登陆注册
20055300000066

第66章

Augustine was glad in his heart that he had married so undiscerning a woman; but as the glosses and civilities of the honeymoon wore away, he discovered that a beautiful young woman, who has lived all her life to be caressed and waited on, might prove quite a hard mistress in domestic life. Marie never had possessed much capability of affection, or much sensibility, and the little that she had, had been merged into a most intense and unconscious selfishness; a selfishness the more hopeless, from its quiet obtuseness, its utter ignorance of any claims but her own. From her infancy, she had been surrounded with servants, who lived only to study her caprices; the idea that they had either feelings or rights had never dawned upon her, even in distant perspective. Her father, whose only child she had been, had never denied her anything that lay within the compass of human possibility; and when she entered life, beautiful, accomplished, and an heiress, she had, of course, all the eligibles and non-eligibles of the other sex sighing at her feet, and she had no doubt that Augustine was a most fortunate man in having obtained her. It is a great mistake to suppose that a woman with no heart will be an easy creditor in the exchange of affection. There is not on earth a more merciless exactor of love from others than a thoroughly selfish woman; and the more unlovely she grows, the more jealously and scrupulously she exacts love, to the uttermost farthing. When, therefore, St. Clare began to drop off those gallantries and small attentions which flowed at first through the habitude of courtship, he found his sultana no way ready to resign her slave; there were abundance of tears, poutings, and small tempests, there were discontents, pinings, upbraidings. St. Clare was good-natured and self-indulgent, and sought to buy off with presents and flatteries; and when Marie became mother to a beautiful daughter, he really felt awakened, for a time, to something like tenderness.

St. Clare's mother had been a woman of uncommon elevation and purity of character, and he gave to his child his mother's name, fondly fancying that she would prove a reproduction of her image. The thing had been remarked with petulant jealousy by his wife, and she regarded her husband's absorbing devotion to the child with suspicion and dislike; all that was given to her seemed so much taken from herself. From the time of the birth of this child, her health gradually sunk. A life of constant inaction, bodily and mental,--the friction of ceaseless ennui and discontent, united to the ordinary weakness which attended the period of maternity,--in course of a few years changed the blooming young belle into a yellow faded, sickly woman, whose time was divided among a variety of fanciful diseases, and who considered herself, in every sense, the most ill-used and suffering person in existence.

There was no end of her various complaints; but her principal forte appeared to lie in sick-headache, which sometimes would confine her to her room three days out of six. As, of course, all family arrangements fell into the hands of servants, St. Clare found his menage anything but comfortable. His only daughter was exceedingly delicate, and he feared that, with no one to look after her and attend to her, her health and life might yet fall a sacrifice to her mother's inefficiency. He had taken her with him on a tour to Vermont, and had persuaded his cousin, Miss Ophelia St. Clare, to return with him to his southern residence; and they are now returning on this boat, where we have introduced them to our readers.

And now, while the distant domes and spires of New Orleans rise to our view, there is yet time for an introduction to Miss Ophelia.

同类推荐
  • 养蒙金鉴

    养蒙金鉴

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 七言绝

    七言绝

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • Concerning Christian Liberty

    Concerning Christian Liberty

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 刘子遗书

    刘子遗书

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 佛说金刚般若波罗蜜经略疏

    佛说金刚般若波罗蜜经略疏

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
热门推荐
  • 灾厄邪眼

    灾厄邪眼

    身为驱魔师的夜听寒,拥有着令人崇敬的驱魔之力,身体里却潜藏着比妖魔的更加可怕的黑暗......家族的抛弃和世人的冷眼,也无法阻挡他前进的脚步,且看一个拥有灾厄邪眼的少年,如何向这个世界证明自己的存在!!!
  • 下一轮经济危机2:中国凭什么幸免于难

    下一轮经济危机2:中国凭什么幸免于难

    虽然人们将爆发的危机命名为美国次贷危机、美债危机、欧债危机,可为什么中国的经济同样那么艰难?如果说,中国经济下滑的重要原因在于外部环境的恶化,那为什么中国的股价下跌得比美国和欧洲的大部分国家都要严重呢?作者认为,这一轮经济危机的实质在于创新的停滞。创新停滞导致生产力增长乏力,社会支出大于社会产出,主权债务如雪球般越滚越大。而政府基于社会和经济稳定的诉求,在错误思想的指导下,释放流动性,制造通胀。“货币把戏只能收到表面的一时之效,从长远看它肯定会让国家陷入更深重的灾难。”政府对解决危机的一次次拖延,使危机积蓄力量,蓄势待发。
  • 闪婚蜜爱:总裁宠妻如命

    闪婚蜜爱:总裁宠妻如命

    一次失败的恋爱,让她落入危机。为自救她陷入他爱的陷阱,从此难以救赎。只愿在他那如蜜的陷阱中越陷越深。
  • 校检侠踪

    校检侠踪

    这是一部有科幻恐怖情节的古典小说,故事跌宕起伏,章节分明,能带给观众无比的真实感,又能留给观众无穷的联想,令人回味无穷。
  • 贪婪的人生

    贪婪的人生

    我叫陈大器,曾经是个赌徒,本书写下我10年赌场生涯的经历。
  • 恋雪情缘

    恋雪情缘

    沐爷爷知道沐泽转校了,但为了撮合沐雪与林枫,他让他们进入同一个学校,可事情却没有随着他意想的情况发展。在那里,她遇到了她的真爱、她的克星、爱她的人、伤害她的人……一次意外,她失忆了,几年后的她变了,林枫成了她的未婚夫,但命运让他们的再次相遇,又会发生什么呢?一系列的爱恨纠葛和前尘往事浮出水面。
  • 仙皇劫

    仙皇劫

    不为长生,若为她故,我为仙皇!
  • 嫌妻的逆袭

    嫌妻的逆袭

    赵林是个凤凰男。我们从相知相爱,到结婚生子。他就是人们口中的“上门女婿”。我小心翼翼纵容他的清高,以为爱情就是包容。直到东窗事发,才明白,再正经的男人,也挡不住欲望的诱惑。我不明白,他有车有房,有妻有女,竟敢还在外面跟人鬼混!原本以为原谅他就能过回以前的生活,谁料到除了这些露水姻缘,等着我的,才是真正的晴天霹雳!而渣男与小三的故事,从来就没有结束的时候。
  • 这个11有点帅

    这个11有点帅

    流氓无敌,嘛也别提笑看古今,流氓牛逼流氓长得帅,美女都爱爱(这是小卓写得第一本书,小卓年纪还小,文笔不是很好,所以请大家不要介意,多多支持一下。前几张写的不是很好,所以大家见谅,我个人感觉后面与前几章一比有了很大的提升,剧情也进入正轨,希望大家看完。)
  • 良辰慕倾卿

    良辰慕倾卿

    一个是天资笨拙,但一心想要行侠仗义的小姑娘。一个是生活在谷底,身世不明的大夫。因为谷底的相遇。交织出一段搞笑的爱情故事~