Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1851-11-13

him, and the minister, from whom he differ
ed in some trifing point of doctrine, spoke
very lightly of him; and looked on the self
educated farmer with eyes Of aversion.
"He instructed his son in all his lore ; the
languages, literature, history, philosophy and
science, were unfolded one by one to the en-
thusiastic son of the solitary
Years rolled away and the old man died.
He died when storm convulsed the face OF
nature when the wind howled around the
sheltered 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 One had claimed his
own in the clements. Icannot paint to you
the grief of the son at this bereavement.
He was for moment once distracted. The
minister came and muttcred a few hollow
phrases in his ear, and few neigllbors, i'm
PEELED by curiosity TO see the interior OF his
dwelling, came TO the funeral. With a
proud and lofty look, the son stood above
the dust and the dead, in the midst of the
band of hypocritical mourners, with a,pang
ut his heart but serenity upon his brow.
He thanked his friends for their kindness,
acknowledged their curiosity, and then
strobe away from the grave to bury his grief
in the privacy Of the described dwelling.
"EIe 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 and desolation, vainly
importuning heaven for relief. 1t came to
him in the guise 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
time when he dreamed (vain fooD of immor-
tality. Some of his productions came be-
fore the world They were praised and cir
culated, and inquiries set on foot in the
hope of discovering the author. He, wrap
ned in the veil Of impenetrable obscurity,
listened to the voice of applause, more deli
cious because it was obtained by stealth.
From the obscurity Of yonder lone mansion,
and from this region TO send lays which as
tonished the world, was indeed triumph
to the visionary bard.
"His thirst for fame had been gratifed,
and he now began to yearn for the compan-
ionship of some sweet being OF the softer
sex, to share with him the laurels he had
won, and 10 whisper consolation in his ear
in the moments of dependency, and to sup.
ply the void which the death of father had
.occasiened. Heeswonld picture to himself
hiakls infe lectaas anl sabeaatnfu womari,sand
as he had chosen for his motto, whatever
has been done may be done" he did not dcs-
pair of success.
ain this village lived three sisters, all
beautiful and accomplished. Their names
were Mary, Adelaide and Madeline. am
far enough past the age Of enthusiasm. but
never can l forget the beauty of those
young girls Mary was the youngest, and
fairer haired, more laughing damscl never
danced upon the green. Adelaide, who was
few years elder, was dark haired and pen
sive; but of the three, Madeline, the eldest,
possessed the most fire, spirit, cultivation
and intellectually. Their father, man OF
taste and education, and being somewhat
above the vulgar prejudces, permitted the
visits of the hero Of my story. Still he did
not encourage the affection he found spring.
ing up between Mary and the poet. When,
however, he found that her affections were
engaged, he did not withhold his consent
from their marriage, and the recluse bore to
his mansion the young bride OF his afec-
tions. Oh, sir, the house assumed new ap-
pearance within and without
"Roses bloomed in the garden, jcssamines
pceped through the latticcs, and the fields
about it smiled with the effects OF careful
cultivation. Lights were seen in the little
parlor in the evening; and many time
would the passenger pause by the garden
gate to listen to strains of the sweetest mu-
sic breathed BY choral voices from the cot
tare. If the mysterious student and his
wife had been neglected by the ncighbors,
what cared they? Their enduring mutual
affection made their home little paradise.
But death came to Eden. Mary suddenly
fell sick, and after few hours illness, died
in the arms of her husband and her sister
Madeline. This was the students second
heavy aff1iction.
aDays, months rolled on, and the solacc
of the bereaved was to sit with the sisters
of the deceased and talk of the lost one.
To Adelaide he offered his widowed heart.
The bridal was not one of revelry and mirth.
Yet they lived happily, and the rose again
bossomed in the garden. But it seemed MS
if fatality pursued this singular man. When
the rose withered and the leaf fell, in the
mellow autumn of the year, Adelaide too
sickened and died like her sister in the arms
of her husband and Madeline.
.Perhaps you will think it strange young
man, that after all, the wretchcd survivor
stood again at the alter. Madeline ] well
remember her. She was beauty in the
true sense of the word-she might have set
upon throne, and the most loyal subject,
the proudest peer, would have sworn the
blood in her veins descended from hundred
kings. She loved the widowed for his pow
cr, and his fame, and she welded him.
aThey were married in that church-it
was on a summer afternoon-I recollect it
well. During the ceremony the blackest
cloud ever saw oversprcad the heavens,
and the moment this bride pronounced her
vow clap of thunder shook the building. to
its centre. All the females shrieked, but
the bride herself made the response, with a
steady voice, and her eye glistened with a
wild fire as she gazed upon her bridegroom.
When arrived at this house, she sunk upon
the threshold; but this was the timidity Of
the maiden.
aWhen they werea lone he clasped her
hand and it was cold as ice. He looked into
bor face. aMaiden," said he, what means this