)> n.r^ L I E. RAFIY OF THE UNIVERSITY or ILLl NOI5 T7A5yo V. \ Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2010 with funding from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign http://www.archive.org/details/younglovenovel01trol Y ri r y G LOVE A MOTEL -» r T> ij "~ r T T O i> p VOL. L LOmXM: 1»14. C. WHITING, BEAUFORT HOUSE, STRAND. f^3 YOUNG LOVE. } CHAPTEE I. ^ " Dans le pays des aveugles, les borgnes V^ sont rois." Happy is the man who, wishing to live and die in the aromatic odour of •-' country greatness, yet possessing but a mode- rate estate, has his acres situated in a neigh- bourhood where there is no dukery. Colonel William Henry Dermont, of The Mount, was a happy man ; for in this '§ very essential particular he was blest be- yond the common lot of English country gentlemen, having neither duke, marquis, VOL. I. B 2 YOUNG LOVE. earl, viscount, baron, baronet, nay, not even a knight, within many miles of liim ; and with a snug, well- wooded little estate, pro- ducing at easy rents very little less than four thousand a year, he knew himself to be, by far, the greatest man in the neigh- bourhood, and that, too, without having to do battle for the pre-eminence either at as- sizes, sessions, or rail-road meetings. The Mount was situated in a parish called Stoke, but respecting the name of the county I shall be silent — for how many might I not offend by naming any county, with a state- ment annexed, setting forth that there was a part of it where, for many miles, there was not such a thing as a nobleman's seat to be seen ! The Mount, however, was a very nice, comfortable^ pretty place, with plenty of wood and water around it, and built more- over, with every suitable accommodation for a family possessed of such a revenue as I have mentioned, but without any out-of- the-common-way extravagances in stables, YOUNG LOVE. 3 dog-kennels, and pineries, demanding every- day of the year greater expenditure than it is at all times convenient to make. The soil was kindly, and grateful for the care bestowed upon it, producing good returns of corn and butter, fruit and flowers. What could any reasonable man or woman wish for more ? I do not believe that either Colonel Der- mont or his wife did wish for any thing more. They were, indeed, of that happily- born class of people, who are inclined to think that every thing they possess is a good deal better than any thing of the same kind possessed by any body else. This is certainly a most desirable temperament, as far as relates to the parties who possess it ; but it may occasionally be found a little fatiguing to the spirits of others, as it causes their conversation to be rather too much in the same key. But in no other respect could the most envious individuals of their acquaintance find any reason to complain of b2 4 YOUNG LOVE. this happy peculiarity. In no degree could they be reasonably considered as unusually stiff or stately in their demeanour, or in any way overbearing or morose in tl^eir con- scious superiority. The very worst that could be said of them was, that they were fully aware of their many advantages over- the majority of their fellow-creatures, and that they enjoyed, with a good deal of rehsh, the happiness of believing that they held rather an elevated place in creation. It must be a very ill-tempered being whO' could find fault with this. They had been married, at the time my narrative begins, rather more than six years,, and had scarcely ever had any dispute what- ever, much less any disagreement which could deserve the name of a quarrel. This- proves, beyond all possibility of doubt, that they were both good-tempered people — and so, indeed, they were ; but besides being- good-tempered, they really did think wonder- fully alike upon all subjects, so that, to say YOUNG LOVE. O the trutli, it would have been by no means easy for them to have found any thi6g to quarrel about. They had but one child ; luckily, how- ever, this was a boy, and certainly, without exao^oreration, one of the finest that ever was CO ' born. He was exceedingly handsome, and very intelligent ; and although at times a little headstrong and whimsical, which his nurse thought might probably be owing to his beincr rather more indulo-ed than other o o children, he had a generous and affectionate temper, which most people seemed to think atoned for his naug-htiness. o But what was of even greater conse- quence than either his beauty, his intelli- gence, or his good temper^ he was very strong and healthy, so that there was no danger that the Mount and its appurte- nances should pass away from the race. Perhaps, though they never did appear to think themselves unfortunate in any thing, and, in fact, never spoke upon this par- ticular subject at all, they might have been 6 YOUNG LOVE. as well pleased had heaven given tliem two or three more children, for Mrs. Dermont had a pretty Httle fortune of fifteen thousand pounds, which was settled upon "younger children," and the not having any younger children at all, made this settlement seem abortive. But although some such thoughts might, during the first years of their mar- riage, have produced a feeling somewhat re- sembling regret, it was neither very strong nor very lasting, and the well-satisfied father and mother soon found that there was no difficulty whatever in pouring forth all the paternal love that it was possible human hearts could feel^ upon one. The want of a daughter was, moreover, in some degree supplied by the presence of a little orphan girl, who had been thrown upon their pro- tection and kindness under very interesting circumstances. When Colonel Dermont was quite a young man, he had insisted, like a good many other quite young men, upon being permitted to put on a red coat ; a favour YOUNG LOVE. 7 whicli was granted to him very reluctantly, and which probably would never have been granted to him at all, had the disagreeable result of the young gentleman's being sent to India been contemplated. To India, however, he went ; and most assuredly would never have lived to come back again and take possession of the Mount, had it not been for the timely aid of a brother officer, who, seeing him hard pushed, galloped to his side exactly in time to save his life. Major Drummond, the gallant officer who performed this service for him, did not sur- vive it long ; for a wound, received in the same action, though not fatal at the time, caused his death, after a hugering confine- ment of three or four months. During this melancholy interval, he was attended as assiduously by Colonel Dermont as by his miserable wife ; and soon after his death, the grateful young man had the me- lancholy satisfaction of being greatly useful to his widow, by attending her and her young daughter to England. 8 YOUNG LOVE. Had tlie young lady, wlio was just seven- teen, been less of an invalid upon the voyage, it is probable that the young gentleman would have fallen in love with her, for she was a very charming creature ; but des- tiny had decided otherwise for them; and although Miss Drummond, when well enough to appear at all, constantly found the handsome Colonel Dermont at her side, the intercourse between them consisted wholly in acts of the most thoughtful and kind-hearted attention on the part of the young officer, and of something very like motherly and sisterly affection towards him, on the part of the widow and orphan in return. Colonel Dermont married within a few months after his return to England, the early loss of both his parents having put him in possession of his estate ; and the friendship of his kind-hearted wife proved a source of great, and, alas ! of greatly-needed comfort to his unfortunate India friends. Four years after the marriage of Colonel YOUNG LOVE. 9 Dermont, Miss Drummoncl followed his ex- ample, and became, for a few months, the happy wife of a not very wealthy, but very worthy clergym^an of the same race and name. But this happy union was dissolved by the sudden death of Mr. Drummond, and within