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VOL.
VIII.
CONTENTE.
hgcl l, 2 A: 3.-Disappointed Ambition; or, Wedded and Single-A
Tilt! of the Day, by Ag-nen M. Etewnntconrinued). Catholic Anecdotes
or, The cateciiim in Examples (continued). Napoleon and the Black
Cardinals. Manchester Cathedral.
Pages 4 at 5.-Lilian Irish News. Catholic Inte1ligcnce>Foreigi7.
Mooring of the Catholic Congress for 136-[st Mnlines, Irish Deaths.
r-gen 6 -is 7.-Foreign um! Home Miscellany.
Pugs s & 9.--The Prcsidentin.lCIn1paign. The Propagation ofihe Faith.
Cltholicity Old and New. The English Press in 1!. Fusion. Tho Situation.
Colonization of the Western Territories. The St. vmccnl do Paul society.
The New York rlwologiul Society. An Intelligent Critic. The Postal
Money Order System, at-,, &L‘.
Pages W at ll,vPoetry"l'hc I-‘armor; My Mnlhvr. An Excrllcnt
Journal. The Insioi-y of Ireland, Ancient nlltl Modern. Aizbomron-. Sm:
of Jlimrs Robert Hope sum, F.nq., c:.c. sire the Children. In Rebel
Annics. From Auaxmi. Wm l’ndinsiDorninica. The King of Spain.
Order at Our Lady at Mercy. Re-opening of St. Francis x2i1Er'S college.
New York Markets, kc.
Pnzealz is lJ.vCii'cul:ir of mo Mm Rev. the Archbishop on Orphan
Arylunis. Catholic 11:i'elligcncr7D<vmrr.tic. Circular. The Draft, From
General sneimn. ucneml News items. General Rosecrans Vinihcuted.
Aduenisemem.-.
Pages 14, 15 c l3.v-Advci11rnmcnts.
“ii’fls'.i”iiiiEi"ifiii‘iiiii7ii:iilli'iir1ofi;K
WEDDED ANYD SINGLE.
A TALE OF THE DAY.
BY AGNES M. STEWART, ,
AETEDRESS or “rm: woiinii Axis THE C1.0'lS‘1“ER.," mo, :10.
CHAPTER XXII.
Tiiii Christmas festivities had not yet passed away
when Esther was so harshly expelled from her
father’ s house, and as the Captain had decided on
Spepdlng a short time on the Continent, previously to
taking command of his fiigatc, he wisely determined
to lose no time, but espouse Esther immediately.
. The latter, we need not say, was received most
J0Yf'111y by Mrs. Clifton and Mildred; and a few
dllyslater‘ she penned :1 long letter to her father, en-
iremng him, in the name of Everard as well as her
“V113 to be present at their approaching nuptials, and
receive hcr again into his favor. To"this letter no
answer was returned. Even Lucy’s visits to her
mother were suspended; and the party at the cottage
learned, from other sources, that a grand party had
gel‘, EIVPII by the Deacon, in honor of the marriage
Sh his friend Ephraim, and that, in a speech made by
9, Deacon, he had alluded to the misfortune by
Wlllcll he had been visited in Esther’s rebellion to his
Wishes.
fl What can’t be cured must be endlired, Estlier,”
2:5 Mrs. Clifton, as with a sorrowful face and tear-
muE3’5E. she one day declared that she supposed she
densttl give up looking for a letter from papa, who evi-
f Y would not write now; “so put on a cheerful
“E; for Everard will be back to-day, and let us have
Y0“! ti-ousseau in readiness, for the end of the week
we near.”
re We had omitted to state that Captain Seymour had
Phlred to London the day after he had received the
3011001) 9 permission to marry Esther, in search of
imee little etceteras for his bride, and also with the
.12 “I011 of b.rui%ing back his aged fntlier with him,
Xwas to give sther away.
in “ii 188]: the eventful morning arrived; and, arrayed
Wm 9 F‘mP198t manner possible-her dress of plain
van” 5'11‘: trimmed with orange blossoms, and a white
ova-Olyer her head, her golden hair falling in ringlets
her b $1’ Shoulders--as Esther is a virgin bride-and
t,mef;,‘de5m”d$y Rosa Harcourt and Mildred, also
the 5“-“Ply flressed, the bridal party filled
Tone Abbe .3898 which were to convey them to the
wN0F 8 httle excitement did the news of Estliei-ls
nos I 1m1n’"'“"5nY 01'e8&9. The whole story, in which
a romance was interwoven, had long been on
NEWTOEL s;iTiiiii5Xi,‘siip‘i’Ehi3ii’ii"Si, 1864.
