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
