The Ladies' Garland

SABINUS AND OLINDA.--BY GOLDSMITH

In a fair, rich, and flourishing country, whose cliffs are washed by the German ocean, lived Sabinus, a youth formed by nature to make a conquest wherever he thought proper; but the constancy of his disposition fixed him only with Olinda. He was indeed superior to her in fortune, but that defect on her side was so amply supplied by her merit, that none was thought more worthy of his regard than she. He loved her, he was beloved by her; and in a short time, by joining hands publicly, they avowed the union of their hearts. But alas! none, however fortunate, however happy, are exempt from the shafts of envy, and the malignant effects of ungovernable appetite. How unsafe, how detestable are they who have this fury for their guide! How certainly will it mislead them, and plunge them in errors they would have shuddered at, even in apprehension! Ariana, a lady of many amiable qualities, very nearly allied to Sabinus, and highly esteemed by him, imagined herself slighted, and injured, mistreated so in marriage with Olinda. By incautiously suffering this jealousy to intrude in her breast, she began to give loose to passion; she forgot those many virtues, for which she had been so long and so justly applauded—useless suspicion and mistaken resentment weighed her down in all the gloom of discontent; she sighingly dwelt, cursing the happiness of others, saw her miserable pain—she thought of nothing so strange, how wretched she was when the death the prudent, the compassionate Ariana she continued labor to disturb a union so firm, (a rival) something found, and planned every serious which she thought meet like to i—''. Fortunes are wing upon the lr ut intention; the circumstances of Sabinus had been long enhanced by a tedious law-suit, at last determined the cause unexpectedly in favor of his opponent, and sunk his fortune to the lowest pitch of poverty from the highest affluence. From nearness of relationship, he expected from Ariana those assistances his present situation required; but she was insensible to all his entreaties and the justice of every remonstrance, unless he first separated from Olinda, whom she regarded with detestation. On a compliance with her desires in this respect, she promised that her fortune, her interest, and her all, should be at his command. Sabinus was shocked at the proposal, he loved his wife with inexpressible tenderness, and refused those offers with indignation, which were to be purchased at so high a price. Ariana was no less displeased to find her offers rejected, and gave loose to all that wrath which she had so long endeavored to suppress. Reproach generally produces recrimination; the quarrel rose to such a height, that Sabinus was marked for destruction, and the very next day upon the strength of an old family debt, he was sent to jail, with none to comfort him in his miseries but Olinda. In this manner of distress, they lived together with resignation and even with comfort. She provided the frugal meal: and he read to her while employed in the little offices of domestic concern. Their fellow prisoners heard their comment and whenever they had a desire of rising into mirth, and enjoying the little comforts that a prison affords—Sabinus and Olinda were sure to be of the party. Instead of repining, each bore a share of the load imposed by providence. Whenever Sabinus showed the least concern on his dear partner's account, she cautioned him by the love he bore her, by those tender ties which now united them forever, not to discompose himself: that so long as his affection lasted, she defied all the ills of fortune, and every loss of fortune and friendship; that nothing could make her miserable but his seeming to want happiness, nothing pleased but his sympathising with her pleasure. A continuance in prison soon robbed them of the little they had left, and a famine began to make its horrid appearance, yet neither was found to murmur; they both looked upon their little boy, who, insensible of their or his own distress, was playing about the room, with inexpressible activity and anguish, when a messenger came to them that Ariana was dead, and at her want of a distant relation, who thought easily be proved and burnt; in which case all her fortune would revert to him, as being her next heir at law. A proposal of so base a nature filled our unhappy couple with horror; they ordered the messenger immediately out of the room, and falling upon each other's neck, indulged in agony of sorrow, for now all hopes of relief were banished. The messenger who made the proposal, however, was only a spy sent by Ariana, to sound the disposition of a man she at once loved and persecuted. This lady, although warped by strong passions, was naturally kind, judicious, and friendly. She found that all her attempts to shake the constancy or integrity of Sabinus were ineffectual; she had therefore began to reflect, and wonder how she could so long and so unprovoked, injure such uncommon fortitude and affection. She had from the next room heard the reception given to the messenger, and could not avoid feeling all the force of superior virtue; she therefore reassumed her goodness of heart; she came into the room with tears in her eyes, and acknowledged the severity of her former treatment. She bestowed her first care in providing them all the necessary supplies, and acknowledged them as the most deserving heirs of her fortune. From this moment Sabinus enjoyed an uninterrupted happiness with Olinda, and both were happy in the friendship and assistance of Ariana, who, dying soon after, left them possessed of a large estate—and in her last moments confessed, that virtue was the only path to true glory; and that, however innocence may for a time be depressed, a steady perseverance will in time lead to a certain victory.