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About A Friend of the family. (Savannah, Ga.) 1849-1??? | View Entire Issue (June 29, 1850)
Tii fbihi ms fault. VOLUME 11. Original • €ale. THE WIDOW? BT MISS SUSAN A. STUART. a You must come with me to- Ljght Shirley, and I will show you one of the most bewitching little |widow s you ever beheld. lam l jure( woman-hater that you are, you ■will own yourself conquered at once. Say will you come and see mv beauty ? ” “.Vo, I thank you,” replied his 1 f r i e nd, “ I have something to em ploy me, especially to-night; but if I had not, Ellery, I should beg | for I have all of old Weller’s ijarof widows. I look on them i;a designing race, with their woe gone voices, and ever ready tears hr the dear departed. If I should’ fftrlose my senses so far as to mar ine, I hope she at least, had the ;nnr of having her husband hung , ulbelieve that would be the only urety that I should not have his rirfues, brought up in comparison with my faults.” “Ha!, ha!” laughed Ellerv, “all this tirade against widows, ilnwnfn rth by my luckless invita tion. But you are entirely too ver ca.it my friend on the subject. 1 Till bet you something pretty that a will fall in love with a widow I■?!, Bui good evening, J must go I id make myself killing, for be- I ties the widow there will be sev- I al pretty girls at Mrs. Empton’s I -night.” I This conversation was held at I lirley’s room, where he was sitting Biily strumming on the guitar when Bery gave the invitation ; and Bough not a woman-hater, as his . Bend had stated, vet from his retiring ■position, he did not often seek B society of the place. When Bused from official duty, he pre- B?d enjoying himself with his Bb, music and male friends, so Bfoinduce some of his brother offi- Bto dub him with the cognomen B ‘womon-haier.” ■“Where is your friend that you Btoised to bring ? ” inquired Mrs. B"n of Ellery, “lmust confess Blhave quite a curiosity to be- B the hero, after all you have ■'filing of him.” I Regret exceedingly not being Ptobring him this evening ; but engagement prevented my Fa so* How I wish you would innocent little plot of [ e ' against him for a week or so. J ‘les* to me before I tell Blit’* ■a, Bindeed, I shall do no such a t n g -Mr. Ellery. Tell me what it I e ll me too Mr. Ellery,” said ■• njn g lady by whom lie sat, ■ merry eye betokened a kin ■ *'Pirit, “tell me, and I will an ■r *° r it, that sister J uliette enters ■ an( l soul into your plans what ■ :tle y may be.” I; ihe a thousand times your Mi S3 Jeane,” answered B now for my plot, or the ■ °* ih for lmust confess I L some woman-wii to per mit” r ■ of your plots and conspir- B me,” said Mrs. Martin, the f*. as she left them to seat her- B the piano.to which her aunt’s had summoned her, and B‘ she for sometime held the Bi the few assembled there, 81, by her magic music. As Biery and Jeane, they 4 had ■ in their souls,* and were e the better fitted for B 6lr &iageras ” and plots, B! lc h they had been engaged Mrs. Martin’s performance. ■“* sure reader, had you seen 1 1 Martin, the widow, you, Dcuutcii ta jCitmttnre, Ironre trait M, tjjr inns nf €nnptnrare, (Dili Jllnsanri) nni imntl 3ntelligrnre. like Ellery, would have called her a bewitching little creature, also.— Herdelicate form, her large, beau tifully languid eye of light hazel, and her brown hair, approaching flaxen, needed not the cherry mouth, and a complexion like the sunny side of a peach, to be set down a* once as a beauty,for such she really was. r i hen her manner too was so soft, so insinuating, that you could not choose, but love her. She had married at the command of her father, a man whom she highly es teemed, if she did not entirely love ; and his sudden death left her with an infant daughter, alone in the world at the age of twenty-one. — Many offers had been refused bv her, although she never said she did not intend to marry again. Jeane Martin, her husband’s young sister, was now on a visit to her, and from her gay, cheerful dis position had rendered herself a fa vorite with everyone who frequen ted the residence of Mrs. Martin’s aunt, Mrs. Empton. The plot discussed between her self and Eller\ r , was not entirely re vealed by Jeane, to her sister-in law ; although she obtained from her the promise of allowing her 10 personate the widow , for a few days, the farce to begin on the morrow,as they were to make an excursion in to the country. *• I do not ask you to fib sister Juliette,” said the merry girl, “ on ly not to unmask me, I wish to tease that young man somehow or other, for a pretty little speech of his that has cotne to my ears.” “ But / will not lend my aid in the least, if any one will be injured by it.” •‘ I beg you not to frighten your self in the least,” returned Jeane. • 4 No one 1 assure you can be harm ed.” “ Well! only for a few days then Jeane ; but 1 think you ought to