The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1862-01-04
r.. EMPoRIA KANSAS SATURDAY. JANUARY 4 1862

your craven heart fail you now. Dead men
tell no tales! The moon that beheld that
deed of blood, the river that received the
body of the victim, have no tongue to ac
cuse You. Yet there is one whose eyes
were upon you, and whose vengeance will
surely overtake you. Go warn you to
fee from the wrath that is coming"
The earl remained some seconds with his
eyes fixed intently upon the spot where the
woman disappeared. The cold sweat start
ed out in large drops upon his face, and
his limbs shook as If seized With an ague fit.
E" She is no woman" he muttered to
himself, as he spurred his horse onward,
'' but very 6end ! But were she twice
the 6end that she is, she should not stand
between me and my promised birds -
he reached Egberton Hall in, safety, and
endeavored with large draughts of wine to
drown all recollection of the scene through
which he had passed. But it was in vain;
those black eyes seemed to be burning into
his very soul, an l the tones of that strange
mysterious warning still sounded in his
ears.
"Pshaw ~ he exclaimed, after an inef-
fectual effort to Danish it from his mind; ''it
is mere suspicion on her part she can
know nothing about it. But let her, too,
beware; for if she crosses my path again. I
win send her whore her babbling tongue will
keep quite for the future %
Once more Lord Cantref's mansion is all
hustle and activity. The bells ring forth
merry peal, for it is the bridal day of the
sole daughter of his house. the Lady
Blanche, the Rose of Glen Valley.
A murmur of mingled pity and admiration
filed the church as the bride entered. Her
face wac almost as pale as the costly veil,
whose ample folds fell nearly to her feet,
and it bore the impress of deep-seated mel
aucholy. She looked more like corpse
than bride, and the whole proceeding re-
sembled far more funeral than bridal.
The bridegroom soon entered, whose bag
gard countenance indicated that he had
passed sleepless night. No murmurs fol-
lowed his entrance, even among his own re-
tainers, for he bore no resemblance to the
late earl, his predecessor, whose affable and
engaging manners had made him general
favorite. His morose, unsocial disposition
and naughty bearing made him both dlsliked
and feared. AS he took his place by Lady
Blanche he looked little like happy bride
groom his manner was distracted, and his
eve wore an anxious and restless expression
and several times he gave a sharp, hurried
glance around the church. as if fearing to
meet some unexpected guest. He grew
caImer, however, when the ceremony COM
menced.
When the old rector babe those " who
knew cause or just impeachment why those
two persons should not be joined together in
holy matIimony to declare it,' it was con-
sidered by those who heard it as mere matter
of form, and they were startled by the sound
of deep hollow voice in their midst, which
said:
{" forbid the marriage p
The bridegroom turned toward the place
whence it proceeded. He startled, and
grew pale, as his glance fell upon the
swarthy brow and flashing eyes of Cleopatra
the gypsy queen. Unabashed by his angry
glance, or the many eyes fixed upon her.
she exclaimed boldly:
"I proclaim Edward st. Croix, falsely
called Earl of Egberton. to be a forsworn
lover, treacherous kinsman, and MUIR
derer. and therefore no fitting mate for the
'' It is false-she Is mad ~ said the earl
hoarsely. {" Let the ceremony proceed"
"Fool - muttered the woman, you
rush on your own destruction. Walter,
Earl of Egberton,'' she added, impressively,
turning toward man who sat in the back
part of the church, mufled up in large
cloak. :" come forward and prove the truth
of nv assertion"
At these words the man arose, and throw
ing back the cloak, revealed face, which,
though pale and ghsstly, bore strong re-
semblance to the young earl's. Then walk
ing deliberately up the aisle, he approached
the altar, and fixed his eyes sternly upon the
countenance of the guilty man. When st.
Crooks eyes fell upon him, he stood like
one transixed with horror. :
Then throwing his arms wildly above his
head, as if to protect himself from further
approach, he fell heavily to the floor, blood
| gushing from his mouth and nostrils.
All but one among that horror-stricken
group supposed it to be the spirit of the
unfortunate earl, which had returned to take
vengeance on his murderer, and feared to ap-
proaeh him. But Lady Blanche. rushing
/ forward, threw herself wildly upon the bos-
ON of her lover, obtaining convincing proof
as she did so, from the warm kisses that fell
upon her cheeks and lips, that il was no
/ spirit, bat her own Walter. t%
i When they lifted ST. Croix from the place
where he had fallen, they found that life had
departed. Il seems that the wounds given
to the young earl were not, as his murder
ers supposed. mortal. His plunge into the
river, instead of rendering his death certain,
restored him to consciousness, and when be
arose to the surface, he made desperate eff
fort to regain the shore. In this he would
not. probably, have been successful. for ne
was very weak from the loss of blood. had it