Monmouth weekly herald. [volume] (Freehold, N.J.) 1854-1860, 1855-11-28

of their plot, and accompany the miller a:
he ascends the rugged path which leads
to his mountain home.
There are those who will utter theil
disbelief of something they pretend to
consider ridiculous, who, when alone ii
some wild glen or trackless forest. will
ponder on the subject, in spite of their
wish to think of something less fearful
still, from very fear, they owe to them
selves their belief in what they have
heard, and thus hope to exercise the
phantom which haunts their minds
Such was the miller, and frightful were
the images which filled his Imagination
as he pursued his mountain path. He
became convinced of what he before
denied, and from every rock and hillock,
from every bush and tree, he expected
some awful spirit to appear and over
whelm him in his wrath.
His nature was fierce and fiery: though
In cooler movements he had been STYLED
cowardly, and even justly So: vet, when
aroused by an imagined injury. he could
like many others in the world, perform
feats on the impulse of the moment, which.
when calm he had not even the heart to
attempt. He was quick and vndictive,
and 1T was always as convenient for him
to forget favor, as it was natural for him
to remember an injury. He was alive to
to suspicion and jealousy, and his charac-
ter was an exception to the national one.
he was hated and despised by all save one
sweet soul, WHO seemed to love him most
when she saw him spurned.
Who can account for woman's love ?
Who can describe the sweet flower.
growing unnoticed upon a tender stalk,
blooming the while, for the most worthless
object upon earth-a jealous husband, but
she who owns the passions?
In her case, she loved not her husband
because he had once been the very god of
her affection, but because she saw in him
the scapegoat, as it were, of his fellows,
and she knew he needed all her love to
make him happy. When passion had en-
lowed him with more than his usual
strength and courage, and he burst out
with threats and imprecations against
some neighbor, she, poor, ill-used creature,
would cling to his neck, his arms, his
knees, praying him to be calm, and detain-
ing him till reason had again assumed her
empire. Sometimes, incensed at her in
reference, he would dash her from him.
then curse her for her-love Yet, though
the violent love which he always profess
ed for her before marriage ceased with
the ceremony, and did not dwindle into
the solid admiration it often does, he
watched her with the same vigilance that
a boy would new-purchased dog, to See
that none should dare be kind to him lest
some one should wrest his growing author
ity from him.
He neared his home: it was truly "a
grand and magnificent retreat, and vet of
course had been sought by him merely on
account of its utility; and therefore, in
gazing upon it its use gratiGed his desire
for gain more than its sublimity filled his
imagination. The scene was wild and
beautiful. Some hundred feet above
where he stood mountain torrent dashed
over precipice, and on one side of the
ravine through which it took its course
lay two immense rocks, henming and pro
tectlng the pretty stream below; a few
stunted evergreens partly covered the
steep rocks, finding but scanty room to
take root in their cliffs.
For one moment the miller deliberated
whether he should take the usual vet dan
gerous footpath up the rock, or to follow
the more circuitous horse-road, which was
much safer: he chose the latter which was
not much used. He gained at length the
rocky summit, and plainly saw the light
burning in his dwelling, but as he turned
his head to look in another direction the
pulsations Of his heart ceased, his hair
stood on end, for he beheld tall, stately
figure, whose white dress seemed besmear
ed with human blood; in his right hand he
held a skull, within which glowed light:
in his left massive feshless bone.
Fear crept upon him as he gazed. A
cold, deathlike chill ran through his
veins, and his shaking knees prevented
his accomplishing the purpose of his heart.
A sepulchral-toned voice thus, with meas
ured accents, sounded in his ear:
Stand and listen, man Of clay! The
spirit OF vengeance, who rides upon the
thunder cloud and directs the forked
lightning, bids We listen and obey! The
rival We thought dead will this night re-
turn; the wife Of your bosom will 6yeEith
himP
An unbroken pause ensued, at last the
miller raising his head, glanced at the
spot where he had seen the misty spirit;
it had vanished. For one moment he did
not seem to realize what he had seen and
heard: the next as the assertion Of his
wifes inGdelity occurred to him, he rushed
towards the house; the door yielded to
his might, but no wife greeted him; he
seated himself; the sense Of fear left him,
but the determination of revenge taken
had possession of his mind, for Jealousy
had stupg him deeply; he believed his wife
guilty, and then a thought struck him;
with the fury of a maniac he knocked at
his bedroom door until it Few off the