The mountain sentinel. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1844-1853, 1852-01-01
THE THREE BRIDES.

| ~ S0u See, saIu the sexton, those three hill
| locks yonder, side by side? There sleep three
brides whose history am about to relate. Lool,
there, sir, on yonder hill you observe a little
desolate house, with Struggling fence in front,
| and few stunted apple trees on the ascent be
hind It, 1t is sadly out of repair now, and the
garden is now oyergrown with weeds and bram-
oles, and the whole place has desolate appear
ance If the winds were high now, you might
hear crazy shutters tapping against the sides,
and the wind tearing the grey shingles off the
roof. Many years ago, there lived in that house
an old man and his son, who cultivated the few
| acres Of ground that belonged to it.
! The father was self-taught man, deeply YER
sed in the mysteries Of science, and as he could
tell the name of every flower that blossomed in
the wood or grew in the garden, and used 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 bewitched, and avoided him as the
Ignorant ever shun the gifted and enlightened
\ few there were, ahd among others, the minis
ter, the lawyer, and the physician of the place,
who showed q willingness TO afford him counten-
| ance, but they soon dropped his acquaintance,
for they found the old man somewhat reserved
ded on discovering the extent of his knowledge
To the minister he would quote the fathers
and the scriptures in the original tongue, and
showed himself well armed with the weapons of
polenic controversy. He astonished the LAWYER
with his profound acquaintance with iurispru-
dence-Gnd 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 tlifing point of doctrine, spoke
very lightly of him, and by and by looked on the
self educated farmer with eyes Of aversion.
He instructed his son in all his lore, the Ian
guages, literature, history, philosophy and sci
enee, were enfolded one by one to the enthusias-
tic son of the solitary.
Years rolled away, and the old man died He
died when a sudden storm convuIsed the face of
nature; when the wind howled around the shell
tered 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; l
cannot paint TO you the grief of the son at this
bsEeaEemeast. He1yas for a anaoIaent as one dis
tracted. The minister came and muttered a few
hollow phrases IN his ear, and a few ncighbors.
dwelling, came to the funeral With proud
and lofty look the son stood above the dust of
the dead, in the midst of the band of hypocritl-
cal mourners, with pang at his heart, but Sc
renity on 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 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 woe and
desolation, vainly importuning heaven for relief
1t came to him IN the guise of poetic inspiration
lie 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 fool of immortality. Some of his
( productions came before the world. They were
praised and circulated; and enquiries set on foot
IN the hope of discovering the author He, wrap
ped In the veil Of impenetrable obscurity listen
/ ed to the voice Of applause, more delicious be-
cause it was obtained by stealth. From the OBJ
security of yonder lone mansion, and from this
region, to send lays which astonished the world
was indeed a triumph to the visionary bard.
His thirst for fame had been gratifed, and he
now began to yearn for the companionship of
some sweet being of the other sex, to share with
him the laurels he had won, and to whisper con-
ISOLATION in his ear in moments of despondency,
and to supply the void which the death of a IA
ther had occasioned. lie would picture to him
self the felicity Of a refined intercourse with a
highly intellectual and beautiful woman, and as
he had chosen for his motto, whatever has been
done may be done, he did not despair Of success.
In this village lived three sisters all beautiful
and accomplished. Their names were Mary
Adelaide, and Madeline. l am far enough past
the age of enthusiasm, but never can forget the
beauty of the young girls. Mary was the youn-
gest and fairer haired, more laughing 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 fire, spirit cultivation, and intellectu-
atty. Their father, man of taste and educa-
ton, and being somewhat above the vulgar pre-
judices, permitted the visits of the hero of my
story. Still he did not encourage the affection
he found springing up between Mary and the poet
When, however, he found that her affections were
engaged, he did not withhold his consent to their
marriage, and the recluse bore to his mansion
the young bride of his affections. Oh, sir, the
house assumed u new appearance within and
Mt