let me into the secret.” “No, no I cannot yet. Wait a hit, aird I’ll promise you a hearty laugh.” Thus ended the conversation. — The next morning Ellery came be fore they sat down to breakfast, to be” leave to bring a friend to take the fourth seat in their carriage, which was the more readily granted as Mrs. Empton, had left with little Annie Martin, and the “ essentials,''’ fur the country house, earlier than the party intended starting. Poor old Mrs. Empton ! She was cer tainly the nicest old body on earth fora picnic; always ready to at tend to that most necessary part, the “ eatings, 11 but withal so deaf thatnevera word of anything did she hear unless breathed through her ear trumpet. About ten then,behold them ready for their drive awaiting the arrival of the gentlemen. Ellery soon made his appearance acompanied by Shirley, whom he had pressed into the part}. In the hurry of ihe setting out, and misled also by El lery’s description, U is not to be wondered at that he mistook Jeane Martin, the sister, for the widow, whilst the girlish looking blonde, an swered to his own idea of Miss Mar tin. He therefore, true to his pre judice, left to his friend Ellery, the task of entertaining her, whilst hirnself enjoying the bewitching smiles and sweet toned warblings of his fair vis a vis. “J am sorry you will find such a poor hut for our dining, Mr. Shir ley,”—said Jeane, in her assumed character—but a hearty welcome, and our company, is all that you must expect.**- This, of course, brought forth a polite disclaimer, from the gentle SAVANNAH, GA., SATURDAY, JUNE 29, 1850. man; at and with more truth than the generality of such speeches; for in the mile over which they had already passed, he began to think the wid ow's sister at least, was particularlv interesting. At this crisis the sud den stop of the carriage, and the hurried exclamation from their dri ver, “open the door massa Ellery, and git the young ladies out,*’ showed that something was amiss. The widow screamed as she clung to Ellery’s arm, and even at that moment of danger, Shirley could not b it admire the calmness of the beautiful Juliette, for so he had heard her called bv her sister-in law, as she insisted on her sisters first descent from the vehicle. It was found that in passing over one of the small bridges, that one of the horses had got his foot through a hole, and was already rearing and plunging, so as to make the car riage very unsafe. After some trouble, they succeeded in extrica ting him, but as they continued somewhat unruly from the fright, the ladies proposed walking on to their destina ion as the day was a fine, cool one in November. And so they set forth again cn route, the widoiv on the arm of Ellery, and Juliette following with Shirley ; the carriage having gone on before. How bright, and clear was the air; how crisp the ground under their springing feet, as with renewed spirits they went gaily on, chatting and laughing. Insensibly, Shirley’s conversation with his fair compan ion took a deeper tone, for their path led through the pine forests, where the tall, stately trees, like the pillows in some old hallowed minster, shed their peculiar fra grance on ever}’ passing breeze.— Ellery and bis companion were far ahead, and Shirley felt surprised at himself, at this very first inter view, in feeling such a tender sen timent springing l into his heart for the fair young creature leaning on his arm. “How glad, I am ” —soliloquised he—“ That the widow did not fasten herself on me, instead of this enchanting sister; for joking aside, they are always so exacting and by no means dependant ; and there is certainly an exquisite charm in the timid reserve of this fair Juliette. Methinks l shall begin to play the Borneo in very truth; and I begin to wish, even now, that, ‘1 mighi be a glove upon that hand, so J could kiss that cheek.’ And Juliette, to judge from the gay smiles dimpling her soft cheeks, and the interested look which she turned upon his face, ever and anon was equally pleased with her es cort. What a delightful listener did he find her! He felt so pleas ed with her—with himself-—with the whole world, when they arriv ed at the house, that Shirley was ready to declare it a perfect Paradise, and felt himself sorely templed to utter some such nonsen sical speech to her, so entirely was he bewitched by the charm of her manner. In fact, woman-hater as his friend Ellery bad styled him, there was not a more susceptible being on earth, than this same re tiring young man ; and so he play ed the game into their own hands, a meroielle . They found Mrs. Empton, on “nospiiable thoughts, intent” busy in setting out to the best advan tage their lunch dinner; and on the lounge lay the little cherub Anna fast asleep. Shirley the more readi ly answered the question: ‘Did you ever see such a little beauty from it supposed mother, as he im agined he