l ps of the '.l‘oi-quay gossip nr,‘, the marriage of
;the daughter of a man of such i lutii,-e as the Dea-
con, lier conversion to Catholicism, her previous re-
jection of the young minister, and herlimil expulsion,
disinherited as she Was, from her father's house, fur-
‘nished a rich theme for the gossips of the neighbor-
hood; and few there were, either gentle or simple,
who did not wander to the Abbey Park on that
morning.
A niotlcy crowd assembled in the old chapel: and
as this was in very truth a Catholic wedding, the bride
and bridegroom both communicated at the Mass
which was offered up for them after the ceremony
was concluded-for ESCIHX‘ hurl been well instructed,
though so secretly, and wanted but little more after
her departure from the Oakliiiids.
There were three persons, however, at the core-
mony, whose presence Esther littlc dreamed of: for
in a dark recess stood her father and his friend the
minister; and in one of the tribunes quite alone, her
presence unknown to her husband, kneels Lucy, veiled
an ed. She had arrived very early. so as to
escape observation, and through the folds of licr thick
veil shc gazes down, herself unseen, on the Wedding
party beneath. She thinks of her own bridal morn,
with all its pomp and pageantry; she watclics so ea-
gerly that happy pair draw nigh to receive tlic Holy
Communion, of which she did not partake; she had
listened so trcmblingly when those indissolublc words
were pronounced, which made those two one, till
death itself should break tliebond; and she had pressed
her hand conviilsively upon her heart to stop its
throbbing, when the soft voice of Estlicr brake upon
her care-when the deep tones of am who mm! would
have vowed to love and cherish ]L6'7‘, if she would have
it so, clearly and distinctly fell upon her ear.
And wealth, too, was Esther‘s without her seeking
--for sin‘ would have married Seymour, poor as he
was, when he proposed to me, says Lucy to hqself,
as her mind recurred to old scenes and old times.
But now all is nearly over. save the exhortstion of
the white-robed pricst,before whom kneeltlic wedded
p:1ii',who, one in faith. humbly can treasure up the
words he uttci's,:1nnl will place them to good account.
And now the bridal party disappear, the vapory
wrcatlis of incense gradually fade away, the 1'
are extiiigiiishcd, and all have left the chapel .
Lucy. She lingers. Oh! why, but that, liappily,that
little spark of faith still alive be not quite e ingiiished.
Slic kneels, and prays in bitterness of spirit,‘ a load of
iron is on her soul ; fl, sin, she knows full well, hasloiig
lurked thnre, of the existence of vhich for some time
she had not even drczimezl; but "iow she is aware of
its presence; and wistfully. lon ingly does she gaze
at the door cftlie confessional. 11! what would she
not give to have the COll1'fige to declare that sin; and
yet, evcn that morning she has yielded to tempta-
tion; for her soul yearned once aim to see him who,
since she plcilgerl her faith to Reuben Ashley, never
could be iiuglit to her. And, oh.’ strange perversity
of the humdn lic:irt, him whom she never loved so
much till she knew that she had made ii. fell mistake
in fancying she loved wealth far bettermhim on whom
her tlioiights had ceased to rest, till she regarded Es-
ther as his bi-idc-then the ever-biisy tempter set to
work on her ungunrdeil soul. She thought on what
her life might have been, and what it was. She had
nerved herself up boldly to play the hypocrite the
few last weeks; to smile when she would fain have
wept; to look happy and contented in Reuben’s pres-
encc, when it was all irksomcness and misery ; and on
this wedding day had stolen forth, sin-laden. to the
Abbey Chapel, again yielding to the tempterh voice.