a year after it had taken place, an infant grand-daughter was the only earthly source of consolation left to the unhappy widow of Major Drummond ; for her daughter did not survive its birth an hour. The interval of sorrow and sickness which followed was but short, the heart-broken widow soon followed, and the orphan babe was consigned to the guardianship of Colo- nel Dermont, and the maternal kindness of his wife, before she had completed her third year. The little Julia, of course, became imme- diately an inmate at " the Mount," and the nursery establishment for the two children was as completely the same, as if they had indeed been the offspring of the same parents. The fortune of the Httle orphan girl did not 10 YOUNG LOVE. mucli exceed the moderate amount of seven thousand pounds; and her good guardian and his wife pleased themselves by the thought, that her long minority, although by her grandmother's will, she was to be of age at seventeen, would make a very re- spectable addition to this little sum, provided the proceeds were carefully hoarded for her. Never had Colonel Dermont forgotten the moment of peril, in which the arm of his Httle ward's gallant grandfather saved his life, and the watching over her, and her little fortune, was a source of constant plea- sure to him. But, notwithstanding these amiable senti- ments on his part, and very truly sympathetic feelings of no less amiable a quality on that of his wife, they could neither of them ever bring themselves to forget that the fine, no- ble-looking Alfred was their own child, and that the chetive little JuHa was not. This difference, however, was not such as in any degree to injure the little girl, or interfere with her happiness. It only made her feel, YOUNG LOVE. 11 indeed, that althougli slie was as gay and as happy as the petted dog, Bingo, himself, she was of no more consequence than he; a conviction which brought no pain with it, nor ever caused her for a moment to wish that she was as important a personage as Alfred — nay, it may be doubted if she would ever, even in the moments when he was the most indulged, have consented to change with him. She was a quick little thing, and of so gay and happy a temperament, that as soon as she began to think at all, she mad^ up her mind to beheve, that though only a little girl, (which, of course, she knew was but a very second-rate sort of animal in creation,) she was the best off of the two — inasmuch, as she was permitted to trot here and there, according to her own whim and will, while the idolised Alfred was watched through every moment of the day, as if the welfare of the universe depended upon his not being too hot nor too cold, too fasting nor too fed, too much in movement, or too much at rest. 12 YOUNG LOVE. As to Alfred himself, lie was by no means dull enough not to perceive how remarkably exalted a place he occupied in the estimation of human beings in general ; and by the time he was eight years old, he was as fully aware that there was nobody in the house of so much importance as himself, as ever Samuel Johnson felt, when inhabiting the 7iiansion of Mrs. Thrale. This was a very great misfortune, and the beautiful boy was not likely to pass through life without suffer- in g: from it. YOUNG LOVE. 13 CHAPTER IL Or course, if not absolutely impossible, it is at least very liigbly improbable, that any fa- mily in possession of an estate more than double in amount of rent-roll, to that of any other body within a dozen miles of them, should have many near neighbours with whom they can associate on terms of perfect equahty. This is not to be hoped for ; and there may be some persons, perhaps, who may think that it is not to be wished ; but be this as it may, in the case of our excellent Colonel and Mrs. Dermont, although they had the advantage of several friendly and aofreeable neio;hbours, there was not one who was not deemed by all the others, second in 14 YOUNG LOVE. importance, and at a considerable distance, to " tlie charming family at tlie Mount." That Colonel and Mrs. Dermont sub- scribed to this classification is most certain, but it is equally so, that they did this with as little departure from amiable feeling on their own part, as possible, and with a more com- plete absence of every look, word, act, or even gesticulation, which could produce a painful effect upon their neighbours, than can reasonably be expected, in one case out of five hundred, among persons similarly situated. In short, the Dermonts were very highly esteemed, respected, and liked ; nay, there were one or two individuals in the neigh- bourhood, who were conscious of some little importance themselves, who did not scruple to say, they " loved them dearly," and the Dermonts in return, appeared to have a very great regard for almost every body. They never gave less than two very handsome dinners every month ; not to mention the in- variable rule which they laid down for YOUNG LOVE. 15 themselves of having the principal members of about half a dozen families who lived too far off for conveniently returning home after dinner, to stay with them for three days at a time during the summer, and three days at a time during the Avinter of every year. These were duties of hospitality which they would have thought it almost as great a sin to omit, as the weekly donations of milk and vegetables in summer, soup and coals in winter, and as much physic as they chose all the year round, to the poor of their own parish. Neither were these duties of hospitality performed with regularity only, they were performed well also. The dinners (consi- dering that they had only a female artist) were pretty nearly as good as dinners beyond fourgon reach of either London or Paris could be. There was a pianoforte always in very tolerable tune, for the use of young ladies, when they were of the singing and playing class ; there were always two Books of Beauty of the current year on the draw- 16 YOUNG LOVE. ing room table ; in winter there was always a very good fire, and in summer there were always abundance of flowers — and then there was always Alfred to be looked at. Nor were the preparations for the staying company less perfect. The admirable rule laid down by Sir Walter, was always strictly adhered to — there was the " the rest day, the dressed day, and the pressed day." On the first, Mrs. Dermont herself never failed to accompany each lady guest to>ller cham- ber, when she retired to make her toilet for dinner, reminding her vfhere the bell was that would bring her maid with hot water from the house-keeper's room, and where that which would summon her from the re- gions above — she never failed on these oc- casions to say, " you must not give youv- self any trouble about dressing to-day. We shall have nobody but our good clergyman. To morrow we hope to get some friends to meet you." On the second day the young ladies were recommended, if the weather were favourable, to walk in the wilderness, YOUNG LOVE. 17 not only because they would find shade, but because they would have no rough paths to encounter; and the old ladies were invited to look at the conservatory. For the gentle- men, old and young, there were fishing-rods in spring and summer, and guns in the au- tumn and winter, not to mention battledore and shuttlecock, and the billiard-table all the year round. On the third day both the colo- nel and his lady declared that their guests must not think of going, for that their kind neighbours the A's and the B's ; and, if it were fine, the C's and the Us also, were all coming up in the evening, and perhaps they might get up a little dance or play charades — and, moreover, Alfred had been promised that he should stay up as long as he liked ; — positively they must not go. And all this was done and said with so much condescend- ing kindness, that it was quite impossible not to declare that the Dermonts were certainly the most dehghtful people in the world — a perfect blessing to the neighbourhood in ge- neral, and most particularly so