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Article BROTHERLY LOVE. ← Page 6 of 13 →
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Brotherly Love.
that I should have relinquished the duties of hospitality toivards our relative and guest . "
"And I suppose , said Simon , resuming his asperity , "that he is handsome—gifted ivith all the charms of comely youth . I do remember that he ivas a fair , symmetrical boy . His spring gave promise of a bright maturity of form and feature . His eyes were soft , and blue , and dreamy , just that description young maidens so much admire . He ivas our local Adonis , and I the Satyr . Ha , and lie had a fluent tongue , and used to
write sonnets made up of moonlight and stars , and rife with , the soft images bred by lwerics beside the murmuring stream , and , in the depths of the forest , musical ivith feathered minstrelsy , and fragrant ivith fresh
floAvers springing beneath his feet—while I have fed my soul on the cataract's roar , and the dark ravine , and the rude and stunted shrubs that sprang from its hoary fissures , and the hoarse croak of the raven , for these ivere a type of me , loveless , misshapen , rugged , and repulsive . " " lor shame , I repeat , Simoii , to indulge in such gloomy thoughts —• think of your intellect . "
" Ancl ivhat is the A'alue of that intellect ? " he exclaimed ivith bitterness ; " what is its value , except to contrast ivith my physical deformity , and to fill my mind ivith images of beauty that one reflection of my coarse features and ungainly form makes me crush in their birth , from their dissimilarity to my loathed exterior ? What is the value of that intellect—can it win mc love ?" " I am sure , Simon , there are those ivho do love , and ivill always love you while you retain your reputation for superior intellect . "
" Bless you for these words , Ida , " he exclaimed , his manner suddenlyaltering . " I ivill retain here at least that reputation , and your ivords revive the hope that was dying in my soul , that even you , ivho in I love so ardently , who are so lovel y in person and mind , ivhose voice is like some ivild melody that finds an echo in my heart , ivhere all beside is discord , ivhose presence alone can brighten the dark void of my existence , that even you may love the rude being whom you alone have saved from misanthropy . "
What reply this impassioned speech might have elicited , it is impossible to say , for the young girl seemed deeply affected by the devotion of her rude suitor , but as she was about to answer , the sound of a' clock issuing from the town ivas audible in the stillness of the . evening . It caused her to start , and having taken a hurried adieu of Simon , she returned ivith a quick step in the direction by which she had approached . Simon gazed
after her receding form till it ivas no longer visible , and then , with a sigh , followed the path b y Avhich she had departed . CHAPTER II . —THE DEFEAT .
The next morning , at an early hour , a number of the inhabitants had assembled in a church in one of the suburbs of the town , ivhere the ceremony of competing for the prize ivas to take place . This edifice was selected as being one Qf the most spacious in the vicinity ,, and containing -
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Brotherly Love.
that I should have relinquished the duties of hospitality toivards our relative and guest . "
"And I suppose , said Simon , resuming his asperity , "that he is handsome—gifted ivith all the charms of comely youth . I do remember that he ivas a fair , symmetrical boy . His spring gave promise of a bright maturity of form and feature . His eyes were soft , and blue , and dreamy , just that description young maidens so much admire . He ivas our local Adonis , and I the Satyr . Ha , and lie had a fluent tongue , and used to
write sonnets made up of moonlight and stars , and rife with , the soft images bred by lwerics beside the murmuring stream , and , in the depths of the forest , musical ivith feathered minstrelsy , and fragrant ivith fresh
floAvers springing beneath his feet—while I have fed my soul on the cataract's roar , and the dark ravine , and the rude and stunted shrubs that sprang from its hoary fissures , and the hoarse croak of the raven , for these ivere a type of me , loveless , misshapen , rugged , and repulsive . " " lor shame , I repeat , Simoii , to indulge in such gloomy thoughts —• think of your intellect . "
" Ancl ivhat is the A'alue of that intellect ? " he exclaimed ivith bitterness ; " what is its value , except to contrast ivith my physical deformity , and to fill my mind ivith images of beauty that one reflection of my coarse features and ungainly form makes me crush in their birth , from their dissimilarity to my loathed exterior ? What is the value of that intellect—can it win mc love ?" " I am sure , Simon , there are those ivho do love , and ivill always love you while you retain your reputation for superior intellect . "
" Bless you for these words , Ida , " he exclaimed , his manner suddenlyaltering . " I ivill retain here at least that reputation , and your ivords revive the hope that was dying in my soul , that even you , ivho in I love so ardently , who are so lovel y in person and mind , ivhose voice is like some ivild melody that finds an echo in my heart , ivhere all beside is discord , ivhose presence alone can brighten the dark void of my existence , that even you may love the rude being whom you alone have saved from misanthropy . "
What reply this impassioned speech might have elicited , it is impossible to say , for the young girl seemed deeply affected by the devotion of her rude suitor , but as she was about to answer , the sound of a' clock issuing from the town ivas audible in the stillness of the . evening . It caused her to start , and having taken a hurried adieu of Simon , she returned ivith a quick step in the direction by which she had approached . Simon gazed
after her receding form till it ivas no longer visible , and then , with a sigh , followed the path b y Avhich she had departed . CHAPTER II . —THE DEFEAT .
The next morning , at an early hour , a number of the inhabitants had assembled in a church in one of the suburbs of the town , ivhere the ceremony of competing for the prize ivas to take place . This edifice was selected as being one Qf the most spacious in the vicinity ,, and containing -