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Article THE MASON'S DAUGHTER. * ← Page 7 of 10 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Mason's Daughter. *
that they belonged to her father , who had placed it on the tablebeforehe went out , and had taken with him a portion of the contents . Louisa could by no means comprehend the reason of the increased agitation which now plainly exhibited itself in Manvers' face . He hastily seized a glass of wine , which stood on the table , and swallowed it ; then bursting into tears , he passionately put bis arm round Louisa ' s waist , imprinted some burning kisses on her cheekand abruptly quitted the house . Poor
, Louisa ! her agitation was extreme , and her perplexity had no bounds . What was she to do , or in what light was she to view this singular conduct of her beloved ? Was her promise for the morrow to be performed , or was it to be postponed ? It was in vain that she tried to resolve all these various questions in her mind ; for were they , which they were not , capable of resolution , her faculties were not sufficiently calm and composed for the office . Her only resource was to retire to her
roomtrust-, ing that the next day might unravel the mystery , which had so suddenly environed her . On the next morning the whole town of was in dismay , and the barracks in an uproar . Captain George St . John Manvers had quitted the barracks , and gone no one knew whither ; he had left his man to settle his bills , and left the commanding officer of the corps a letter , resigning his commission in the Lancers . The lamentation was
universal , for the loss was irreparable . The streets had lost their best dressed man , the balls the best beau , the ladies the best partner , the tradesmen their best customer , and the mess its best member . The nineday ' s-wonder past by , many men possessing individual excellencies , which were apparently combined in this modem Chrichton , succeeded
to his post in balls , parties , and tradesmens' books , and the name of Manvers was almost forgotten in the good town of . Almost forgotten ! yes ; but it was remembered by one , and by her how well ! The news came on her unexpectedly . At first she did not , she could not believe it ; she could not conceive the extent of such perfidy in man —but when she was compelled to believe , when conviction was forced home to her mind , and when she saw the extent of her own humiliation
—that she , the proud and haughty queen of beauty , had been duped and deceived , her senses gave way under the shock , and fever and delirium ensued . Medical skill , and the favour of a bounteous Providence , saved this lovely flower from the jaws of death ; but , alas , how changed in so short a space . '—the most envious of her rivals could not have now looked on her without pity . Her wandering mind had betrayed her secret to her parent ; and her illnessconsequent on Manvers' departurehad
, , given the world too much reason to surmise the connexion between the two events . The unhappy father , thankful at the escape of his only child , gave up his business and retired to the sea-side , to attend on his suffering patient ; leaving to the world , from which they had retired , a striking example of error in two respects—first , that of educating a young person with notions above her rank in life ; and , secondly , of the ill effect of the want of confidence in parents on the part of children .
A period of three years had elapsed since the event above detailed , and the usual changes which such a period works on all mankind , had taken place in regard to the persons to whom this narrative refers . Louisa , it is true , had survived the shock to which she had been exposed ; but her hopes as to the solution of the mystery were not fulfilled , and at last she learnt to think of the past as more of a dream than reality ; and though she dwelt on it in her thoughts with pleasure , she ceased to
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Mason's Daughter. *
that they belonged to her father , who had placed it on the tablebeforehe went out , and had taken with him a portion of the contents . Louisa could by no means comprehend the reason of the increased agitation which now plainly exhibited itself in Manvers' face . He hastily seized a glass of wine , which stood on the table , and swallowed it ; then bursting into tears , he passionately put bis arm round Louisa ' s waist , imprinted some burning kisses on her cheekand abruptly quitted the house . Poor
, Louisa ! her agitation was extreme , and her perplexity had no bounds . What was she to do , or in what light was she to view this singular conduct of her beloved ? Was her promise for the morrow to be performed , or was it to be postponed ? It was in vain that she tried to resolve all these various questions in her mind ; for were they , which they were not , capable of resolution , her faculties were not sufficiently calm and composed for the office . Her only resource was to retire to her
roomtrust-, ing that the next day might unravel the mystery , which had so suddenly environed her . On the next morning the whole town of was in dismay , and the barracks in an uproar . Captain George St . John Manvers had quitted the barracks , and gone no one knew whither ; he had left his man to settle his bills , and left the commanding officer of the corps a letter , resigning his commission in the Lancers . The lamentation was
universal , for the loss was irreparable . The streets had lost their best dressed man , the balls the best beau , the ladies the best partner , the tradesmen their best customer , and the mess its best member . The nineday ' s-wonder past by , many men possessing individual excellencies , which were apparently combined in this modem Chrichton , succeeded
to his post in balls , parties , and tradesmens' books , and the name of Manvers was almost forgotten in the good town of . Almost forgotten ! yes ; but it was remembered by one , and by her how well ! The news came on her unexpectedly . At first she did not , she could not believe it ; she could not conceive the extent of such perfidy in man —but when she was compelled to believe , when conviction was forced home to her mind , and when she saw the extent of her own humiliation
—that she , the proud and haughty queen of beauty , had been duped and deceived , her senses gave way under the shock , and fever and delirium ensued . Medical skill , and the favour of a bounteous Providence , saved this lovely flower from the jaws of death ; but , alas , how changed in so short a space . '—the most envious of her rivals could not have now looked on her without pity . Her wandering mind had betrayed her secret to her parent ; and her illnessconsequent on Manvers' departurehad
, , given the world too much reason to surmise the connexion between the two events . The unhappy father , thankful at the escape of his only child , gave up his business and retired to the sea-side , to attend on his suffering patient ; leaving to the world , from which they had retired , a striking example of error in two respects—first , that of educating a young person with notions above her rank in life ; and , secondly , of the ill effect of the want of confidence in parents on the part of children .
A period of three years had elapsed since the event above detailed , and the usual changes which such a period works on all mankind , had taken place in regard to the persons to whom this narrative refers . Louisa , it is true , had survived the shock to which she had been exposed ; but her hopes as to the solution of the mystery were not fulfilled , and at last she learnt to think of the past as more of a dream than reality ; and though she dwelt on it in her thoughts with pleasure , she ceased to