The reigning belle

by Ann S. Stephens

“At last she took off her shawl, and, kneeling over the little creature, wrapped the garment around it. She did not look at it after this, but arose from her knees, and went staggering away from the river, through a patch of moonlight, and into the shadows, looking toward the rock, continuously, as if she had left her heart behind, and longed to pluck it back to her bosom again.

“After she was gone, I went down to the rock which was now bathed in the beautiful moonlight, and seemed as peaceful as a cradle, for the waters as they swept around it murmured a soft lullaby, and a poisonous vine, which had turned scarlet in the hot sunshine, seemed in its duskiness and dew like an imperial drapery cast around the little creature where it lay.

“A bramble studded with green acrid fruit, which bent it down like the plume from a helmet, drooped its shadow over the infant where it lay muffled in the shawl.

“I put the bramble away and was startled when two great, wide-open eyes looked up at me, through the moonlight, as if wondering at the rough features that met them, instead of the beautiful woman’s face which had drifted away from it through the shadows.

“I took the child in my arms, and laid its little cheek to mine. The touch filled my soul with tenderness; having seen that woman’s face I could not give that child to the almshouse. No, I resolved that she should be my own—the sister of my little Ruth.

“I carried the pretty waif home, and gave her to my wife. She was taken by surprise, and resented the adoption, at first; but it was impossible to resist those pretty, infantile ways, and at last this child became dear to her as our little Ruth. Yes; dear as the boy that was afterwards born to us.

“We kept the fact, that this child was not our own, a secret from every one. Even our children are ignorant that she is not in fact their sister. I never sought to identify the young mother. Remembering how near she had been to murdering her own child, I dared not place it again in her power. Besides, we loved the foundling, and that love grew strong as nature in our hearts.

“You know that I was educated for a better position than has fallen to my lot; and I resolved to give even superior advantages to my children. My wife is a prudent housekeeper, and out of our small resources we have managed to save money enough for this purpose, and to secure a humble home, in which we are now living. If God spares me, some prosperity may yet be won out of our hard lives. But just now, I am desponding, without reason, for my health is good and my purpose strong. If I should be cut down, what will be the fate of my family? I ask this question with a pang. Have I done right to educate these two girls for a position so much higher than they can ever hope to attain? Have I done right in keeping all that I have told you a secret from Eva herself? Was it not my duty to search out the mother, who had cut her off; thus, perhaps, securing to her a future more promising than anything I had to offer?

“I am asking myself these questions now, and the answer is a selfish one. We could not give her up to another.

“My friend, let me tell you all. The woman who abandoned her child, with such throes of anguish, was no common person. Everything about her bespoke refinement and wealth. The shawl, in which she wrapped her infant, was a rare and costly one. The garments were enriched with the finest lace; the sleeves were looped back with pink coral—such as can only be found in perfection at Naples—fastened with a clasp of gold.