Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1854-08-10


ed' tes whole party made preparations for an
escapes. ,,
I belng ;nefioctly confident that there was no
danger, they went mp the steep passage laugh
ing, joked about tho foolish police who were
roasting themselves that scorching day at the
entrance Of the cave, coughed little in the
smoke which filled the air, when they reached
the summit of the rock, displaced the ladder,
and prepared to descend into the valley. Lenk
went down first, and sat patiently stoadying the
ladder; Floriora followed then came Mchal
with his boy strapped firmly on his back. lie
was only halfway down when a shot was fred; /;
I Ienk fell dead Floriora was seized bysa man
who rushed forward and a volley was aimed at
her unhappy husband. The missiles clattered
on the rock around he was only slightly
woandcd. and the child ESCAPED antlu He
looked down and saw II whol5 grou Of enemies
waiting. His drst impulse was to cast himself
among them, for he thought that Floriora, too
had been m~rdered, MS well lis Lenk But the
love Of life was strong. and he had revenge with
in him. lie saw IL ledge Of rock at no great
distance, and by d dcSperote leap, in spite Of
his burden gained it, The men below stood
awc-strnck. Another desperate leap. \ shot
or two was fired without effect. Another gig.tn-
tic spring, and he reached IL place from which he
could scramble back towards the summit of the
mountain. In brief, he escaped; and an hour
afterwards, found himself safe in distant re-
treat, wacro he sAt down and wcpt all the re-
mlindcr Of the day, even antl the going down
Of the san, for the loss of his idol-the loved
| Flori)rA.
! It vas after this incident that Michll became
knoYn in Wallacaid us the Mo6an. Under that
nlm2 he committed many ruthless deeds, prin-
cipally against the Boylrds; because he soon
learned that the attacking party which had de-
prived him of his happiness had been directed
by the steward of the Lord Bibiano, who, by
some means not explained, had discovered that
the fugitive slave was living, and had learned
the s9cr4t of the double entrlnoe Tie Moian
tried to ascertain what took place after he cf-
f1ctod his cscAp,. IL found the body Of Ien'I,
from which the soldiers had cat the head as Il
trophy; but there was no trace Of Floriora.-
Perhaps the certainty of her doom would have
left him less miserable. H. tortured lis mind
with reflections on what might have happened
to her. Jealous passions s)m.tim2s nearly
drove him mad lie inquired Of the pcasantry.
Some said that she bad been kill others that
she had been taken away to prison; others
that she had escaped. This last sappositien the
Mokan treated with contempt, baca1se he be-
icyed thai if Floriora wora at liberty she woIll
soon find her way to lis side. Thus time passed,
and BY degrees Michal hardened and hardened
and the terror Of lis name filled the whole
Ics'ntry,.s4 J, ssA.a.a. y;slese4.. --..l..
Nearly ten years afterwards when his son
tad grown to a tail, 1.-the boy, who looked much
older than he was, Michal, at his request, took
hin to IL fair, annually held at village on the
rransylyani4n frontier at the foot Of the Kra-
packs A convent Of women stands at 10 great
distance from the vilias,, and the Mokln, dis
guis,d as Bulgarian merchant, asked perms-
sion to sleep in the Hall Of Strangers. This was
readily granted and the father and son laid
down upon mat, and reposed after the i'd
tigues of the day. The Inhabitants OF the con-
vnt had all come out, curious to look at him
many had chatted with him while he ate his
sjppcl. In the dead Of night, a woman, Il nun
by her dress, bearing a Lump, cautiously entered
the room, and approaching the sleepers, stood
over them, and glzed in wonder at their faces
in wonder and love- for, moment afterwards,
nis wife was On her knees en- racing tAc rough
face OF the bandit, wAo awokc. He glzod on
the pale suffering face before him; and as he
gazod, vision of youth and beauty took its
placo. 8. Floriora, Oh, my Floriora Thou art
not SO changed as am " Then they fell into
each other $ arms and wcpt bitterly.
She had contrived to escape from her captors
but, believing that her husband and child werl
killed, repaired to that convent and asked lol
hospitality, She had not taken the veil-tht
pious Wallachian story tcllers particularly insist
on this point-5ecaase only unmarried and free
women were received but she had remained fol
ten years as IL kind of lay-sister, doing mcnia
services for the others. They had even acquires
u claim over her, something like that which {
lord has over his serf. {" shall not be allowed
to 90 with my lord said she, smiling family
4" if the morning finds me here
Michal arose and, shaking the boy, who stii
slept, babe him follow. They went forth int
the night together For the second time, thC
Mokan abandoned the wealth he had amIssed
and thought only Of preserving the little Flo
riora. Many were the dangers and suffering
they encountered in the passage of the Carpa
THAN Mountains for Mlchal had resolved to IT,
his fortune in another land. The pilgrims tray
eled on foot but FloriorA never complained O
fatigue. On the contrary, she every day SCENE
to grow younger; and when at length the
crossed the frontier, she romped with her sor
who was now full as tall as herself, in field b
the margin of stream, while Michal sat on
fallen tree, and looked grayey on through teai
Of joy.
Thus they went on and on, in good old stor
book style, until they came to the Banat
Temesvar, in the capital of which the late bar
dts son contrived to open shop, and to sett
down as peaceable citizen The lovers of Il
. marvellous took the Mokan up at a much lat
7 period of life, and made him guerilla hero
one of the wars between the Turks and the Ru
/, SLAMS, during which he espoused neither sid
but inflicted injury on both. There is no reasso'
4 however, for supposing that he ever left Teme
: var again. lie had enough to do to make u
n little Floriora happy after her long period I