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


"Do you scc," said the sexton, %"tI,ose
hillocks yonder, side by side? There
sleep the three brides, whose history l am
about to relate. Look there, sir, on yondcr
hill, you may observe a little isolated house,
with a struggling fence in front, and a few
stuntcd app!c-trccs on the ascent behind it.
1t is sadly out Of repair now, and the garden
is all ovcrgrown with weeds and bramblcs,
and the whole place has a desolate appear
ancc. If the wind were high now,you might
hear the old crazy shutters tapping against
the sides, and the wind tearing the gray
shingles off the roof. Many years ago, there
lived in that house and old man and his son
who cultivated tho few acres Of arabic land
which belong to it.
"The father was a sclftaught man, deeply |
versed in the mysteries of science, and, as
he could tell the name of every flower that
blossomcd in the wood and grew in the gar
den, and used to sit up late of nights at his
books, or reading the mystic story of the
starry heavens, men thought he was crazed
or bewitchcd, and avoided him, and even
hated him, as the ignorant ever shun the gift
ed and enlightened. A few there we're, and
among others the minister, and lawyer, and
physician of the place, who showed some
willingness to afford him coun,enancc ; but
they soon dropped hisacquain,ancc, forthey
found the old man somewhat reserved and
morosc, and moreover, their vanity was
wounded by discovering the extent Of his
knowledge.
"To the minister he would quote the Faith
ers and the Scriptures in the original tongue,
and showed himself we'll armed with the wca-
pons of polcmical controversy. HIeastonisl,-
cd the lawyer withhis profound acquaintance
with Jurisprudence; and the physician was
surprised at the extent of his medical know
ledge. So they all deserted him, and the
minister from whom the old man differed in
some trifling points of doctrine, spoke very
sIighlingly oflim; byand by all looked upon
the self-cducated farmer with eyes of aver
sion. But he little cared for that, for he de-
rived his consolation from loftier resources,
and in the untracked paths Of science found a
pleasure as in the painless woods ! lie ms
tructcd his son in all his lore-thc languages,
literature, history, philosophy, science, were
unfolded one by one, to tho enthusiastic son
Of the solitary. Years rolled away and the
old man died. lie died when a storm con-
vulscd the face of nature, when the wind
howled around his shattered dwelling and the
lightning played above the roof; and though
he went to heaven in faith and purity, the
vulgar thought and said that the Evil Ono had
claimed his own in the thunder and commo-
ton of the elements. | cannot paint to you
the grief Of the son at his bereavement! lie
was for a time as one distracted. The mi
mister came and muttcrcd IA few cold and hol-
low phrases in his ear, and "A few ncigllbors,
impcllcd by curiosity to sec the interior of the
old mans dwelling, came to tho funeral.
With a proud and lofty look the son stood
above the dust and the dead in the midst of
the band of hypocritical mourncrs, with a
pang at his heart, but a serenity OH his brow.
He thanked his friends for their kindness,
acknowledged their courtesy, and then strobe
away from the grave to bury his grief in the
privacy of his deserted dwelling.
"lIe found, at first, the solitude of the
mansion almost insupportable, and he paced
the echoing floors from morning till night, in
all the agony of voc and dcsolation, vainly
imploring heaven for relief. 1t came to him
first in the guisc of poetic inspiration. He
wrote with wonderful ease and power. Page
after page came from his prolific pen, almost
without an effort; and there was a time when
he dreamed (vain fool y of Immortality.
Some of his productions came before the
world. They were praised and circulated,
and enquiries set on foot in the hope of dis
covering the author. lie, wrapped in the
veil of impcnctrablc obscurity, listened to
the voice of applause, more delicious be-
cause it was obtained by stealth. From the
obscurity of yonder lone mansion, and from
this remote region, to send forth lays which
astonishcd the world, was indeed a triumph
to the visionary bard.
"IIis thirst for fame was gratilicd, and he
now began to ycarn for the companionship of
some sweet being of the other sex, to share
the laurelshc had won, to whisper consolation
in his car in moments of dependency, and
to supply the void which the death Of his old
father had occasioncd. lie would picture to
with a higly intellectual and beautiful woman,
and as had chosen for his mollo-whatevcr
has been done may still be done-hc did not
despair Of success. In this village lived three
sisters, all beautiful and accomplished. There
names were Mary, Adelaide, Madeline. |
am far enough past the age Of enthusiasm, but
never can | forget the beauty Of those young
girls. Mary was the youngest. IA fair-haired,
more laughing damsel never danced upon the
green. Adelaide, who wasa few years old,
was dark-haircd and p%onsive; but of the
three, Madeline, the eldest, possessed the
mos, fire, spirit, cultivation and intellectual
bility. Their father was a man oftasto and
education, and being somewhat above vulgar
prejudices, permitted the visits of the hero of
my story. Still he did not altogether encou-
rage the affection which he found springing
up between Mary and the poet. When how
ever, he found that her affections were en-
gagged, he did not withhold his consent from
her marriage, and the rccluse bore to his So
litary mansion the young bride Of his alice
tons. Oh, sir, the house assumed a new
appearance, within and without. Roses
bloomed in the garden. jcssamines pcepcd
through tho ~lattices, and the fields about it
smiled with the effects Of careful cultivation,