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Taylor, Bayard, 1825-1878

"Beauty and the Beast, and Tales of Home"


"`Yes,' said I, with a blushing confidence of my own passion.
"`Then,' she whispered, `our hearts are wholly in unison. I know
you are true, Enos. I know your noble nature, and I will never
doubt you. This is indeed happiness!'
"And therewith she laid her head on my shoulder, and sighed--
"`Life remits his tortures cruel,
Love illumes his fairest fuel,
When the hearts that once were dual
Meet as one, in sweet renewal!'

"`Miss Ringtop!' I cried, starting away from her, in alarm, `you
don't mean that--that--'
"I could not finish the sentence.
"`Yes, Enos, DEAR Enos! henceforth we belong to each other.'
"The painful embarrassment I felt, as her true meaning shot through
my mind, surpassed anything I had imagined, or experienced in
anticipation, when planning how I should declare myself to Eunice.
Miss Ringtop was at least ten years older than I, far from handsome
(but you remember her face,) and so affectedly sentimental, that I,
sentimental as I was then, was sick of hearing her talk.


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