The Delaware register, or, Farmers', manufacturers' & mechanics' advocate. [volume], October 24, 1829, Image 1

About The Delaware register, or, Farmers', manufacturers' & mechanics' advocate. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1828-1829

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THE DELAWARE REGISTER
OR,
FARMERS», MANUFACTURERS* Ac MECHANICS' ADVOCATE.
g»
Our Public Journals an they ought to he—"The vehicles of Intelligence, not the common sewers of $camlai '*
WILMINGTON, Del., SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1829.
No. 52.
Voi,. b
The Delaware Register is published every Saturday
morning, by Albert Wilson , No. 105, Matke.t Street, at
Two Dollars per annum, if paid in advance; otherwise, Two
Dollars and Fifty Cents.
Handbills, Cards, Wanks, Pamphlets, and Job Printing in
general, executed with neatness and despatch, aud at mode
rate prices, at the Office of the Register.
Od* Advertisements inserted on reasonable terms.
Prom Blackwood's Magazine for August.
FIRST AND EAST LOVE.
(Concluded]
Edward Trehearn, the * young squire,' as he was usually de
nominated, was in his twentieth year, had been educated at
Eton and Oxford, and bade fair to reflect honor upon both
those eminent scats of learning. At Eton he had risen to the
distinguished rank of 4 Captain,' and received his forced trib
ute of* salt' at the Montem; while at Oxford lie hod contend
ed successfully for some of the highest academical prizes. To
what specific purpose his natural endowments and scholastic
attainments wore to he appfied—what his future course wus
to be—were, as yet, let! to the future. There had been some
talk about his standing for the representation of the county
at the next general election, and promises of support had
been spontaneously tendered which would almost justify
tho experiment; but bis father was too wisfi. and prudcnU a
man to impoverish the family estate by squandering eight
ten thousand pounds, even for the cerlumty, still less for the I
chance, ol i*.s sou's return at a contested election. Otherwise,
not insensible to the honor of again seeing a Trehearn
hich had not been the case for nearlv fifty ^
years, when the grandfather of Edward, Sir Theophitus Tre
hearn, ruptured a blood vessel by tho vehemence with which
he vociteruU-d 'No!' upon the question being put from the
chuir, for the second reading of the famous East India hill.
In the close intimacy which, os has been mentioned, sub
sisted between the families at Trehearn Lodge and Fifzrov
Cottage, (as the elegant residence of Mrs Fitzroy was mod
estly designated,) Edward, of course, became a frequent. vis
itor at the latter; while, somehow or other, it alwavs happen
ed that he was at home whenever the Filzroys were known
bo coining to the Lodge. It was soon settled, therefore,
by those who had made the match between Sir Frederick and
he
ill Parliament,
ro
ould ceru iffy take place between Ed
vard, and either Agnes or Jane. But ii would have perplex
ei* the most expert interpreter of amorous hiero-dphics to de
cide whether Edwaid cared for either Jane or Agnes, so im
partially were his attentions bestowed upon both. He was,
indeed, the troquent companion of iheir walks ai d rides in
Kimtncr; would lead to them in the long dreary evenings of
winter; and sometimes take his part in singing a duet,
coinpanyiiig thorn with liisffuie, (which he played with an ex
pression and brilliancy of execution, worthy almost of Drou
et or Nicholson,) while they exerted their own skill and sci
ence alternately upon the harp and piauo-forto. Occasionally,
too, he might be detected in a tete-a-tete , at one time with
Jane, at another with Agnes, either in the drawing room or
upon the lawn, or sauntering through the grove of quivering
poplars, whose trembling leaves chequered their path with
dancing moonbeams. It happened, howeier, that these lat
ter walks were more frequent with Agnes than with Jane, not
because they were sought or contrived, but simply bccau e
Agues was inure prone to seek such quiet rambles than he»
Edw ard with all his book-knowledge, wa
M/s Fitzioy, that one
and
ac
our
cret
vel
ne
.'•■er
mercurial cousin,
but a tyro m self-knowledge. He would hale discovered else,
and soon enough to save a pang, which he was every way too
manly and too honorable to appropriate as a triumph, that he
was heedlessly strewing with roses the beginning of a path
whose end was the grave.