to " those VOL. I. c 18 YOUNG LOVE. who were intimate witli tliem," which of course was a happiness that a good many laid claim to. This annual routine went on with wonder- ful regularity for many years, the only, or at least the principal irregularity in it arising from the greater or less degree, in which Al- fred mixed himself with the guests. It can- not be doubted that in a house so every way agreeable as the Mounts the words and the smiles, nay, even the cuffs and the kicks which the young heir condescended to bestow upon the company, were ever received with delight. Nor, as the young gentleman grew older, were the gratifications derived from his society confined to these varying caresses ; for sometimes he would endearingly fix him- self upon some highly-favoured individual, follow him or her, as it might happen to be, from room to room throughout the house, in- sist upon sharing the chair of the flattered guest at table; and, upon one occasion, screamed for an hour and a half because not permitted to share the bed of a lady who YOUNG LOVE. 19 had won his heart of hearts by telling him a fairy tale. Of course the beautiful Alfred was the pest of the house at least as much as the pet, and there could not be stronger proof that the acquaintance of its owners was highly valued by the neighbourhood, than the fact of its continuino^ to be the fashion to accept every invitation they gave, despite the manifold torments inflicted by their hopeful heir. Those, however, who were really sufficiently intimate in the family to know the young gentleman thoroughly, were aware that great rehef might be obtained from his persecutions by employing the agency of the httle Julia. It required, how- ever, a good deal of familiarity with the inte- rior of the establishment to learn this, for the diminutive and odd-lookinor little crirl ehcited very little notice from any one. Co- lonel and Mrs. Dermont, knowing that the child was perfectly well, and perfectly happy, did not feel it at all necessary to drag her forward into notice, in spite of the very evi- dent indifiference of all their sruests towards c2 20 YOUNG LOVE. her. This general indifference had two causes : the first and most important being, that evidently there would be no use in taking notice of her, for that no one would be likely to receive the more notice from the colonel and his lady in return; not, however, that the colonel and his lady could have had the slightest objection to her being made as much the object of attention as was consis- tent with the superior claims of Alfred. They gave her precisely this degree of no- tice themselves, and they took it for granted that every body else did the same. The second reason for her being so con- stantly overlooked and forgotten, arose from the fact that there really was nothing about her calculated to attract an unobservant eye. She was not absolutely ugly, but most as- suredly she was not pretty; and, in truth, the only epithet that would do her justice, was that employed above — she was odd- looking. Her Httle round head had the appearance of a black ball, so dark and smooth was the short, straight, thick hair YOUNG LOVE. 21 that covered it. Her features were small, and perhaps regular, but there was nothing attractive in this; for her colourless com- plexion was so completely devoid of the pretty freshness which is so charming in children, that nobody was tempted to look at her with sufficient attention to discover whether the little nose, mouth, and chin, were well formed or not. Even her fore- head, which really was broad, high, and well-shaped, in no way assisted her appear- ance, for her thick, coal-black hair was not even parted in front, and completely covered it, together with the pretty-enough little pencilled eyebrows ; — nay, her black eyes, too, lost a good deal of their effect (if, indeed, they had any), by the pent-house-like pro- jection of this same black mass of hair; and it may fairly be doubted if any body hving had ever observed either the length and richness of her eyelashes, or the size and shape of the dark eyes themselves. The most marked observation that had ever yet been uttered upon her appearance, 22 YOUNG LOVE. was from a lively young lady, who, after looking at her for a minute or two, burst into a laugh, and said, " Is not that little creature like a magpie? — I never saw any thing else so completely black and white ;'* and the only word expressive of admiration which her little person had ever called forth, was an exclamation on the extreme small- ness of her feet; but even this prettiness was less remarkable in her, poor little things than it would have been in any one else, from the universally tiny proportions of her singularly small person. Her nurse was wont to say -that she was- a sharp little pin with a black head; and the simile was not a bad one, for as she stood upright, with her tiny feet close toge- ther, she really did almost look pointed. But this, however, was not the sharpness to which her nurse alluded : her phrase referred to a certain quickness of intellect, for which she was inclined to give her credit, but which, however, did not appear to be ap- preciated by any other member of the fa- YOUNG LOVE. 23 mily, unless, indeed, it was by the important Alfred himself. That there was something in the httle girl's prattle when she was fairly set going, might be inferred from the fact, that if Julia at any time made up her mind to get Alfred away from any study, any play, or any person, she had only to buzz around him for a few minutes, much in the manner of a bee before it settles itself upon a flower, and though he was sure to begin with scolding her, and bidding her not be such a plague, she never failed to get some- thing like honey at last ; for the experiment invariably ended by his turning away from book, plaything, or playfellow, in order either to listen to some long story she was bent upon telling him, or else to accompany her upon some important expedition, where- in he was to be either useful or agreeable. Now as it was a certain fact, " hien^ mats hien constate,'' that Master Alfred Dermont never did do any thing, or go anyAvhere, unless he preferred the said doing or going 24 YOUNG LOVE. to every thing else wliicli, for the time being, could be said or done, it seems evident that he, as well as the nurse, had discovered some species of talent in Juha. Yet this peculiarity in the intercourse between the two children is badly described, for it seems to convey the idea of wilfulness on the part of the little girl — a consciousness^ that is, of having a will of her own, and a strong incli- nation to have that will complied with — an inference altogether wrong and erroneous; for it is quite certain that Julia had lived a great many years longer in the world than we have yet given her, before any idea or sensation of having a will of her own had arisen in her mind. Had she at any moment been asked to tell what she liked, she would probably have laughed heartily, and replied, " any thing;" and if desired to say what she liked hest^ she might have laughed more heartily still, and cried, " every thing." No, it was not a spirit of wilfulness that led little Julia to interfere with the proceedings of YOUNG LOVE. 25 her young companion ; but it is easier to say what it was not, than to explain precisely what it was. Notwithstanding the difference of age and sex — for Alfred Dermont was nearly four years older than Julia Drummond — but not- withstanding this, their education, such as it was, went on together ; that is to say, that when Alfred was six years old, a governess was engaged, to whom both children were immediately consigned as pupils. She was an intelligent young woman, and when the tiny Julia was led in, as one of her intended scholars, she received her with a pleasant smile, which immediately won the little girl's heart; and having parted the thick hair upon her forehead (the first time that such an operation had ever been performed), and looked for a moment into the dark eyes that were raised to meet her own, she troubled Mrs. Dermont with no questions as to what she wished to have her taught. But if the education of Julia threatened to 26 YOUNG LOVE. be rather premature, that of Alfred appeared very decidedly the reverse, for never as yet had his bright blue eyes been requested to fix themselves on the letters of the alphabet. This was rather a shock to the governess, which was not lessened by the young gen- tleman's saying, with very manly decision of tone, after his first lesson had continued about five minutes, looking full in poor Miss Harding's face as he spoke, " I think you are a very ugly person, and I think your play is a very stupid play, and if you ever ask me to play at it again, I will kick you. — Come along, Julia! those nasty ivory things are not half so pretty to play with as your doll.'