Year: 1863




had gone off ON shooting excursion,
J charitably believe to spare himself tn
scene; and saw her safe off, little trunl
: and all, in the good farmers travelling
wagon, and went back to my Office with
} relieved mind.


: Elva had made no demonstrations at he
: daughters departure. The footman toll
me afterwards that she had gone privatel
to Mrs. Fosbrook, when the matter wa
first guessed at, and begged of her, earnest
! ly but calmly, not to send her child fror
heI:. but that excellent lady heard he
with The SAME unmoved composure towhicl
I had been treated, .eond made the woman
understand that her intenEttions mad beel
acquieseed in, and should be CARED out
Elva subsided into resignation at OH
parted quietly with her daughter, and con.
tinued to stitch away in her own room or
the back-verandah, as if nothing had hap
pened. If the woman had any repinings
or regrets, the Fosbrooks were too much
occupied to notice them, for the colonel
came back the week after Letty's depar-
ture. IF he missed her, nobody was al
lowed to be aware of it he must have heard
of the transaction from some one about the
house, and that visit was not a long one.
But the Fosbrooks paid him every atten-
ton, wrote, invited, sent tokens of their
remembrance, and in couple of months
more the colonel came back again 4; by that
time having propably made up his mind
that there was no more prudent course for
him, the heir-at-law, than to marry the
heiress-apparent, as the family were will
ling, and the young lady nothing loath
He came and paid attentions accordingly
All the Fosbrooks' circle knew it would be
match and a match it was. Having
fairly commenced his suit, the colonel
would lose no time; he must rejoin his
regiment, which might be ordered to
Florida, where the Indians were then Civ
ing trouble. OF course he was an impa-
tient lover, as all men are at forty years.
So the Fosbrooks gave their consent. 1t
was early for Miss Letitia to enter on the
responsibilities of married life; but girls
marry young in South Carolina, and the
dark complexion and large growth made
her look beyond her years.


The wedding was celebrated with great
pomp, in the most fashionable church in
Charleston there were half score of
bridesmaids, and fnery enough to keep the
ladies talking for a fortnight. forget the
number of dresses and the amountof bridal
presents provided for the heiress they
were sufficient to have turned the head OF
wiser girl Everybody agreed that Miss
Letitia had the surest prospects Of happi-
ness. She certainty queened it wonder
fully for the middle of her sixteenth year.
The colonel was her own choice, as well as
that of her parents, Notwithstanding the
disparity Of her age. On his account she
had parted with her early play-fellow, and
in the fuss, the grandeur, and the novelty,
seemed to have forgotten that Lefty ever
existed. I suppose Mrs. Fosdrook forgot,
too, she was so engaged with the glory Of
her house, and preaching about their over
fling cup and the duty of thankfulness.
But the master of the Hall did not forget,
though he had gone to shoot, for fear Of
the scene which did not take place at her
going away; he spoke of the poor girl Of
ten in my office, and made me write to the
good people in North Caralina, inquiring
about her Their reports were all favora-
BILE as regarded Letty's conduct-her pa
tience, her gentleness, her good nature,
were subjects of continual praise from the
farmer and his managing sisters but they
wrote only in reply to my letters. had
not written for some time, till Fosbrook
reminded me Of it few days before the
wedding; and their answer grieyed us both,
for it stated that poor Lefty, though she
took kindly to the place and people, seemed
to pine away latterly, and had caught the
swamp fever, from which she had no
strength to recover, and died on the very
day Of Miss Letitia's marriage. Fosbrook
could not keep the news to himself, though
he at first promised to do so but in the
general excitement it seemed to affect no.
body in the Hall, not Elva, which. Mrs.
Fosbrook thought an additional proof of
her sense. She had undertaken the break
ing of the news to the bereaved mother,
and performed it to her own satisfaction.
| believe she also broke it to the colonel
and his bride when they returned from
that indispensable excursion which paople
must take after the ceremony Of white
walls and orange blossoms, the half.score
of bridesmaids and elegant dejeuaer. They
do these things in style in North Carolina ;
and Miss Letitia had come through them
so creditably, and had so much more to do
IN the way of receiving visits, and attend
ing bridal-parties, that there was no time
for regret or repentance. l never heard
what she said or did on the occasion but
while the visits were going on, and the
parties pending, poor Elva slipped on the
stair while running up with tucker, or
dered in great haste, that Mrs. Col. Fos-
brook might see how it would suit with her
cream-cGored tabinet, fell to the bottom,
and broke her leg. She had the best medi-
cal attendance, of course; a woman who
could work such sleeves and collars was not
to be neglected, though, as her excellent
mistress remarked, She could work just
as we'll without the limb; what mercy it
was not one of her arms But from some
constitutional cause the accident could not
be remedied--the broken bone would not
adhere, the wound would not heal, and the
doctor at length announced his dread of
modification. He added presume it
was to settle Mrs. Fosbrook-that there
was no use in attempting to amputate the