Alida; or, Miscellaneous Sketches of Incidents During the Late American War.
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CHAPTER XVI.
"Dejection pales thy rosy cheek, And steals the lustre from thine eye; The minutes of each tedious hour, Are mark'd by sad anxiety:
"And all thy soft, endearing smiles, That spoke with such expressive grace, Alas! are fled, and only care Is seen upon that pensive face."
The sublime works of nature had shed abroad their cheering influences,and the mild and salubrious breezes of spring had succeeded to theblustering gales of winter. The parents of Alida made preparation toreturn to the country. Alida's father was declining in health. He hadimparted to his son his wish for him to close and settle his mercantileaffairs in the city, (as the times were dreary,) and return to thepaternal estate. In the meantime, Albert's assistance was necessary toalleviate his father, as he was now advanced in years, and hadprincipally relinquished all public business, except attending to itscalls only when requested in cases of emergency.
Mr. Bolton had been with the family several days, and attended them onboard the steamboat. One would scarcely suppose that so interesting anexterior as his, blended with highly polished manners, should not havemade some impression on the mind of Alida if her heart had beendisengaged. Besides, he was a person too amiable not to be esteemed. Hisideas with regard to Alida were altogether sanguine. He believed, assoon as he should ask the consent of her parents, he would easily obtainhis wishes. He considered his own fortune already sufficient, withoutseeking more in the din of business. And he possessed many otheradvantages which pleaded in his favour. With these hopes of assuredsuccess, he made proposals to her father. The manner in which her fatherreplied to him was altogether discouraging, which excluded the hope ofhis ever gaining the hand of his daughter by his consent. This denialwas a sensible cause of chagrin to Mr. Bolton, but yet it did notdiscourage him.
The impatience sometimes of obtaining a thing which is refused to us,renders it still more desirable, and the heart is never in a greaterflutter than when it is agitated with the fear of losing the object itmost wishes to gain. Moreover, he believed that Alida was alreadyinterested in his favour, and he determined to suggest to her, the firstopportunity, the plan to elope with him, and thus put it out of thepower of her father to impede their happiness.
The day was calm and serene, and the air invigorating. The steam-boatfloated slowly upon the waters in monotonous movement. There was musicon board. A company of militia were going to the village of ----, wherethey usually paraded the town for several hours, took dinner at thehotel, and then returned again to the city.
Alida remained on deck nearly the whole way, to be a spectator of thevarious, beautiful landscapes that presented themselves on the river,particularly at this season of the year. A gentle breeze sprung up asthey passed the little islands at the entrance of the bay, on whoseglassy surface the sun shone with meridian splendour, illustrating thepeculiar beauty of the diversified scenery. In the course of a few hoursthey arrived at the village of ----, where they obtained a conveyance totake them on to their family residence, where they arrived some time inthe afternoon.
Although all nature was smiling around, and the variegated landscapenever appeared more enchanting, birds of every description were seenchirping on the spray, and the trees resounded with their sportivemelody, and Alida might still have been happy if she had never becomeacquainted with Theodore; yet while she had the appearance of serenity,she still cherished a secret uneasiness. She had never received anyintelligence concerning him since they had last parted. She imaginedherself altogether forgotten, as Bonville had frequently suggested.Besides, he had represented Theodore as worthless. Harrassed andoppressed by a thousand different conjectures, she could scarcelysupport herself under them with any degree of resignation.
In this frame of mind, in serious meditation, she took a seat by thewindow. The sun was declining slowly beneath the horizon to gladdenother regions. The spire of the village church was tipped with gold, andthe resplendent rays reflected from the window dazzled the eye. Abovewas the azure vault variegated with fleecy clouds; beneath was nature'sverdant carpet. The little songsters of the adjoining grove were payingtheir tribute of praise in melodious strains. The bleating of the lambs,and the lowing of the milky train, re-echoed from the fields andvalleys; while the gentle murmuring of the water-fall at the mill, withits rumbling cadence over the dam, was heard at a little distance. "Howstill is nature," said Alida. "The sun has withdrawn his radiance, yetthe gleam from yonder western sky bespeaks him still at hand, promisingto return with his reviving warmth when nature is refreshed withdarkness. The bay is already beginning to be silvered over by the mildrays of the queen of night. Gently she steals on the world, while shebestows on us her borrowed splendour. She lights the wanderingtraveller, she warms the earth with gentle heat. She dazzles not the eyeof the philosopher, but invites him to contemplate and admire. Scarcelya breeze is stirring; the shadow of each tree remains undisturbed; theunruffled bay and river glide smoothly on, reflecting nature's face.Again the attention is drawn, and the eye wanders to yon vast concave,where the mind follows in silent wonder, wandering among the planets,till, struck with beauty of the whole, it acknowledges 'the Hand thatmade it is divine.'
"Surely," said Alida, "all nature conspires to calm the mind, to restoretranquillity, to soften every care and corroding thought. But what canease the troubled mind, which, like the angry sea, after agitation byblustering winds, 'tis still tumultuous?" Where now, thought she, isTheodore? What sadness and difficulty may not his noble and generousspirit have had to encounter! His tender sensibility, his serene andpacific disposition, may have had numerous trials; and how unhappy hemay be, who was ever ardent in his endeavours to communicate peace andhappiness to others! When she reflected upon all his goodness, hiszealous piety, his religious sentiments the same as her own, andrecalled to her memory happier days, when she had listened with pleasureto the powerful eloquence of a corresponding spirit. And her esteem forhim rose higher, while he commented on religious truths, and bade herplace a firm dependence on Divine Providence. Amid these uneasysensations, which filled the bosom of Alida with anxiety and grief, andleft her mind in a state of despondency, the period arrived for thecelebration of her father's birth-day, which brought with it, as usual,much company from the city, from the neighbouring village, with theparish minister and his family.
After her several sisters had arrived, and nearly all the company hadcollected, Alida entered the drawing-room with spirits somewhatre-animated. Bonville was already there. He arose and handed her to aseat. He accompanied the first salutations with many flatteringcompliments, but with all his endeavours to win her favour, he could notawaken even a temporary regard in the bosom of Alida. In the meantime,she had full leisure to observe his singular behaviour, to listen to hisinsinuating address, to hear him mention the name of Theodore, and whenhe observed her feelings were excited, to hear him suddenly change thesubject. He sometimes appeared to regard her with an eye of pity, but itarose from a consciousness of his own errors, bordering on baseness. Hefelt unhappy at his own want of integrity, and his heart reproached himwith injustice and treachery.