The Middlebury galaxy. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1848-1850, 1848-07-11
MISCELLANY.
From Holden's Dollar Magazine.
THE SILVER ARROW.
A TALE OF SAVOY.


the sunny brightness, so layishly poured upon
it, was truly like the sweet influences of his
young and gentle daughter. Father and child
o had the same name, but nothing more in COM
mon. Where sympathy is wanting there is
c little intercourse, so that while he regarded
his daughter solely as his heiress, his repel-
ling roughness caused her 10 look upon him
merely as her guardian and natural protec-
tor.
= In the deep narrow valley at the foot of the
hill lay humble cottage, buried in the shad-
ow of its lofty neighbor. The old cottagcr,
Alelchior, was the minstrel and wise man OF
the whole barony. In those days, the offices
were commonly united and the harper, who
delighted high-born lords and danes with his
mlnstrelsy, was the repository of the peasants
unwntten lore, the story teller whom they al
WAYS welcomed, the seer whom they revered.
Mclclnor pretended to little of the latter char
acter, except when it was forced upon him, or
could be made advantageous to his interest.
Albert, his adopted son, was manly youth,
deeply verscd in the gay science" and vet
the master of a spirit well fitted to lead in the
/, front ranks of strife The hand, which ran so
lightly over the gentle guitar, was hardest in
the contest, surest in the blow. Well worthy
was he TO have been pupil of SCOTS warrior
minstrel, " the jovial harper, who died atJed-
wood Air"
- lie brookcd, not he, that scofing tongue
Should tax his minstrelsy with wrong,
Or call his song untrue;
For this, when they the goblet Piled,
And such rude taunt had chaicd his pride,
The bard of Reull he slew.
On Teyiots side, in fight they stood,
And tuneful hands were stained with blood;
Where still the thorns white branches wave
Memorial DER his rivals grave"
OF such mould were the MINISTRIES of former
days, equally ready to exalt their science with
sweetness of voice or strength of arm.
The adopted mother of Albert was foster
mother to the infant Countess Lilien, and thus
from earliest childhood, Notwithstanding the
disparity Of their conditions, an intimacy had
grown up with their growth between the peas
ants son and the daughter of Count Rudolin.
G She, the gcntlest and loyelicst of little maid
ems, was not the one TO think of rank, and
his strange wild heart burning with poetic fire,
u knew that it could disgrace the friendship of
none, even Of the lofticst. Ard no dreams OF
c love had vet entered into the thoughts of Ell
Their. Their ages were the same, but the ma
turcd soul Of Albert naturally found itself sus-
tanning her Trailer and womanly spirit. This
difference compensated for the equality in
wears, & placed him in the relation which AN
inStinctivcly bears to the other sex. Their
meetings had always been frequent, almost
q daily, vet neither of them ever dreamed OF the
inevitable result. Though the peasants son
and mobiles daughter, mi Iht be freely together
is foster brother and sister, who could SUP
pose they would dare to form stronger tie ?
They were now sixteen, and Just arriving
II 1T 4 knowledge of the truth. The woman's
nature of Lilicn first perceived it, and her re-
serve, her absence from their usual place Of
meeting, and above all, her tone as she utter
ed the words: We arc sixteen conveyed il
also to Albert's mind Though yet unworr
in the worlds ways and trembling with the
delicious consciousness of first love, she had
: sufficient pride of ancestral birth to feel that
they must meet no more. But Albert wa:
m more hopeful. He too saw the barrier be-
tween them, but he also knew the power of m
= invincible energy, and resolved never to yield
: his faith
1t was several days since they had last seer
ii each other, and both looked eagerly FORWARD
to grand feic which the Count was prepar
ing to give his dependents. Such had beer
r. an immcmoral custom inthe barony and ont
that he hardly dared to interrupt, though hi
taste was not in festivals and merry-making
- for the poor. Perhaps he endured it less un
willingly, because the jovial, unthinkng tenant
~ would endure 4 year of oppression NOR,
readily, after single day of pleasure. Upol
these occasions feats Of wrestling and archer,
through the day, followed by dancing in tn
great hall of the castle, amused the pcop
/ and delighted not unfrequently the surl.
f. Count himself.
" The morning of the festival dawned, ant
e neither Countess Lilicn or the young minstre
. peasant imagined that their respective fate
h were crowded together within that singh
q day.
:. The great court of the castle was carl
p thrown open for the vaSsals as they assemble
r. from every part of the barony. 1t was tn
: only place near by which was well adapte
Re- for such occasions. From the walls of til
" castle itself, long smooth plat of groun
N stretched even 10 the verge of one of thos
n tremendous gorges, so common in that broke
i country. 1t was fssure between two POI
Is tons of the same hill, running sheer down 70
al an hundred feet, until where mountain tor
rent dashed fiercely along over Its rocky floor
+ The width of this fearful chasm was not NOR
70 than thirty feet, and the two edges were con
N nected by light movable brige. This wa
y, the only defence of the castle on that side, an
- there, at least, made it almost impregnable.
p The sports commenced, but Albert took n
10 part and looked careesly on the scene. Al
e. most all his attention was directed towards tn
he young Countess, in watching for a stray look
a. IN receiving a chance smile, and more tha
lie, once her shy innocen, glance, resting o
oh HIM for moment, sent the blood thri
b. ling swiftly through his veins. He busier
LAT himself for some time until strange seen
g. called his attention elsewhere.
of There was singular unskilfulness in til
nd arehers, and one that might well have provok
%. ed mllder man than Count Rudoln II
Al himself was flne marksman and felt the dis
a appointment as keeny as could the unluck
competitors At last as each seemed shootin
worse than the one before him, he rose fror
his seat and coming hastily forward, seized
RI bow from a peasants hand. But even hi