Newspaper Page Text
L 24, 1^52.]
harm of pursuit, and heighten the luxuries of conquest. Stolen
ruit is proverbially the sweetest, and stolen kisses are such as the
• neve r quite lose the taste of. The first kiss lingers in memo
s softening the heart to fondness, even after the time has passed
Ihea any kiss affords a pleasure ; and, to man or woman, I sus
t j ie * or she who has first taught us the subtle and delicious
0 f that first kiss, is remembered with a sense of gratitude, even
bn there is no warmer emotion inspired by the same person.
, y e( | all d the lovely Paula, lam persuaded that the stolen in
>rvie\vs which I succeeded in procuring them, were among their
earest recollections in after days. Not that dear little Paula
ver cr ept away to that grove without fear and misgiving. She
asn'tsure that it was right to do so; but that did not lessen the
leasure of the thing. Again and again they met, and the child
immured, and sighed, and wept, and was made happy through
1 her fears and tears. And Ned was happy too, though he al
avs came back growling from the interview. It was always so
lort. Paula was always in such a hurry to break away ! Cer
tinlr. make them as happy as you please, you cannot easily
lake young lovers contented. He who steals the fruit, is always
)rr v to leave the tree behind him. Enough, that on this, as on
V
le preceding evening, 1 was quite successful in beguiling the
randmother with long discourse, thus affording Paula an oppor*
mitv to steal away and meet her lover. Do not be angry with
tr. ve prudes who have survived these sympathies of seventeen,
ou have done likewise, every one of you, in turn, or, if you have
it, the merit of forbearance was none of yours. You would
ive done so, loving with the innocent fondness of Paula, and
ith such a manly and noble swain as Ned Bulmer to persuade
)u to the groves. Well, they met, and mingled sighs and pro
ves of fidelity; but in vain did Ned entreat his beauty to a
andestine marriage. Believing that he should never conquer
ie prejudices of his father, or subdue the stubborn pride of Ma
mie Bonneau, Ned was thus desperate in his projects. But
feet little Paula was firm on this subject.
“ 1 “ill never love any but you, Edward —never marry any but
m—but cannot consent to a secret marriage.”
“ But they will always oppose us, Paula!” said the lover, vehe
lently.
‘‘Tlien I must die!” murmured the maiden, with her head
|°°ping on his bosom. And then he protested that she should
l? die;‘that he would sooner die himself; nay, kill a great many
people, not omitting the obstinate grandmother, and the
“and father, and many other desperate things ; all of which dear
■tk Paula begged him not to do, “ for her sake,” —and for her
ke only, he mugnanimously consented to forbear these bloody
dbrniances. But why linger on the child prattles of young
‘ ,r^— so sweet but so simple; so ridiculous, to our thoughts,
1 v,v grow older; yet so precious and full of meaning when we
P l’ art i* l it, and in which the heart never becomes quite too
11 Partake, when ever the opportunity and the object are af
r"l a- last they separated, with the sweet kiss, and the as
p promise of fidelity ; both believing implicitly as if specially
putied by heaven. Paula reappeared, and relieved me of
r ,il “ ( lly drudgeries with grandmamma, suffering the same re
r - <*> before, for her disappearance. The next day, the Major,
I ‘ llll^ lll Vself, rode over to Mrs. Mazyck’s, about four miles dis
f ,na ke our obeisance. Our readers know what are the
ITT~Tjt Pn Charleston, S. C., at Three Dollars per annum.
U Sheet ta wsuod Semi-Monthly aa a Supplement to the Southern Literary Gazette, published by Walker,
THE GOLDEN CHRISTMAS.
objects of the ‘ Baron.’ Ned, already, I fancy, suspected the de
signs of the father, from the pains he took to discourage them
Bub supposing me ignorant of these designs, and knowing my
passion for Beatrice, he was scrupulously careful to avoid the sub
ject. His deportment, when we met the ladies, gave me no occa
sion for jealousy. We spent an hour with them, and the Major,
devoting himself to the mother, left the field to us wholly, so far
as the young lady was concerned. Ned, in a degree following
his father’s example, now left the field to me, and strolled off from
the parlour into the library, giving me sufficient opportunity to
play what card I pleased in the game. When the Major and
Mrs. Mazyck returned from the garden, whither they had gone
to trace the progress of certain rare seedlings in the hot-house,
they found Beatrice and myself, alone together.
The mother looked grave, and the Major impatiently asked
after his son. Os course, neither of us knew where he was.—
When he was hunted up, we found him stretched, at length,
on the sofa in the library, enveloped in the most downy em
braces of sleep. The Major roused him with a fierce shake
of the shoulder, and looked at him with the scowl of a thunder
storm. Ned took the whole affair very quietly ; and we mounted
our horses a few moments after. When fairly off, and out of the
gates, the old man blazed out with his volcanic matter.
“ A d—d pretty puppy you are, sir, to go to sleep when visit
ing a lady! Do you not know, sir, how much I respect Mrs.
Mazyck, sir ?”
“ Well, sir, so do I, but you took her off yourself. You did’nt
leave me to entertain her. I had reason to be jealous, sir, of
your attentions.”
“ Jealous! The d —l! But I left you and Dick to entertain
the young lady, sir.”
“ And I assure you, father, that Dick is perfectly adequate to
the task alone. I felt that I should be de trcp .”
“ De —what! why the devil will you abuse my ears with that
atrocious lingo ? Leave it off, sir, if you please; in my hearing,
at least. I repeat, sir, you treated Miss Beatrice with marked dis
respect.”
“ You are quite mistaken, sir. I treated her with marked con
sideration. Ask the question of herself, and she will tell you
that she greatly appreciates the attentions which I paid her. Be
assured, she has no sort of cause for, or feeling of, disappoint
ment.”
Blockhead ’ you know not the mischief you do by this con
duct.”
“ Indeed, sir! Pray how ? Anything serious ?”
“Puppy!” exclaimed the complimentary sire, looking at me
with a glance, as if to say—“ what a beautiful game of mine does
the fellow strive to spoil,”—but he forbore his speech, and only
used his spurs; driving them into his horse s flanks, and setting
off at a canter that soon left us far behind him.
“ Let him go, Dick, while we quietly jog on, and do the civil
thing to one another. Dad is by no means in a complimentary
mood to-day The truth is, he is for making up a match between
Beatrice Mazyck and myself, but that match won’t burn, mem
ami . I see what he’s after, and must prepare for toe explosion.
It will blow out, and blow over, before many days.”
When we got to “ the Barony,” the Major was no where to be
[Number 2.