Time glided on, and month after month saw Edward Tie
hearn a more and more frequent visitor at Fitzroy cottage,
when one morning, about two yearn subsequently to the peri
od at which this narrative commences, Sir Frederick cam
alone, and with an air of mysterious importance, request©*
the honor of a private interview with Mid Fitzroy. They were
all BCstoil in the breakfast parlor when Sir Frederick arrived,
at
in
and Mrs Fitzroy immediately retired with him to another apart
ment.
sels lace, instead of continuing her work, could do nothing
but look again and again at that portion of it which was al
ready finished, as if she were suddenly struck with the extreme
richness and elegance of the pattern. Agnes was reading;
but the hand which held the book dropped upon her knee,
and while a faint flush came across her cheek, her eyes were
fixed upon the countenance of Jane, who, for once in her life,
looked serious and thoughtful. Was it not strange, that nei
ther spoke to the other, when it would seem to be so natural
they should interchange thoughts upon the object of Sir Fred
erick's visit ? But they were silent. And the only interrup
tion of their silence was now and then a tremulous sigh which
breathed through the lips of Agnes.
In about half an hour, Mrs Fitzroy returned to the room;
for Sir Frederick had taken his departure. She approached
Jane, took her hand affectionately, and as she tenderly lean
ed forward to ki3s her forehead, exclaimed, * I havo long ex
pected such an interview with Sir Frederick Trehearn.' Jane
looked up. There was a radiant smile upon her features which
caught the eye of Agnes. She read edits meaning, and smil
ed too; hut the light of her smile, as it spread itself over her
pale cheeks, was like a wintry sqnbcam upon a bod of snow.
What followed will be as easily anticipated, I doubt not, by
the reader, as it was by both Jane and Agnes. Mrs Fitzroy,
Jane, who was embroidering a beautiful veil of Brus
es
ed
or
to
ing
I having sented herself, informed her daughters (for such she
alvva y s * f yl«d Jane,) that Sir Frederick had waited upon her
to ,,,ake certain customary inquiries, in consequence of having
^ Cûrne( ^ kom his
that he was desirous of being permitted
ledged suitor of
henceforth to consider himself the ack
Jane; a desire which he had no wish to oppose, provided he
was satisfied with respect to her family and fortune, taking it
for granted that Edwaid had already ascertained the inclina
tions of the young lady herself. *And you may be sure, my
dear child,' added Mrs Fitzroy, */ hud nothing to say which
was likely to interpose an obstacle, except, indeed, upon the
score of your fortune, which, though hardly sufficient, perhaps,
ro match with the large expectations of the heir of the Tre
hearn estates, is enough, coupled with he rich dowry of
yourself, to make you the worthy sharer of a dukedom. Sir
Frederick, I
happy to say, estimates the money vulue of
what you possess, in the same liberal spirit. So now my child, |
you have only to consult your own heart well, before you fi- j
nally take a step, in which, according
consulted or not, must be ever the chances of its ufier felici
the heart is well
ty.'
The affectionate and parental lone with which Mrs Fitzroy
uttered these words, was answered by the tears of Jane, as
they fell fiist upon the veil she still held in her hands; but Ag
nes, advancing towards her, and tenderly throwing her arms
round her neck, exclaimed, as she gently kissed her, 4 Happy,
happy Jane!' in accents that too well suited with her oven
tears, which now mingled with those of her cousin. In a few
moments the struggle was over; and then, what a touching
contrast there was between the beaming countenance of Jane,
suffused, each instant, by the mantling tinge of conscious joy,
which maiden busnfulness, at times, deepened to the blush of
virgin modesty—true love's silent rapture!—and the feverish
crimson that burned upon the cheek of Agnes, now quenched
and now revived, as hope's expiring torch shot forth its dying
flashes in her stricken heart—true love's silent agony! She,
interview as Sir
like her mother, had long expected such
Frederick Trehearn had that morning sought; but her altered
liiticipation of its object was scarcely a month old. Alas!
our own desires are swift and treacherous pioneers of our se
cret hopes. While they seem to remove all difficulties, to le
vel all obstructions, and to open before us a straight, smooth
path, for the attainment of what we covet, they only dig pit
falls, and prepare ambushes, to betray or surprise our steps in
ne pursuit. Agnes, who had followed in their track, found
..erself engulfed m one of their snares. She awaked as
from a dream. But it availed her nothing that her reason told
.'•■er it was a dream, that she knew she had built up a fairy
palace, aud that the scene of thrilling enchantment had dis-i
I
liui
solved away. The scene, indeed, might vanish; but where it
had once been, remained a ruin! She had realized her own
prophetic fears. In the solitude of her heart, love, which bad
roared itself unbidden, now drooped to unseen decay, in the
withering soil of its birth; and she was ready to exclaim, in
the beautiful language of ono of her favorite authors,—
" Du Heilige, rufe dein Kind zuruck!
