delighted will
the people and place, and 1t had beef
surInised by some that ne had formed
partially for me but, after time, thi
| M qftr1
their attention my case ceased to b'
mentioned"
"As years rolled on l had many de
sirable offers of marriage but rejectet
all of them. My experience prevented M
from again running the hazard of being
so undeservedly treated, and my uni
versal response whenever approached
with a matrimonial proposition was
Mol"
"Thus time has passed away, ant
each succeeding year has carried me St
much nearer to that un known hereafte
where it is said the wicked teas r. r.
troubling and the wee -.. 5<..
dc not aPpea' &. ag zt,..s. so Vi
thougtl .h!atae 4rs~ II tHtn y maps. / ie-I
J.iaJ am dying, my physicians say fol
want of vital power. Well, what does
| it matter if | have to go, since go
must. sooner or later. / am thinking
| tonight, as I have often, very otter
done before, OF my parting with by
| lover
[ feel that am growing weaker and
that my end is approaching. | am toe
much exhausted to continue-my breatl
fails mel must rest q little"
This ended the manuscript.
Tn the churchyard at Opelousas, may
be seen simple head stone bearing the