We had gone into Devonshire, for the purpose of being more retired, that
we might study more attentively, and with less chance of interruption,
than in a town. We chose, accordingly, for our residence, one of the
most beautiful and retired cottages we ever saw. It was situated very
near the sea; and, oh! what thoughts used to steal over us, of romance
and true love, as we gazed upon that quiet ocean, from the vine-covered
window of our quiet, sweet, secluded home! Day after day, we wandered
among the woods in the neighbourhood, and rejoiced, at each successive
visit, to find out new beauties. This continued for some time; till at
last, on returning one day, we saw an unusual bustle in the room we
occupied. On entering, we found our landlady hurrying out in great
confusion, and, along with her, a beautiful, blushing girl, so perfectly
ladylike in her appearance, that we wondered by what means our venerable
hostess could have become acquainted with so interesting a visiter. She
soon explained the mystery; this lady, who seemed more bewitching every
moment that we gazed on her, was the daughter of a 'squire in whose
family our worthy landlady had been nurse. She had come, without knowing
that any lodger was in the house, and was to stay a week. Oh! that week!
the happiest of our life. We soon became intimate; our books lay fast
locked up at the bottom of our trunk: we walked together, saw the sun
set together in the calm ocean, and then walked happily and contentedly
home in the twilight; and long before the week was at an end, we had
vowed eternal vows, and sworn everlasting constancy. We had not, to
be sure, discovered any great powers of mind in our enslaver; but how
interesting is even ignorance, when it comes from such a beautiful
and smiling mouth! We had already formed happy plans of moulding her
unformed opinions, and directing and sharing all her studies. The little
slips which were observable in her grammar, we attributed to want of
care; and the accent, which was very powerful, was rendered musical to
our ear, at the same time as dear to our heart, by the whiteness of the
little arm that lay so quietly and lovingly within our own. And then,
her taste in poetry was not the most delicate or refined; but she was so
enthusiastically fond of it, that we imagined a little training would
lead her to prefer many of Mr. Moore's ballads, to the pathos of Giles
Scroggins; and that in time, the "Shining River" might occupy a superior
place, in her estimation, to a song from which she repeated, with tears
in her eyes--,
"But like the star what lighted
Pale billion to its fated doom,
Our nuptial song is blighted,
And its rose quench'd in its bloom."
And then, she seemed so fond of flowers, and knew so much about their
treatment, that we fancied how lovely she must look while engaged in that
fascinating study; and often, in our dreaming moods, did we mutter about
"Fair Proserpine
Within the vale of Enna gathering flowers,
Herself the fairest flower."--
But why should we repeat what every one can imagine so well for himself?
At last, the hour of parting came; and, week after week, her stay at the
cottage had been prolonged, till our departure took place before hers.
And on that day she looked, as all men's sweethearts do at leaving them,
more touchingly beautiful than ever we had seen her before; and after we
had torn ourself away, we looked back, and there we saw her standing in
the same spot we had left her, a statue of misery and despair,--"like
Niobe all tears."
Astonishment occupied the minds of all our friends on our return to
college. The change which took place on our feelings and conduct was
indeed amazing; our mornings were devoted to gazing on a lock of
our--she was rather unfortunate in a name--our Grizel's hair, and to
lonely hours of musing in the meadow on all the adventures of our
sojourn in Devonshire. No longer we stood listlessly in the quadrangle,
joining the knots of idlers, of whom we used to be one of the chief;
no longer had even Castles' Havannahs any charms for our lips; and our
whole heart was wrapt up in the expectation of a letter. This we were
not to receive for three long weeks; and by that time she was to have
returned home, consulted her father on the subject of our attachment,
and return us a definitive reply. We wrote in the meantime--such a
letter! We are assured it must have been written on a sheet of asbestos,
or it must infallibly have taken fire. It began, "Lovely and most
beautiful Grizel!" and ended, "Your adorer." At last the letter that was
to conclude all our hopes was put into our hands. We had some men that
morning to breakfast; we received it just as they were beginning the
third pie. How heartily we prayed they would he off and leave us
alone! But no--on they kept swallowing pigeon after pigeon, and seemed
to consider themselves as completely fixtures as the grate or the
chimney-piece. We wished devoutly to see a bone sticking in the throat
of our most intimate friend, and, by way of getting quit of them, had
thoughts of setting fire to the room. At last, however, they departed.
Immediately as the skirt of the last one's coat disappeared, we
carefully locked and bolted our door, and, with hands trembling with
joy, we took out the letter. Not very clean was its appearance, and not
over correct or well-spelt was its address; and, above all, a yellow,
dingy wafer filled up the place of the green wax we had expected, and
the true lover's motto, "Though lost to sight, to memory dear," was
supplied by the impression of a thimble. We opened it. Horror and
amazement! never was such penmanship beheld. The lines were complete
exemplifications of the line of beauty, so far as their waving, and
twisting, and twining was concerned; and the orthography it was past
all human comprehension to understand.
"My deerest deere, dear sur,"--this was the letter,--"i kim him more nor
a wic agon, butt i cuddunt right yu afore ass i av bin with muther an
asnt seed father till 2 day. he sais as my fortin is 3 hundurd pouns,
he sais as he recomminds me tu take mi hold lover Mister Tomas the
gaurdnar, he sais as yu caunt mary no boddi, accause you must be a
batseller three ears. if thiss be troo i am candied enuff to tell you
ass i caunt wate so long my deerast deer, o yu ave brock mi art! wy did
yu sai al ass yu sad iff yu cud unt mary nor none of the scolards at
hocksfoot Kolidge. father sais as ther iss sum misstake praps yu did unt
no ass mother is not marid 2 father butt is marrid to the catchmun and
father is marad to a veri gud ladi ass gove me a gud edocasion. mi
deerest deere it brakes my art all from yu for tu part, i rot them lines
this marnin. mister tomas sais as i gov im mi prumass befor i cum to ave
the apiness of see yu. butt i dant thinc i giv mor promass to him. nor
2 manni uthers. mi deerest deer and troo luv cuppid! i feer our nutshell
song is blitid and its ros kwencht in its blum. them was plesent ours
when the carnashuns and tullups was all in blo, wasunt them mi deer luv.
mister tomas sais ass he can mari me in a munth and father sais i hot tu
take im. iff so be as yu caun't du it beefor i thinc i shal take im ass
father sais there is sum mistake, mi deerest deere mi art is brock butt
i thinc i shall take im iff so bee as I dant ear frum yu. gud nite my
troo luv i shal kip your lockat for a kipsic an yu ma kiss my luck off
air for the sack of your brockan arted
"GRIZEL."
It is astonishing how the perusal of this cured us of our affection.
At the first line we recollected that she had a tendency to squint,
and long before we came to the conclusion, we remembered that her
ancles were rather thick, and her feet by no means of diminutive size.
Thus ended our love adventures at the University. Our heroine we have
never heard of since, and we have resisted the most tempting offers
from the loveliest of her sex; and in spite of sighing heiresses and
compassionate old maids, we are still a bachelor; and a bachelor,
in defiance of all their machinations, we are firmly determined to
remain.--_Blackwood's Magazine._
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