detected a striking like* ness to the fair Juliette,’ who badaL ready knelt to kiss the soft lips of the sleeping babe ; and his look and tone must have satisfied the fond heart of any mother, a3 he answer ed : “She is a little angel.” “And he also stooped to kiss her, as the others passed into the sitting par lor. Ellery and Jeane seemed deter mined to enjoy one another’s socie ty, for that day at least; and thus Julielic and Shiiley were thrown toge her the more. They however seemed perfectly content, for he told her, of all his adventures “by flood and field ?” whilst she, on her side, was read v almost to exclaim with the gentle Desdemona: “that she loved him for the dangers he had passed.” What a delightful day was this ; a id especially to Shirley. The din ner, though plain, appeared to him delicious, and what laughs did the absence of many conveniences cause! How beatiful did the fair Juliette seem as she held the little Annie in her lap and fed her from her own plate, though begged by her sister not to tease herself with the child, but to let the servant car ry her into the other apartment. Shirley himself could not refrain from giving the dear creature some of the dainty little pate, to which his fair neighbor had helped him. “There, that will do Mr. Shirley, I beg you not to give her any more. Carry her, into the other room, Lucy, these good people will kill her in kindness; and do you come for her dinner.’ And thus was she borne off notwithstanding her entreaties to stay with Mamma. Shirley had another fault to set down against widows; —for he thought how heartlessly unconcern ed seemed this one to her beautiful babe, smiling, chatting, flirting so carelessly with Ellery; whilst Ju liette went to and fro to see that the little one was properly attended to. About sunset the} r set out for their return ; and the drive back, was as delightful as the morning ramble, as they thus sat watching the early stars peeping forth, and listening to the tones that seemed to Shirley at least as sweet as the rippling music of the summer rills. He had, in truth, begun to see every thing couleur dt rose ; and how true .he words of ihe poet, when speak ing of the first steps into love’s laby rinth, he says: ‘ Little we reck of our coming years ; We fancy them just what we choose. For whatever life’s, after 1 ght may be It colors, its first from the rose/’ And then the evening wasjust as happy for him as the whole day had been ; for the ladies insisted that iheir escorts should enter and -pend the evening with them. Anil when the tea-waiter came around Shirley had the supreme felicity of putting sugar and cream into Ju liette’s cup ; and of sitting near her tor several hours. Then, when tea was over, she was his antagonist at chess; and he looked with delight on her taper fingers looking still whiter in contrast with the red pieces she moved so daintily, and knowingly across the board. And her delightful voice was still linger ingon bis ear, as he closed his e}’es in sleep for no other train of thought had broken the enchantment. His friend and himself did not talk much as they wended their way home, that night; but Shirley was not quite so morose as to decline his frend’s invitation given at part ing: “What say you of calling on the ladies to-morrow, to see if they have recovered from their fatigue.” And the next day they did indeed call, and paid the ladies an un conscionable long visit, if one can trust Missllend arson's account, who lived over the way, and who uctu. 1- •y a bles.eJ morning, peeping ihrough the blinds, to see when tbr\ would leave. And the next day— and again the next, Bhirley*had al ways some excuse to make to El lerv, why he should call at the Wid ows. To davit was: “Imustcarrx | those China paintings, I promised to show Miss Martin’—at other times *1 owe her a philo pcorm, which, 1 musi take her, ora new book afforded the shadow of an excuse; till at last, bolder, he made noneat all, but grown visited there quite uu fimillt; or to use the prying neighbor's ex pression as she watched with envi ous eyes the comings and go ings ol the hand'Otne Lieutenant; “he had hung up his hat there , to a dead certainty .” One morning, he sat with his friend Ellery—it was two weeks, since the opening of this story —in the same room ; and his face now was not listless as then, but wore a pre-occupied, and rather troubled look, as turning with a sigh to his friend, who sat with his feet up against the chimney-piece, watch ing the wreathes of smoke he was curling over his head. “Eilery ! \\ hat do you think will be my chance for success, with Miss Martin ?” ‘‘Miss Martin?” replied his friend with a provoking smile, as he knocked slowly off’ the ashes of his cigar, against his boot—“ Why to tell you the truth, my dear fellow, you have a vc/y slim chance. Better take my advice, and try the widow.” “Oh! bang the widow! But joking aside, why do you think so? She seems to like me ; and without vanity I might be con side re red handsome and talented enough for any girl with an unoccupied heart to love, especially when I woo.” “Ah, yes. But there’s the rub Shirley,‘the unoccupied heart!’ There is no apartment ‘to let’ in that heart L flatter myself; at least, it I can trust to wo,nan’s words and vows, which I am inclined to do in this case.” “What do you mean Ellery?— That you love her and that she Psha !” “You may Psha! as much as you please, Sir Irresistable, but ’tis true nowithstanding. I am engaged to that self-same Miss Mar tin. * “ Do for once in your life be seri ous Ellery, if you can.” “ Well, I swear to you I am, Shir ley ; and if you will not believe me so, just step round a.d ask her yourself, I give you leave. But you had better change your mind and take the widow.” Shirley came very near saying that wh.ch were better left unsaid, as he rose from his chair and be gan to walk up and down the room. Ellery sat smiling to himself, as til ted back in his chair, with his cap set jauntily on the side of his head, he cooly finished his cigar, templing the now thoroughly irritated Shirley by his mocking manner every time he approached, to knock him over as he thus sat. At last, having fin ished his pleasant occupation he arose, and as he was drawing on his gloves and making ready fora start, he said, “ Come, my good fel low, don’t be cast down. If you can’t get Miss Martin, take Mrs. Martin. ‘One of the name is as good as the same,* the old proverb says; and I really believe she has a penchant for you.” Ellery did not stop to bear his friend’s speech as he left the room ! with a laugh. Shirley continued his , I ——again fast, till he came at last to a dead halt in front of the lire “Impossible!” he said, “there is no truih in this world if it exists not in Juliette Martin. 1 have heard her express an opinion concerning Kllery, ave! even faugh at him ! which no woman ever does with one she loves. I will go and ask her indeed ; and if ’tis true, then will I never trust in woman kind again.” And walking to the glass, be brushed his dark locks as carefully as ever did one of the weaker sex; ami then taking his gloves and cap, started for Mrs Empton’s. His own heart was thumping as loud I v as the old fashioned knocker, to his nervous rap, as he stood with in the porch. He was ushered into the comfortable parlor; where the sun’s rays came slyly in through the closed blinds, playing at hide and seek with the roses of the carpet; and, where the red, glowing light from the coal fire, fell upon the bright lace of Juliette, as she sat on a low ottoman, playing with the ourlv-headed Anna, whose silvery laugh was echoed b3 r her mother’s equally as silvery. There was no one else in the room. After the morning salutations, SShirley said : “Has not Ellery been here?” “Yes, he and mv sister are out visiting.” Shirley moved his chair closer to the low ottomon. “Excuse me if I ask you one question, and do not deem me impertinent, if 1 beg you to answer me, especially, when I assure you, that my whole earthly happiness depends on that answer. Are you really engaged to Kllery ?” “ Who, I Mr. Shirley ? You must be dreaming,” as sne opened her large eyes still wider in her sur prise, and her face and neck colour ing deeply as she met his glance. “ There is some mistake in this,” uttered Shirley. “He told me, this morning, that he was engaged to you, and bade me ask you to con vince nivself.” “ Why ! the man must be crazed surely. Yet I wonder still more at you, in believing him. You to whom —and again the face was bent over Annie’s ringlets to hide the tears which were welling-up into those dear eyes, whilst the child sat demurely listening, as if bound to recollect each word. “ I did not—l do not now believe him. though he swore to me he was engaged to Miss Martin.” A merry laugh broke forth from her lips as she quickly raised her face, still crimsoned with bright blushes. “Ah! yes i I see it all now. He really is engaged to Miss Martin ; and who on earth do you take me for?” “For Miss Martin, of course, Miss Juliette,*’ was his amazed re ply. “I am Mrs. Martin, and the mother of this little girl,” as she stooped to kiss Annie, for she was sadly afraid the laugh would again break forth, such a bewildered face met her view. It would be impossible to deline ate the different emotions that chased one another through Shir ley’s mind, as he thus sat gazing upon the graceful creature as she sat in that rich light, Pride, shame, a wee bit of anger at being thus duped by Elley ; but high above all, love, the strong, the enduring, strove for mastery. Os course the last conquered, and the little cherub sitting on her mother’s knee, listen ed to a declaration as ardent as impassioned as the heart whidb prompted it. What ele replied I leave to year NUMBER 17
