Washington telegraph., 1851-11-26
THE THREE BRIDES.
A THRILLING STORY.


am about to relate Look there, sir, Oh
yonder hill you may observe little des-
olate house, with little Struggling fence
in front, and few stunted apple trees on
rho ascent, behind it. 1t is sadly out of
repair now, and the garden is overgrown
with weeds and brambles, aud the whole
MACE has desoate appearance. If the
winds were high you might hear their
crazy shutters tapping against the sides,
and the wind tearing the gray shingles
off the roof Many years ego :here lived
in that house an old man, who cultivated
the few acres of ground That belonged to
i.
"The fathe. was a self.taught m an,
deeply versed in the mysteries OF science,
and as he could tell the name of every
aower that bossomed in the wood, or
crew in the garden. and use to Sit up late
at night at his books, or reading the mys-
tic story of the starry heavens, men
thought he was crazed or beWltched, and
avoided him as the Ignorant ever shun the
gifted and the enlightened. A few there
were, and among others the minister, the
lawyer and the physician of the place.
who showed willingness to afford him
couuteuance, but they soon dropped his
acquaintance, for they found the old man
somewhat reserved and morose, aud
moreover their vanity was wounded on
discovering the extent OF hls knowledge.
"ro the minister he would quote the
fathers and the scriptures in the original
tongue, and showed himself we'll armed
II rs ,,oIp
He astonshed the lawyer with his pre-.
found acquaintance with jurisprudence;
and the physician was surprised at the
extent of his medical knowledge. So all
of them deserted him, and the minister.
from whom he differed in some trltliug
point of the doctrine, spoke very liS htly
Of him; aud by and by looked on the self
educated farmer with eyes OF aversion.
"He instructed his son in all his lore;
the languages, literature, history phlloso-
phy and science, were Lnfolded one by
one, to the enthusiastic son of the sOilta-
~.
Years rolled away, and the old man
died. He died when storm cOnvutsed
the face of nature; when the wind howl
ed around the shattered dwelling. aud the
lightning played above the roof and,
though he went to heaven in faith and
purity. the vulgar thought and said that
the Evil One had clalmed his own in the
elements. | cannot paint to you the
grief of the son at his bereavement He
was for a moment distracted. The
minister came and muttered a few halloW
praises in his ear, and a few ne eighbors,
impelled by curiosity to see the interior
Of his dwelling, came to the fuueral.-
With proud and lofty look, the son
stood above the dust and the dead. in the
midst of the band of hypocritcal mourn
ers, with pang q: his heart but serenity
upon his brow. He thanked his friends
for their kinduesss. acknowledged their
courtesy, and then strobe away from the
grave, to bury his grief in the privacy OF
the deserted dwelling.
"He found at last the solitude of the
mansion almost insupportable, and he
paced the ebony floor from morning till
night, in all the agony Of woe aud DESC
laticn, va;nly importuning heaven for re-
lief. 1t came to him in the gulse of po-
etc inspiration. He wrote with wonder
ful ease and power. Page after page
came from his prolific peu, almost without
an effort; and there was time when he
dreamed (vain fooD Of Immortality
Some of his productions came before the
world. They were praised aud circulated
and inquiries set on foot in the hone of
discovering the author He, wrapped
in the veil of imrenetrable obscurity, lis
tened to the voice of applause, more de-
hclclous because it is obla.ned 10y stealth.
From the obscurity of yonder lone man
sion, aud from this region to send lays
which astonished the world, was indeed
triumph 10 the visionary bard.
"His thirst for fame had been gratitied,
and he now began to yearn for the conf
pariouship of some sweet being of the
softer sex, to share with him the laurels
he had won, and to whisper consolation
In his ear in the moments of dependency
and to supply the void which the death
OF father had occasioned. He would
picture to himself the felicity of refined
intercourse with highly intellectual and
beautiful woman, aud as he had chosen
ior his motto, whatever has been done
may be doue,' he did not despair of sue
cess
"Iu this village lived three sisters, all
beautiful and accomplished. Their
names were Mary, Adelaide, Madeline.
am far enough past the age of enthusl-
asm, but never can forget the beauty
OF those young girls. Mary was the
Youngest aud a fairer haired, more laugh
ing damsel, never danced upon the green
Adelaide, who was few years older,
was dark-haired and pensive; but OF the
Three, Madeline, the eldest. possessed the
most tire, spirit, cultivation. and intellec'
tuality. Their father, man of taste, and
education, and being somewhat above
The vulgar preiudices usrmitted the visit