^ Miss Harding, poor young woman, felt as many similarly situated young women have felt before, that she had rather a steep up- hill path before her — but she felt also that she was not to be paid for nothing; and with a gentle sigh she watched the children run off, sitting immoveable in the place where YOUNG LOVE. 27 tliey left her, in deep meditation upon tlie ways and means to which it would be neces- sary to resort. It is, however, needless to follow the pa- tient labours of Miss Harding through the process of teaching the heir of the Mount to read; the intelligent reader will doubtless have anticipated the fact, that it was achieved at last, the only part of the business at all out of the common way being the extraordinary degree of assistance which the governess de- rived from Julia. At two years old she had spoken with perfect distinctness, and before she was four, she could read any book that was set before her. It was pretty to watch the devices by which the little creature con- trived to conquer and baffle the averseness of her playfellow to follow her example. She exhibited during the process as many tricks as a monkey ; for, either from tempera- ment or instinct, all her manoeuvrings were full of fun, and it was often amidst shouts of laughter, and oftener still in a game of romps upon the floor, that Master Alfred, in the 28 YOUNG LOVE. course of two years, acquired, what it had cost Julia about six months to learn. But enough of these infant details. We must leave Alfred at eight, and Julia at four-and-a-half years old, and say no more about them till a dozen long years have passed over their heads. YOUNG LOVE. 29 CHAPTER in. It has been said, and very truly, that it is not the where, but the who, which is chiefly important in the history of human beings; and therefore, although for reasons which have been sufficiently explained, I have de- cHned naming the county in which the scenes which I am about to recount occurred, I shall not be equally scrupulous respecting the people who took part in them, but take the hberty of describing the most prominent among them with equal freedom and sin- cerity. That they shall all be real human beings, who are existing, or who have existed, I faithfully promise and declare ; but I faith- YOUNG LOVE. fully promise and declare likewise, that I ■will so manao'e matters as to leave no clue whatever to the recognition of the originals. And now, shall I go "from house to house," like a royal briefs in order to bring my reader acquainted with all the neigh- bours who formed the society of Colonel and Mrs. Dermont? — or shall I content myself by narrating the adventures of my " princi- pal family," and suffer all the rest to bring themselves forward in succession, as circum- stances shall dictate? Perhaps I shall find myself obhged to have recourse to both. At twenty years old, Alfred Dermont was certainly one of the very handsomest young men that ever was seen. He was six feet in height, but might have stood for the model of an Apollo. His features were magnifi- cently handsome, and had his countenance expressed less of the daring self-confidence in which he had been so assiduously edu- cated, it would have been charming — for the bright large blue eye was beaming with in- telligence; his smile, though too often so YOUNG LOVE. 31 timed as to be most saucily impertinent, dis- played teetli of tlie most perfect beauty, and his forehead might have been compared to that of any god or demigod that ever chisel cut, had not the frequent arching of the too flexible eyebrow, continually suggested the idea of contempt for those around him. His education had been of so strangely ir- regular a kind, as almost to defy description. He certainly was not ignorant, and yet he could scarcely be said to be thoroughly well- informed on any subject — for his studies had in no direction ever gone beyond the point to which his inclination led him, and the moment he ceased to be amused, he ceased to study. When he had attained the age of twelve years, there had been some slight no- tion, or rather a great deal of immeaning talk, about sending him to Eton. But his father confessed to his mother, and his mo- ther confessed to his father, that it was no good to talk about it, for that they could not part with him, and having separately and 32 YOUNG LOYE. conjointly come to this decision, they deter- mined, like sensible people, to act upon it. They did act upon it; and Alfred Der- mont never left the paternal roof, either for school or college. But tutors, Enghsh, French, and German, were bestowed upon him with the greatest liberality; and as the boy was really a quick boy, and some of the tutors really clever men, the result was a sort of patchwork; some portions of which were brilliant and effective, while " other some" were a good deal the reverse. As to Julia, Colonel Dermont continued steadfast in his amiable resolution, that not a single shilling of her fortune, either principal or interest, should ever be expended on her till, having arrived at majority, she should expend it herself. But the home education of Alfred was an expensive one, for it included horses, dogs, a town-built cab for the young gen- tleman's own particular driving, et cetera, et cgetera; without mentioning a constantly in- creasing collection of books in a variety of YOUNG LOVE. 33 languages — so that the Colonel observed to his wife, that when Miss Harding went, there could be no obiection to Julia's taking^ les- sons with Alfred as she had hitherto always done ; and that its being from a tutor instead of a governess, could make no difference. Nor did the Httle Juha herself, nor her friend, Alfred, nor any of the learned professors concerned, make any objection to the ar- rangement; and though the feminine accom- plishments of music and drawing were left out, Julia became possessed of a larger por- tion of general information than generally falls to the lot of young ladies. But at sixteen Julia continued to be a queer-looking little creature still, so much so indeed, that nobody thought it civil to talk about her appearance ; and as her intel- lectual acquirements, whether great or little, were utterly imknown, save to her instruc- tors and her friend Alfred, there was nothing to redeem her from the sort of easy oblivion which seemed to be her fate. But never did a happier creature exist on God's earth. VOL. I. D 4 YOUNG LOVE. Her health was excellent, her spirits gay and equal ; she learnt all that was set before her with equal facility and correctness ; and as she never for a single instant made her- self, her situation, her accomplishments, or her person, the subject of her own thoughts, she lived in a state of the most delightful unconsciousness as to her own insignifi- cance. It is curious to observe how very many evils and sufferings are avoided by people who are not occupied habitually in thinking of themselves. Such people are never shy; such people are rarely awkward; such peo- ple have the command of their own powers of mind in a degree that never can be en- joyed by the egotist. Good Colonel Der- mont, when soothing himself, as he occa- sionally