Ich habe genossen das irdische Gluck, *
Ich habe gelebt und geliebet!"*
They know little of this passion, who deem it the offspring
of sighs and protestations, of oaths and tears, of prayers and
entreaties, and all the small artillery of courtship. These
but the husbandry which calls forth the common produce of
common soils; the needful aliment of that great principle of
nature, which alike peoples our cities and our plains, our riv
ers, and the air we breathe. In many a heart, where it haf*
never been awakened^ lies the subtle essence, which, when
touched by a kindred essence, starts at once into giant Iifc.-=
And how manifold are the channels through which that kin
dred essence works itself a passage to the sleeping mischief I
A word, a look, a tone of the voice, one pressure of the hand
—though a hundred and a hundred havo preceded it—a sim
ple * Good night,* or a parting * God bless you!'from lips that
have pronounced the former fq^months, shall, in a predestin
ed moment, be, like the spark that falls upon the nitrous heap,
followed by instant combustion.. And then, what a revolution
is effected! The eye sees not—the ear hears not—the mind
perceives not, as they have been wont. A new being is cre
ated— the past is obliterated; nothing seems to remain of what
was; and the very identity of the object, by whom this deli
rium of all the faculties lias been produced is destroyed# We
t ive, in vain, to recall the mere man or woman we hav*
know'll, in the lover or the mistress we now adore. Spell-bound
in the fascination, enthralled in the idolatry of suddenly awak
ened pa i s ous, we discover wisdom, w ? it, oeauty, eloquence,
grace, charms, benignity, and loveliness where hitherto we
beheld them not, or at the most, had only dim and visionary
glimpses of their possible existence. Picture to yourself the
block of rough and shapeless marble, before the magic touch
es of a Canova, a Chantry, or a Fluxman, have chipped and
chiselled away the superfluous rubbish that conceals he liv
ing Venus, or the speaking statesman, and you have the bes
comparison lean imagine of the transformai «ou which tlm
idol of th* human heait undergoes, at the moment when the
heart creates its idol.
Poor Agnes had found her destined moment. She knew
not why, but of late, the presence of Edward Trehearn seem
ed to tranquihzc feelings, which disturbed and harassed her
when he was absent. And then, too, every thing he said, ev
ery thing he did, every thing he thought, had become, a3 it
were, unquestioned oracles with her. He could not be wrong;
and she was surprised how* any body could think or act other
wise than as he thought and acted. If he admired a flower,
or dwelt rapturously upon tho beauties of a landscape, that
flower immediately possessed romo hitherto undiscovered fra
grance or unnoticed elegance in the eyes of Agnes, and that
landscape siiaight had charms which she had never seen be
fore. If he condemned another's conduct, Agnes at once
thought the object of his censure vile; and if he spoke with
enthusiasm of any passage in the poot he was reading, Agnea
read it so often afterwards, that she could soon repeat every
line. When he was expected at the cottage, neither her books,
nor her needle, could fix her attention; her thoughts still run
before tho hour; and many a treasured feeling vas hushed in
to repose till the moment when it could come forth in his pre
sence. Sometimes, indeed, she paused to ask herself the mean
ing of ail this. To question her heart, why it turned so in
stinctively towards him, for the gratification of all its most
cherished emotions ? It was a fruitless scrutiny; a baffled in
quisition; for all she gained by it was to know the fact, but
are
* Tliis is pari of an exquisitely simple melody, which Thekla - *?.j rfrej
Piccolomini has lorn himself from lierai hid. (St e Scftille.'s • WulUms ■ in »)
I despair of infusing the plaintiveeloquenceof the original into u twins '.ntkvqt;
liui me mete English reader, may gather its import in the following attempt ;
"Thou Holy One, take thy child again!
I have tasted of earthly b'Uw :
I have lived, aud 1 have loved!*'