my want of personal attractions, to secure a host of friends; and the
lesson I then learned, to please others rather than myself for the
sake of gaining their love, has caused my life thus far to be very
sunny and happy, even more so than if I had been the belle my childish
fancy desired.

One of Nurse Katy's principal attributes of a belle, however, Mary Lee
was deficient in. She did not get married at all--and Mary Lee she
remained all her life. But she was one of the loveliest old maids in
the world, and quite as popular in our circle as she had been in her
own. She had been confined many years with an invalid mother and
paralytic father, but after their death some time, she re-entered
society; and her house was the favorite resort of the new set of young
people, as it had been in her young days. She gave the most delightful
parties, planned the most pleasant enjoyments for us, and although
acknowledging herself to be an old maid, she still retained her
youthful feelings unimpaired.

Her mind remained in a fresh, healthy state, and her disposition was
still sweet and joyous. How we all loved her; she was our confidante,
adviser and friend. She was still pretty, and might have proved a very
formidable rival had she chosen to enter society as a young lady; but
she preferred being regarded by us as an elder friend. The young
ladies grouped around her as younger sisters; and one half the young
gentlemen would have married her _instanter_, notwithstanding she was
ten or fifteen years their senior. Old maid as she was, strange to
tell, she was a promoter of marriages. The ill-natured called Mary Lee
a match-maker. She certainly did interest herself very much with
lovers, fathoming all the little mysteries of their love-quarrels, and
setting every thing quite straight, even when they seemed in
inextricable confusion.

Miss Lee had been very fond of my mother, and extended to me the same
regard, therefore I was, notwithstanding the difference in our ages,
on a more intimate footing with her than her other young friends. One
day, as we were discussing the merits of an approaching wedding, the
conversation assumed a confidential tone.

"Indeed, Enna," she exclaimed, laughingly, "there is nothing more
interesting to me than a couple of lovers full of romance, poetry, and
perfectly blind and uncaring as to the future. I love to watch them in
courtship, lend them a helping hand in the quicksands of that
dangerous but delic