Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1840-10-16

were seen in the little parlor in the
evening, and many a time would the passen-
ger pause by the garden gate, to listcnto the
of the sweetest music, brcathcd by
coral voices from the cottage. Ifthc mystc-
rious student and his wife were neglected by
their ncighbors, what cared they Their en-
dcaring and mutual affection made their home
a little paradise. But death came to Eden.
Mary fell suddenly sick, and after a few
hours illness, died in the arms of her hus-
band and her sister Madeline. This was the
students second heavy affection.
"Days, months, rolled on, and the only
solacc Of the bcreavcd was to sit with the
sisters of the deceased and talk of the lost one.
To Adelaide, at length, he offered his Wild
owed heart. She came to his lone house like
the dove, bearing the olive branch of peace
and consolation. Their bridal was not one
of rcvcIry and mirth, for recollection brood
cd over the hour. Yet they lived happily ;
the husband again smiled, and with a new
spring, the roses again blossomed in their
garden. But it seemed as il a fatality pur-
sued this singular man. When the rose with
cred and the leaf fell, in the mellow autumn
of the year, Adelaide, too sickcncd and died,
like her young sister, in the arms of her hus-
band and of Madeline.
Perhaps you will think it strange, young
man, that after all, the wrctchcd survivor
stood again at the altar. But he was a mys-
%torious being, whose ways we're inscrutable,
who, thirsting for domestic bliss, wasdoom-
cd ever to seek and never to find it. His
third BRIDE was Madeline. | wei! remember
hcr.-She was a beauty, IN the true sense of
the word. II may seem strange to you to
hear the praise of beauty from such lips as
mine; but | cannot avoid cxpa,iating upon
hers. She might have sat upon a throne,
and the most loyal subject, the proudcst peer,
would have sworn the blood in her veins had
descended from a hundred kings. She was
a proud creature, with a tall, commanding
form, and raven t%rcsscs, that floated, dark
and cloud-likc, over her shoulders. She
was a singularly gifted woman, and posses
sed of rare inspiration.-She loved the wild
over and his fame, and she welded him.
They were married in that church. 1t was
on a summer afternoon--I rccollect it we'll.
During the ceremony, the blacklist cloud
ever saw overspread the heavens like a pail,
and, at the moment when the third bride
pronounced her vow, a clap of a thunder
shook the building t. the center. All the
females shrickcd, but the bride herself made
the response with a steady voice, and hcr
eyes glittcrcd with wild fire as she gazed upon
her bridegroom. He remarked a kind Of
incohcrence in her expression as they rode
h%omcward, which surprised him at the time,
Arriving at his house she sank upon the TIRES
hold: but this was the timidity of "A maiden,
When they were alone he claspcd her hand
) 1t was cold as ice I. lie looked into lcl
face
"Madclinc," said he, "wllat means this
your cheeks arc as pale as your wedding
gown !"-Thc bride uttered a frantic shrek
"My wedding gown" exclaimed she
"no, no,-tllis is my sisters shroud! Thu
hour for confession has arrived. 1t is Goo
that impcls me to speak. To win you ihav.
; lost my soul! Yes-ycs-I am a murdercss
She smiled upon me in the Joyous affection
of her young heart, but l gave her tho tata
drug! Adelaide twincd her white arm,
about my neck, but 1 administered the poison
Take me to your arm {; | have lost my sou
tor you, and mine must you be J"
She spread her long white arms, and stood
like a maniac before him." said the sexton
, rising, in the excitement Of the moment, ant
assuming tn c attitude no described ant
them" continued he, in a hollow voice, "a
that moment came the thunder and the flash
and the guilty woman fell dead on the tloor!.'
The countenancc of the narrator exprcssc,
all the horror that he felt.
"And the bridegroom" asked I; the hus
band of the destroyer and the victims--wl,a
became ofhimw
"ILe stands bctorc yon" was tho thrilling
answer.