did, by boasting that he had given Julia Drummond an excellent education, little guessed how very excellent it had been. He knew not that he had smothered and annihilated in the heart of his ward the most fatal weakness that can beset humanity ; and rOUNG LOVE. 35 still less, perhaps, did he guess, that while conferring this inestimable benefit upon her, he was overwhelming his unfortunate son by fostering and cherishing in him, by every possible device, the identical mental malady from which she had so happily escaped. Nevertheless, it did not follow that, because little Julia Drummond was free from all illusions arising from self-love, she was free likewise from all illusions hkely to arise from love to others. These, however, though often dangerous and mischievous, are very far from threatenino; the same deerree of moral destruction which is pretty nearly in- evitable upon the other ; and therefore Julia, although at sixteen and a half she loved and admired Alfred rather more blindly, perhaps, than even his mother and father themselves, was in no danger of having any of the fine qualities of her heart destroyed thereby. Far different, alas ! was the condition of Al- fred at the age of twenty. Nature had done as much for him as for her; but thoucfh brought up side by side, and receiving what d2 36 YOUNG LOVE. a superficial observer might call the same education, one little moral ingredient being different rendered the result rather a con- trast than a resemblance. Poor Alfred ! how truly, simply, and sincerely did he be- lieve himself to be one of the most glorious- specimens of humanity that had ever been created. How firmly was lie convinced of the necessity of his having his own will and his own way in all things, in order that every thing should go right! And oh! how many good gifts were neutralised, if not po- sitively destroyed, by this conviction, and the headstrong wilfulness which accompa- nied it. ^ i^ ^ ^ ^ " What a delightful summer we seem likely to have," said Mrs. Dermont to her husband, as they stood side by side looking down their beautiful lawn, and admiring the wide circle of fine flowering shrubs which sur- rounded it. " Don't you think, Colonel, that it would be a good scheme, if this fine weather lasts, to invite the whole neighbour- YOUNG LOVE. 37 hood together to something of a pubhc break- fast on the lawn? — with music and dancing, you know. I think it would please Alfred, for he said yesterday that he wished there was a little more variety m our parties. He said it quite seriously." " Did he?" returned the colonel, with a look of great interest ; " then I am sure we ought to manage to get a little more variety, and a dance on the lawn would be quite new, certainly. But how shall we get enough young men together? Ladies cannot dance without gentlemen, you know." " There is but one way, my dear colonel," 2:eplied the lady; " you must ask all the officers that are quartered at Overby, en masse. People of consequence in a neigh- bourhood very often do that, you know, without having any personal introduction at all." " Yes, I know they do," replied the colo- nel; " and I have no sort of objection,, if Alfred approves it. It will lead to no great danger of making disagreeable acquaintance, 38 YOUNG LOVE. for I dare say they will be sent off again, as soon as the talk about riots is over. Alfred and I can ride to Overby, and speak to Ma- jor Sommerton about it. He is an old ac- quaintance, you know, and would give me a hint if there was any objection. "Where is Alfred ? Of course, we must not decide upon it till we have asked him. Have you seen him since breakfast ? I looked for him in the library just now, but he was not there. Have you seen him ?" " Yes, colonel ; I saw him within this half hour, walking away towards the wilderness with a book in his hand. What an extra- ordinary creature he is, to be sure ! He certainly takes a pleasure in reading, even now that his education is so completely finished, as to render it quite unnecessary," said the mother. " He is a very extraordi- nary young man !" " He is an extraordinary creature in every wayl" replied the father. " But, if he is gone to the wilderness, let us go there too, and speak to him about this scheme of YOUNG LOVE. 39 yours," lie added, offering his arm to his wife. After a few minutes walking in the shade of the nicely kept shrubbery, which they called the wilderness, they perceived their son seated on a bench at the end of one of the cross walks, with a book in his hand, and Juha Drummond standing before him, whether hstenino; to his readino^ aloud, or only looking at him, they could not tell. " What a peculiarly graceful attitude he has chosen, colonel, hasn't he ?" said Mrs. Dermont, pausing for a moment to gaze upon him. " I will not deny it," returned the colonel, yielding to the pressure on his arm, which was intended to restrain his steps, and look- ing quite as fondly on the long lounging limbs of his handsome son, as the mother herself could do. " He certainly is the finest fellow of his age that I ever looked at." " I beheve you, my dear," repHed his wife, with an expressive smile. " But what 40 YOUNG LOVE. a blessing it is, Colonel Dermont," slie con- tinued, " that Julia Drummond is so plain ! Don't you observe how constantly they are toQfether? And if she were at all well- o looking, or particularly striking in any way, I should be frightened to death lest he should take it into his head to fall in love with her. But, thank goodness, there is no danger of that !" " It is quite as well, perhaps, that Julia should be plain as handsome," replied the colonel, " because it sets your mind, and it may be my own too, at rest upon that mat- ter. But, between ourselves, wife, Alfred is not a young man to throw his heart away upon any girl who had nothing better to dis- tinguish her than a pretty face. Alfred has an immense deal of proper pride, and you may take my word for it, that he will never dream of making any matrimonial connec- tion that will not satisfy us in every way. I would trust his judgment in all ways be- fore yours or mine." *' I think so, too, colonel. If ever there YOUNG LOVE. 41 was a perfect human being upon the earth, it is our Alfred !" and as she pronounced these truly maternal words, Mrs. Dermont propelled her husband's footsteps as gently and as effectually, as she had before re- strained them, and, in a few minutes, they stood beside their son, with their four fond eyes fixed earnestly upon him. " We have followed you to your literary retreat, Alfred, in order to consult you about a Httle party that your mother is proposing to give," said Colonel Dermont, laying his hand caressingly on the young man's shoul- der. " Will you consent to put your book down for a httle while to listen to us ?" " Here, JuUa ! take the book, I have had quite enough of it," replied the young man, putting the novel, with which he had been beguiling the sultry morning, into the hands of his young companion. " Now then, ma'am," addressing his mother, " what is it you have got to say?" " Do you think you could make room for 42 YOUNG LOVE. US, Alfred? For it is really too hot for any body to stand." The young man immediately changed his recumbent attitude for one that occupied one-third of the seat, instead of the whole of it, and his father and mother placed them- selves beside him, Julia still retaining her standing position in front. Nothing, however, could be further from the heart of either the colonel or his lady, than any unkind, or even uncivil feeling towards their young ward; but this sort of negligence towards her was become so habitual, as to render it almost impossible that they should treat her otherwise than as a mere child, towards whom any thing in the least degree approaching ceremony would be absolutely ridiculous. There were many moments in which the young Alfred appeared to be under the in- fluence of the same sort of feeling; but, ne- vertheless, the truth was, that he was begin- ning to be