Gallipolis journal. [volume] (Gallipolis, Ohio) 1837-1919, 1854-11-30
THE THREE BRIDES.


! do you see,' said the sexton, those
three hilloeks yonder, side by side?-
There sleep three brides, whose history
am about to relate. Look there, sir,
on yonder hill, you may observe little
desolate house, with little struggling
fence in front, and few stunted apple
trees on the ascent behind it. 1t is
sadly out of repair now, and the garden
is overgrown with weeds and brambles,
and the whole place has desolate ap-
pearance. If the winds were high now,
you might hear the crazy shutters flap
ping againt the sides, and the wind
tearing the grey shingles off the roof.
Many years sgo there lived in that
house an old man, who cultivated the
few acres of ground that belonged to it.
The father was a self-taught man
deeply versed 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 in
reading the mystic story of the starry
heavens, men thought he was crazy or
bewitched, and avoided him as the. igno-
rant ever shun the gifted and the en-
Hghtened. "A few there we're, and
among others, the minister, the lawyer,
and the physician of the place, who
showed willingness to afford him coun-
tenance, but they very soon dropped
his acquaintance, for they found the old
man was somewhat reserved and morose,
and moreover their vanity was wounded
On discovering the extent of his knowl-
edge.
TO the minister he would quote the
fathers and the scriptures in the original
tongue, and showed himself well armed
with the weapons of polemic controyer-
sy. He astonished the lawyer with his
profound acquaintance with jurispru-
dence; 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
triAing 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 languages, literature, history, phi
losophy and science, were unfolded one
by one, to the enthusiastic 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 tightening played above the
roof, and, though he went to heaven in
faith and purity, the vulgar thought and
said that the Evil One claimed his own
in the elements. / cannot paint to you
the grief of the son at this bereavement.
The minister came and muttered few
hollow praises in his ear, and a few
neighbors, impelled by curiosity to see
the interior of his dwelling, came to the
funeral. With proud and lofty look,
the son stood above the dust and the
dead, in the midst of the band of hypo-
critical mourners, with a pang at his
heart. but serenety upon his brow
He thanked his friends for their kind
ness, acknowledged their courtesy, and
then strobe away from the grave, to
bury his grief in the privacy of the de-
serted 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 and desc
lation, vainly imPortuning heaven for
relief. 1t come to him in the guise of
poetic inspiration. He wrote with won
derful ease and power. Page after page
came from his prolific pen, almost with
out 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 cir
culated, and inquiries set on foot in
hope of discovering the author. He,
wrapped in the viel of impenetrable OBJ
security, listened to the voice of ap-
plause, the more delicious because it
was obtained by stealth. From the OBJ
scurity. of yonder lone manson, and
from ILlS IcSlOu W oChu ioJ Oloe dc-
tonished the world, was indeed tri-
umph to the visionary card.
His thirst for fame had been gratifed,
and he now began to yearn for the com
panionship 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 despon-
dency, 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, and
as he had chosen for his motto, What
ever 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 Made
line. am far enough past the age of
enthusiasm, but never can forget the
beauty of those three young girls
Mary was the youngest, and fairer-
haired, more laughing damsel, never
danced upon the green. Adelaide, who
was few years older, was dsrk-haired
and pensive; but of the three, Made
II Al