The lamp of the sanctuary still sent up its bright,
red dame before the tabernacle, where the Holy
of Holies reposed, shrouded under the lowly veils in
which the Catholic loves to EO'l1CV’[VlplB.l0 his Lord;
and there, oh l unwonted sightgdoshbliuply linger still,
rzi ' earnest] and loug,mlg ts e ut ave strength
fheryiutlg conquer)‘, the shame she $915 at the digclo.
sure of that sin which rests upon her soul-for in
thought, at least, she has broken the faith she has
pledged to Reuben. And, harkl 9. footfall sounds
upon her ear; and now the venerable priest, who
was Lucy’s spiritual guide and friend, emerges from
the sacristy, and kncels in the sanctuary to pray. He
would not attend, then, the wedding breakfast, only
..=
<.-v
m
itlie friend of Everard, who had just performed the
inarriag;c weremoiiy.
1 Many months had passed since Lucy had ventured
,to approach the sacraments. She fiiin would seek
,thc confessional; and the wretched woman half rose
from her knees, resolved to deposit sin and its burden
,lat the feet of that venerable priest. She rises, steps
softly forth, and opens the door of the tribune, when
the Evil One whispers false shame to her soul,-nnd
- she again draws bac '.
: . no. no. Could she dare breathe into his ear?
could she tell him who had so counselled and so warn-
ed her against her luckless marriage of the mon-
ster sin she bore in her soul? Should she not sink
for sliame under the sclfabasement of such a confes-
sion; for one after another, in all their naked defor-
mity, rush before her mind's eye her many shortcom-
ings-hor greed of wealth; to satisfy this greed, lier
acceptance of Reuben Aslileyls hand ; the cruelty
with which she had treated Esther; the mean, plot-
ting spirit by which she had been actuated; and
then the dark sin which stained her soul. No, she
cannot bear to confess lier soul’s burden to this old
friend. “ Another day,” she says to herself, “I will
order the carriage to drive me to some distant town,
and I will seek some strange priest, and in his car I
can better deposit this sin. 9 would be so shocked
to think that I should sin so deeply; and I should feel
such shame with one to whom I am known so well."
Oh! false shame, false reasoning, inspired by the
tenipter. But so it was the timely inspiration was un-
heeded; and Lucy crcpt forth from the tribune with
a stealthy step, for she trembled to facehim. Having‘
thus resolved. knowing that, with the privilege of an
old friend and a Catholic priest, some admonitory
word would not be wanted as to the cause of her
lengthened absence from the Abbey apel, she very
cautiously and gently stole down the stairs, and out
through a side door, never disturbingtlie priest, who
still lingered in the sanctuary, and bearing away with
her her burden of sin and woe.
And long before Lucy had dragged her trembling
limbs to her luxurious home, her husbaiid and the old
minister had returned by a different route to that
which she had taken; and when they were out
of heating of the gay loitcrers who had assembled
e to witness Estherls wedding, the Deacon exclaimed,
sighing deeply:
“A pretty scene, indeed, have I witnessed this
morning, for the way in which my wretched daugh-
ter has been married shows me that she will be a
most fervent Papist."
“No doubt at all about it,” replied Mr. Hopley;
“ and take my word for it, tlinl. marriage will prove
fiihappy one. I Iifltstehnog losing bEstl;cr, BIA-. Ashley,
orsiewnsonco c est amso m oc" Jut
you know it has all com%lier secdssion ‘from
zunon st us, and her marriage with Seymour-to
those Popish iniiuences amidst which she was so rash-
ly cast. You were inconsistent, my good fiiond, no
doubt at all about it; but there are elements for hap-
piness in the union I have witnessed, and so for, well
and good; however, act with more circumspection as
the little ones at home ow u . y the way," he
added, “ who was the white-haired old gentleman who
gave away our pretty Esther?”
“ I suppose it was Scymour's father,” almost groan-
ed the Deacon. “There now, Hopley, I Wish you
had not asked that question, for I felt irritated beyond
measure when I beheld that old man so coolly taking
my place.
“ Well, that is excellent, considering you would not
take the place which of right belonged to you,” re-
plied Mr. Hopley. “ I think that was too tcriiliing fan
affair to rullle our tern er; however. goo - ye or
the present,” his added,Pas he arrived fit ‘his 0Wn
house. “ Mind, I prophecy that this marriage, Pa-
pistical as it is, will prove a happy one; and do you
take care how Mrs. Ashley brings up your other
children.”
“You were quite right..Mr. IIOp1ey," replied the
Deacon, “ but you really will drive me mad if you so
perpetually remind me of the consequences that have
occurred from not following your advice. Ireiilly
think you”don't much care that Esther has so on-
raged me.
“ Oh, yes, I care very much,” replied the minister,