annoyed sometimes, if any one, besides himself, treated her too cavalierly; YOUNG LOVE. 43 and, on the present occasion, perceiving that there was no room for her on the bench, he quietly got up, and with a slow, deliberate, and rather languid-seeming step, walked the distance of about a hundred yards to a tree, under which there was a moveable mushroom seat, and passing a finger through the aper- ture at the top of it, conveyed it^ with the same lagging step, to the spot where the group was assembled. He then replaced himself on the bench, and having done so, put down the stool which still hung sus- pended on his finger, exactly in front of him- self, making a silent sign to Julia, that she was to take possession of it. She did so with a short bright glance of gratitude towards her sublime friend ; while Mrs. Dermont said, with a smile, " upon my word, Miss Julia, I think you are highly honoured." A slight frown, the very slight- est in the w^orld, passed over the brow of Alfred, and then he said — " Well, ma'am, what is it you have got to tell me ?" " Wliy, Alfred," rephed his mother, " you 44 YOUNG LOVE. see, my dear, tliat tlie weatlier is most beau- tifully fine, and I have been tliinking that, by way of making a little variety, and try- ing something new in the manner of receiv- ing our neighbours, we might, if you like it, my dear, give something of a dance upon the lawn — something in the way of a public breakfast, you know. What do you say to it, Alfred ?" " Oh dear, ma'am, I have no objection whatever — provided you can get together people enough. But our lawns are very large, remember, and it will be a very for- lorn-looking business if the groups are too thinly scattered. — Should you like it, Julia ?" Both colonel and Mrs. Dermont felt this question to be rather an idle interruption in the discussion of so interesting a subject ; but as it came from Alfred, they of course paused till the answer was given; and this did not take long, for Julia replied with great glee, and without pausing for a minute. "Like it? To be sure I should! I should think it would be the most beautiful TOUXG LOVE. 45 thing in the world ! People dancing upon the lawn! Oh! lovely." " Well, well, — no doubt of it — and now let us think a little about numbers, Alfred," said Mrs. Dermont, " that you must know is the point that puzzles us." " Unfortunately the people here, for the most part, are horrible bores," said the young man ; '' that is to say that the women are almost all of them ugly." " All of them, Alfred ?" said his father, smiling, and holding up his finger. " Have you forgotten the beautiful Miss Thorwold?" " No, I have not forgotten her," replied the young man, colouring slightly ; " but I did not know whether she might not be gone before your fete — she is only on a visit you know — if she were to be here — ." " She is to stay the whole year, my dear, I can tell you," said his mother. " Her uncle, Lord Ripley, is to take her to town with him when the parliament meets after Christ- mas — and then as to numbers, we must do, you know, as all country people are obliged 46 YOUNG LOVE. to do wlien tliey give a fete champetre — we must invite all the best of the Overby people — there is no help for it — we must ask the Overby people." " Oh dear, yes !" said the colonel ; " we can do so on such an occasion as this with- out the slightest impropriety. It will not do as a general practice, I know, for country families to make much visiting with the coun- try-town people, it would be breaking down a]l distinction, but at a great gathering of the natives, such as a christening or coming of age ; you hear, on any thing of that sort, all the first nobility of the kingdom invite the people of their country town, and fete champetre invitations may be quite as gene- ral, without giving occasion to any disagree- able observations whatever. Yes, certainly, we must ask the Overby people." " 1 wish you would tell me, ma'am," said Julia, who had been listening with great at- tention, " what is the reason why people that live in a country town, are not thought fit to visit the people that live outside the YOUNG LOVE. 47 town. I am sure that some of the town children that Alfred and I used to meet at the dancing-school at Overby, were the very best scholars Mr. Laman had, and some of them were so pretty and good-natured ?" '' There is no reason in the world, Ju- lia," said Colonel Dermont, in a tone of very philosophical liberaUty, "no reason what- ever, my dear, why the children of persons hving in a country town should not be pretty and good-natured. But you must remember, my dear child, that it is the duty of the higher classes of society to keep up the dis- tinctions which it has pleased Providence to make; and gentlemen residing on their es- tates in the country are quite a different class of people from those who hve in the country towns. Perhaps you cannot, as yet, fully understand this." "Oh! yes!" rephed JuHa, "I know all about the difference that riches, and high birth, and good education make, and that it is a very mischievous idea to suppose that all the people in the world would be hap- 48 YOUNG LOVE. pier if all these distinctions were removed. Because God himself has made men different in their dispositions, or as to their powers, so that they must he in different situations. Miss Harding and Mr. Brown too, used to explain all that to us, and Alfred and I both understood it very well. But it does not seem to me that the impossibility of the coun- try gentlemen visiting the town gentlemen has any thing to do with that." " Of course, my dear little girl, you can as yet have only learned the great general rules of all organised society. It requires a longer acquaintance with life to become acquainted with what may be called the special regula- tions of the different classes. But we are too busy for me to enter upon any such explana- tion just at present. Yet even the business before us, my dear, will give you an oppor- tunity of remarking that there is no want of liberality in our notions on the subject. I am clearly of opinion, Alfred, that we may venture to invite poor good Major Murray's two daughters. You know we have had YOUNG LOVE. 49 them here repeatedly, in an evening, already — and then there is the widow of the late vicar, and her pretty daughter. And, if your mother does not object to it, I really don't see why we should not invite Mr., Mrs., and Miss Kersley, and the young attorney — the son I mean — not the other young man who is articled to Mr. Kersley. I don't know any thing about him. Kersley himself is an ex- ceedingly respectable and decent person, and has dined here already, as you all know, over and over again." " No, I shall have no objection whatever," replied Mrs. Dermont; "they are very de- cent people, all of them — decent, well- behaved people." " Decent !