One not less
gifted than him; as good, as gentle, as gracious; once too
breathed in my ear the accents of joy. He was, like myself,
the child of an old house, and Nature had invested him with
every quality that can dazzle and can charm. But his heart
was as pure, and his soul as lofty, as his intellect and frame
were bright,--" and Ursula paused.
Sybil pressed the hand of Ursula to her lips and whispered,
"Speak on."
"The dreams of by-gone days," continued Ursula in a voice of
emotion, "the wild sorrows than I can recall, and yet feel
that I was wisely chastened. He was stricken in his virtuous
pride, the day before he was to have led me to that altar
where alone I found the consolation that never fails. And
thus closed some years of human love, my Sybil," said Ursula,
bending forward and embracing her. "The world for a season
crossed their fair current, and a power greater than the world
forbade their banns; but they are hallowed; memory is my
sympathy; it is soft and free, and when he came here to
enquire after you, his presence and agitated heart recalled
the past."
"It is too wild a thought," said Sybil, "ruin to him, ruin to
all. No, we are severed by a fate as uncontrollable as
severed you dear friend; ours is a living death.
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