Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1851-12-05
The Flesfing Island.
LEGENp OF LoCH DoeHART.


Upon a little promontory its southern margin
stood girl meanly clad, wasted and wayworn. In |
her she bore little babe, wrapped in the folds
of plaid and she bent her thin pallid face over
that of the child, her rich long, yellow hair fell in
a shower around her. unconined either by snood or
curch. One might have taken her for Magdalene. in
her withered beauty, her penitence, and her grief
but other than Magdalene in her passionate despair
She looked around her. and shudder shook her fee
Bile frame Was it the chill of the night mist al
it might be- for as her eye wandered away towards
the hills beyond, northward, the mist creeping
along their Sides and she saw the moonlight gleam
ing lonely cot, amid fr-grove Twas the
home of her parents, the home of her happy child
hood, her innocent youth She looked again at the
little one in her bosom; it slept, but spasm of pain
wrung its pale, pnched, sharp features 1t appear
ed to be feeble and pinng for sleepless nights, and
DAYS of grief and tears had turned the milk of the
mother to gall and poison, and the little innocent
drank in death-death the fruit of sin in all chimes
and ages. Gently she laid the little one by the
gent of the water amid the green rushes; and the
freeze of night sweeping by murmured plaintvely
to them, and caused them to sigh and rocked to and
fro around the infant. Then the poor mother with
drew space from the babe, and set her down upon
a white stone and covered her face with her long,
thin, bloodless hands She said in her heart, Ha
gar said, Let not see the death of the child"-
And she wept sore, for the poor girl loved the babe
mother like her, only can love her babe, with
wild. passionate absorbing love- for it is her all, her
pearl of great price, which she has bought with
name and fame, with home and friends, with wealth
and happiness with earth and, it may be, with hea-
ven And she thought bitterly over that happy
home where, few months since, in the cleaning of
the autumn's she sat on the heathery braes and
| tripped along the brink of the warbling burn, or
MIXED the kline in the byre or sang to her spinning
wheel beside her mother, near the inge.
Next came the recollection of one who sat beside
! her in the braes, and strayed with her down the
burn who won her heart with his false words, and
drew her from the holy shelter of her fathers roof
! hou n1of1ov
strangers And now, with the faithfulness- though
not with the purity trustfulness-of the dove, she
was returning the waste of the worlds dark
waters to that ark which had sheltered her early
vears-from which father had sent her forth
The ark is in sight, but the poor bird is weary from
her fight, and she would even now willingly fold
her wings and sink down amid the waters for she is
full of shame and fear, and sorrow. All! will her
father ''put forth his hand and take her in, and
pull her in unto him into the ark with the glory of
her wilderness defed, her plumage ruf1ed and droop
ing! All will her mother draw her again to nes-
tie within her bosom, when she the dark stain
upon her breast, once so pure and spotless The
poor girl wept she thought these things-at first
wild and bitterly but at length her sorrow became
gentler and her soul calm for her heavy heart
was relieved by the tears that seemed to have gush
ed straight up from it. the dark clouds light
ened when the rain pOurs from them. And so she
sobbed and unused in the cold dreary night, till her
thoughts wandered and her vision grew dim and
she sank down in slumber-a slumber like that of
E childhood, sweet and deep. And she dreamed that
angels, pure and white, stood around: and, oh F!
strange and charming, they looked not on her the
unfaen ones of the world-the pure and the snless
! in their own sight--looked upon her through the
) weary days of her humiliation -scornfully loathng
ly, pitilessly but their sweet eyes bent upon
her full Of truth and gentleness and love and tears
like dewdrops fell from those mild and lusrous orbs
upon her brow and bosom, those beautiful beings
hung her. and those tears calmed her poor wild
BRAIN and each, where it fell upon her BOSOM wash
ed away stain. Then the angels took the little
one from her breast, aud spread their wings if for
fight but she put forth her arms to regain her
child and one of the bright beings repressed her
gently. and said,
! It may not be-the babe goes with u.s."
Then said she to the angel Suffer me also to 60
with my child, that may be with it and tend it
? But the angel said in a voice of sweet and solemn
= earnestness, Not yet-not yet. Thou mayest not
come with us now but in little while shalt thou
/ Join US, and this little sister"
: And the dreamer thought that they slowly on
the moonlit air. the light clouds float before gen.
tie breeze al evening; then the child stretched forth
: its arms towards her with paintive cry, and she
awoke and sprang forward to where her child lay
The waters of the lake rippled over the feet of the
2 mother. but the babe lay beyond in the rushes
J. at the point of the prOmontOry where she had
h laid it. The bewildered mother essayed to spring
l. across the stream that flowed between her and
the island but in vain her strength failed her. and
ing slowly away upon the waveless bosom lake
r while eldritch laughter rang from out the rushes
j. mingled with sweet tiny voices soothing with fairy
IF lullaby the cries of the babe that fainter and
fainter on the ears of the bereaved mother the
e little hands of the elfn impeed the floating
island over the surface of Loeb Dochart
e. Some herdsmen going forth in the early morning
20 found girl apparently lfeless lying the edge
ID the lake She was recognized and brought to hel
d early home When she opened her eyes, her parents
It. stood before her No word of anger passed from the
is ps of her father though his eye was clouded ant
his head was bowed down with sorrow and humilia
~ ton Her mother took the girls head and laid it OF
a. her bosom--as she had done when she was litt
r guleless child-and wept and kissed her. and pray
of ed over her. Then after time she to know
a. those around her and where she and she started
ne up and looked restessy around and cried out Will
it loud and wild cry, MY child Where's my child!
he Near the spot where she had been discovered wa
,h found a portion of babys garment. The peopl
feared that the child had been drowned and search
IS ed the loch along its shores Nothing however, wa
IS found which could Justify their suspicious but
of the midst of the lake small island about fifty fee
he with rushes and water-plants No one had eve
nd seen it before and when they returned with other
,e to show the wonder they found that it had sensib
tn changed its position. The home-returned wandere
: whispered into her mothers all her sin and a.
IL her sorrow. Then she pinned away day by day
its And when the moon again full in the heavens
srs she stole forth in the cleaning She missed
* the morning, and searched for during many day.
is but no trace could be found of her At length som
he fishermen passing by the floating island, scared
large kite from the rushe and discovered the decay