— my dear mother," exclaimed Alfred, raising his eye-brows, " that phrase does not seem to promise much for the elegance of your party." ^^ I wish," said Julia, looking very ear- nestly in the face of Mrs. Dermont, " I wish you would tell me the real meaning of the word ^ decent f " VOL. I. E 50 YOUNG LOVE. " It lias more meanings tlian one, mj dear Julia," replied Mrs. Dermont ; " but what ire mean by it at present is, that the Kerslejs are well-looking, well-dressed sort of people, and perfectly respectable in cha- racter." " Oh ! not like that second son of Mr. Fitzwarrington, of Warrington Park ?" said Julia, nodding her head — " I understand." Alfred laughed, and said, " What an im- p)ertinent little thing you are, Julia." " What does she mean, Alfred ?" said the colonel. Alfred laughed again. " I suspect, sir," he replied, " that she is alluding to the story she heard Mrs. Beaumont tell the other day, about William Fitzwarringtons having won that horse-race unfairly. I dare say Juha does not think that decent at all — that is what she means." " That is a foolish play on words, my dear," said Mrs. Dermont, gravely. " It is all very well to make jokes when there is no business going on ; but now we really YOUXG LOVE. 51 are busj, so don't interrupt us, Julia, witli any more nonsense. If this party is to be given, ^ve must not waste time, I assure you." " We sliall do nothing, mother, vdthout pen, ink, and paper," said Alfred, rising, *' so I vote that we adjourn to the library." Of course this suggestion was immediately complied with, and to the library they went, Alfred leading the way, his father and mother following, and Julia coming after, in obedience to a sif^jnal from the vounor man. e2 LIBRARY iiNivFRSiTV OF ILlfNOIS 52 YOUNG LOVE. CHAPTER IV. " Sit down, Julia, and write the names as we call them over," said Mrs. Dermont ; " that is what Alfred says ought to be done first." Julia obeyed ; and a list of such respect- able length was soon produced, as seemed to surprise all the party. " I had no idea there were so many people in the neighbourhood," said Mrs. Dermont. " It always turns out so, my dear, when one sets about gathering people together. I suppose Juha is to be secretary in pro- ducing the invitations," said the colonel, " and while this is going on, Alfred and I YOUNG LOVE. 53 had better ride over to Overby, if lie has no objection, and make a few inquiries of Major Sommerton, respecting the young officers that are quartered at Overby." The omnipotent Alfred fortunately made no objection, though he curled his hand- some lip a little, at the notion of inviting " a parcel of red coats en massed But on his mother's remarking, with a sigh, that disagreeable as this certainly was, it would be impossible to get up a tolerable dancing party without it, the young man, after in- dulging in another sneer at the possible danger of such promiscuous hospitality, con- descendingly assured her that he did not seriously mean to oppose it. " Write the notes, of course you must, Julia," said he, as he left the hbrary, " but take care, if you please, not to forget that hole in the fishing-net, which I told you to mend for me ; it is very possible I may want it to-morrow." '^ My dear, dearest Mrs. Dermont," cried Julia, the moment they were left alone, 54 YOUNG LOVE. " will you have the very great kindness to let me do a few minutes' work that I am very anxious about, before I begin writing the notes ? — I will write as quick as light- ning; afterwards." '^ Go to work first ! — no indeed, Julia, I can't let you do any such thing," replied Mrs. Dermont_, w^ith a good deal of se- verity ; " and I really wish you would not be quite so thoughtless. How can any work of yours signify in comparison to these invitations ?" " No, certainly, ma'am," replied Julia^ colouring, w^ith eagerness to defend herself from a charge of presumption, of which she would not have been guilty for the world ; ^' it is not for myself, dear Mrs. Dermont, it is something for Alfred ; — he has told me to mend his fishing-net." " I beg your pardon, my dear," replied her protectress ; " of course you must do it then ; its being for him makes all the dif- ference in the world, you know. But I hope it will not take very long." YOUNG LOVE. 55 Julia promised speed, and kept her word so well, that the net was mended, and all the notes written, before the two gentlemen returned from their ride. And will not our following some of these notes to their destinations afford an excel- lent opportunity for introducing some of those who were happy enough to be neigh- bours to the distinguished family at the Mount ? " A note ft"om the Dermonts, George, for a dejeuner a la fourcliettey for the 24th," cried Celestina Marsh, rushing into her bro- ther's study, with a flushed cheek, and eyes that seemed dancing so joyously, as to run some risk of jumping out of her head. " I am very glad to hear it, Celestina, for I see it delights you," rephed the gentle personage she addressed, " though I confess I don't very well know what a dejeuner a la fourchette means in England." " Nonsense, Georo;e ! — it means the most dehghtful sort of entertainment in the world ! — dancing, rambling, lounging, rustic and 56 YOUNG LOVE. fanciful ; dressed exactly as much as you please, but with no form or ceremony what- ever. It may be made as whimsical and becoming as one likes ; and in short, the whole thing is a species of saturnalia for taste and high spirits. I am enchanted ! — and I don't think any thing in the whole world could have pleased me so well ; un- less, indeed, it had been an invitation to join in private theatricals, and I rather think that would have been better still. Not that I mean to be discontented, I pro- mise you, with 2ifete champHre'' While Miss Celestina Marsh was uttering these words, which she did with equal energy and rapidity, her brother gazed upon her with a look of the deepest interest, mingled with a good deal of surprise. " My dearest love," said he, in rather a plaintive tone of voice, " I cannot express my joy ! — but I confess, my beloved sister, that I am as much surprised as I am re- joiced. Little did I expect — little did I dare to hope, after our conversation of yes- YOUNG LOVE. 57 terday, that I should so soon see you re- stored to cheerfuhiess — to happiness 1" " Alas! George," returned the young lady (Miss Celestina Marsh still wanted five months of thirty), " were it not for the occa- sional return of my animal spirits, you would not be long condemned to endure any anxiety for me. It has pleased Providence in its mercy, my dear brother," — and Celestina Marsh drew out her handkerchief as she spoke — " it has pleased Providence, when bestowing on me the dear but perilous gift of sensibility, to accompany it by a native lightness of heart and elasticity of spirit, which enables me to endure, without sink- ing, the bitter sorrows you have witnessed! — you must not reproach me with this, my dearest George!" she added, pressing her handkerchief to her eyes, " but on the con- trary, you must join with me in hailing every short return of forgetfulness which enables me to endure existence. It is thus only that my life can be saved!" Hurt beyond measure at having brought 58 YOUNG LOVE. tears to the eyes of his orphan sister, for George and Celestina Marsh had neither fa- ther nor mother, the gentle-hearted young man took her hand, and entreated her to be composed. " The greatest wish I have in the world, Celestina," said he, " is to make you happy, and never, never again will I check your innocent cheerfulness by an ill- timed recurrence to feelings less delight- ful." These kind and soothing words appeared to produce a healing effect on the agitated spirit of his sister, for she immediately put the handkerchief into her pocket again, and smiled upon him almost as gaily as before she pulled it out. " And who knows, my dearest George," she exclaimed, with reno- vated glee, " what this delightful dejeuner may bring forth ? — that Wheeler loves me, I cannot doubt ; a hundred, ay, a thousand dear recollections press on my heart at this mo- ment to assure me of it! But, alas! we know too well that the frank-hearted, guile- less young man has not sufficient strength of YOUNG LOVE. 59 mind, and firmness of character, to resist the insidious and most wicked blandishments of that shameless flirt, Louisa Morris! — But let US not think of her at this happy moment I Who knows, my dearest George, but that if you can manage to let me have only a toler- ably pretty new dress for this occasion, I may be able to brins; the dear truant back to his allegiance ? You brothers are allowed by all the world to be the worst possible judges of a sister's claims to admiration, but what- ever 7/ou may think of that horrid Miss Mor- ris, I believe there is nobody else who would not allow, that when I am decently w^ell- dressed (which, I confess, happens but sel- dom), I have no great reason to fear compe- tition with her." This last hint from Miss Celestina Marsh about her dress, went to the heart of her brother ; and why it did so must be explained, in order to make the reader acquainted with the situation of this brother and sister, who are likely to appear frequently before him in the course of my narrative. Mr. Marsh, al- GO YOUNG LOVE. thougli but a poor man, was accounted, even by the Dermonts themselves, as fairly rank- ing among the hereditary gentlemen of the county. His mother's name of Tremayne was considerably more aristocratic than that of his father; and although the estate she brought at her marriage with him was any thing but large, it gave her son and heir the rio-ht of being; classed among; the most re- DO O spectable of the old county famihes, and George Tremayne Marsh, of Locklow Wood, although his real revenue (in consequence of a heavy mortgage on his estate) did not ex- ceed five hundred a year, was received every where with the consideration always granted to the representative of an old and respect- able family. It was much to be lamented that the self-willed young heiress, his mother, had not bestowed herself and her acres bet- ter; for the person she married had nothing whatever to recommend him, but a vulgarly handsome face. The son and daughter who have been introduced to the reader, were the only offspring of this marriage. The daugh- YOUNG LOVE. 61 ter, who was by two years the elder, was like her father in person, and her mother in temper — the son was like neither of them, but resembled more the better type of the Tremayne race which had flourished in the olden time. The only symptom of comphance with the wishes of her friends which the late Mrs. Marsh had condescended to show when she married, was the having her pro- perty secured by settlement to herself and her heirs; this was done, and with the pro- viso also, that she might, by will, leave what proportion of it she chose to younger chil- dren. IMrs. Marsh survived her husband a few years, and then died intestate, thus leav- ing her daughter utterly dependant upon her brother. But no reasonable provision that her mo- ther could have made for her by will, could have given her so large a claim upon the en- cumbered httle estate as did this dependance. Almost in the same hour that George Tre- mayne Marsh learned that his mother was dead, intestate, and his sister left alone, and 62 YOUNG LOVE. without resources in the mansion that was now become his own, did he set off from Heidelburg, where he had, for some years, been residing upon a hundred pounds a year, amongst learned men and magnificent scenery, in order to cherish and comfort her. Nature had made this brother and sister marvellously little alike; and this dissimi- larity was still further increased by educa- tion ; for no two processes could be less hkely to produce similar effects, than a prolonged tete a tete association with Mrs. Marsh, and a studious residence in a German university. Most fortunate was it for Miss Celestina that her brother was not like her : for if he had been, the little income which with such dif- ficulty could be made to support a respect- able appearance in the all- too-large old man- sion, would not have been so almost wholly devoted to her use. There was a sort of sublime simplicity in the character of George Marsh, which rendered him, in fact, singu- larly well calculated to become the victim of such a young lady as his sister. YOUNG LOVE. 63 He had found lier in what appeared to him the most pitiable condition that a wo- man could be in — her poverty, however, making by far the least part of her misfor- tunes in his eyes. But he found her alone, and apparently without a single intimate and attached friend in the world. He found her too, looking much older than he expected, and, despite all the affection which his kind heart yearned to feel for her, he could not help thinking in the very inmost recesses of his secret soul, that she was, take her for all in all, about the least attractive young wo- man he had ever seen. In the first place, she could neither sing nor play; and cared no more about either music, poetry, sculpture, painting, or the beauties of nature, than his little dog. And then, in appearance, although it was not ab- solutely impossible perhaps, that some people might agree with her in opinion, rather than with hiin^ to his eyes, poor young man, she really appeared one of the plainest females he had ever looked at; for he admired in 64 YOUNG LOVE. woman nothing that was not dehcate and mignonne^ and he found his sister tall, stout, high-coloured, with an immense quantity of coarse black hair, great, bold, staring black eyes, and a long nose, the tip of which was certainly beginning to approach in hue to the bright carnation of her cheeks. But there was not one of these gifts, albeit they cer- tainly seemed to him to be any thing but good, which did not rather increase than di- minish his earnest and steadfast resolution to love, to cherish, to comfort, to console her. "Poor, poor Celestina!" he mentally ex- claimed, on finding himself alone after his first interview with her in her orphan state, " poor, poor Celestina ! what has she to ren- der life happy? What has she to render life endurable to her ? She must, by Heaven she sliall^ be my first, and dearest object in existence. Every body else in the world has somebody to love and care for them. But who has this imfortunate Celestina to love and care for her ? Other, all other beings have more or less the power to win afTec- YOUNG LOVE. 65 tion from their fellow-creatures. But my unhappy sister ! Ah ! I will devote my- self to her. My life shall pass in endeavours to atone to her for the singular combination of adverse circumstances which seem to be- set her. Alas ! How can my worthless life be better passed ?" Never was a purpose formed from pm^er motives ; nor ever was a purpose kept with more unswervinor resolution. It was not long- before George Marsh perceived, that in ad- dition to all the sources of sorrow and moi- tification with which the fate of his poor destitute sister seemed loaded, she had to en- dure the yet bitterer pangs of disappointed affection. Celestina, with clasped hands and streaming eyes, confessed to her brother, ere they had passed an entire week together, that the tender assiduities of young Ensign Wheeler, who had been quartered during the last two months at Overby, had irrevo- cably won her affections, and that her only chance of happiness on earth rested on the power and will of him, her dearly beloved VOL. I. F (jQ YOUNG LOVE. brother, to bring this mutual attachment to a happy issue. Tearful and plaintive as was the tone of this confession, it was very far from adding to the anxieties of George Marsh j on the contrary, her agitated state- ment of the vouno' ensic^n's attentions, con- veyed a sensation of the truest pleasure to his heart. He thanked Heaven in his very inmost soul, that all men did not see his sis- ter with his eyes, and he promised, with all the energy of his kind nature, that nothing should be wanting on his part to ensure her happiness. But alas ! it soon became evi- dent, not only to his own observation, but hy the heart-rending coniidence of the un- happy Celestina herself, that whatever the attentions of the fickle ensign might once have been, he was now far, oh ! very far, from manifesting for her a passion at all equal to that which she still resolutely avowed she felt for him. Some men, under the circumstances, might have doubted the accuracy of the lady's statement respecting the former conduct of the young officer ; but YOUNG LOVE. 67 no such doubt ever entered the head of Oeorge Marsh for a single instant. George was truth itseh' in all his thoughts, words, and deeds, and it would have been far easier to teach him the most crabbed new language that ever was invented, than to have so far initiated him in the mysterious characters of falsehood, as to make him doubt a statement deliberately made to him by his sister, and accompanied by the — to him — solemn testi- mony of sighs and tears. And then, how poor George's heart ached for her! He knew what love was; for he had loved and lost (by death) a fair young