Cincinnati daily press. [volume] (Cincinnati [Ohio]) 1860-1862, 1862-01-16
THE BLACK WITCH.

in His wisdom vouchsafed to them only this
one child, and they bowed meekly to the
Providence and tried to be content. Why
his father named the boy "Jason," no one
could rightly tell perhaps because the
fleece Of his flocks had been truly fleece Of
gold to him; at all events thus was the
child named and in the strict rule of this
Christian couple was Jason reared
1t would be sad as we'll as useless to tell
of the dreary winter Sundays in the cold
meeting. house Gt was thought wicked
weakness to have Are in church them
through which he shivered and froze of
the fearful sitting in the corner after the
tWo-hOurs ceremonies and the thirty minutes
prayers was done; of the utter absence of
all cheerful themes or thoughts on the holy
days which they so straightly remembered
to keep; of the visions of sudden death, and
the bottomless pit thereafter, which haunted
the child through long nights; of the sigh
ing for green fields and the singing of
birds, on some summer Sundays, when the
sun was warm and the sky was fair; and
the clapping Of the old-fashioned wooden
seats, as the congregation rose to pray or
praise, was sweeter music than the black
smith made who "led the singing" through
his nose. 1t would be dreary task to fol-
low the boy through all this youthful mis-
cry, and so l will let it pass. Doubtless all
these things brought forth their fruit when
his day of freedom came. lie was a large
framed, full blooded boy, with more than the
usual allowance Of animal spirits. But his
father was larger framed and tougher, and
in his occasional contests with his son vic
tory naturally percbed upon his banners
so that the toy's spirit (which rebelled al.
ways against the iron rule Of the household,
if not broken down, was certainly so far
kept under that it rarely showed itself.
1t was a slumbering volcano, ready, when
it reached its strength, to pour out burning
lava Of passion and eyil-doiDg.
Thus the boy grew up almost to manhood,
with very few rays of sunshine cast over
his early path to look back upon when he
should reach the middle eminence of life.
And the gloom of the present cherries and
austere way caused him to look forward
with the more rapture 10 that time when,
with his twenty first birth day, should come
the power to do as he pleased with himself !
with bis hours of labor and of ease, with
his Sabbath days and work. days.
little before the time when his majority |
was to come and set him partially free |
for then, according to the good old Puritan |
custom, he would have his "freedom-suit," |
and probably a few hundred dollars and a
horse, and might remain with his father or
so elseWhere-there fell across Jason's path
sweet CLEAN Of golden sunshine, such as
he had never known bofore, nor ever
dreamed of. When he was in his twenty
first year, his father, the Deacon-being
urged thereto by the falling health of his
overtasked wife-adopted as half daughter,
half serving maid, a beautiful and friend
less girl, who might otherwise have gone to
ruin Her name was plain Hannah Lee. |
No name can be imagined too liquid, sweet !
and voluptuous in its sound to typify her |
loveliness. 1t was not strange, therefore, |
that she had not been long in the house be- |
fore Jason Fletcher, hitherto deprived of |
much cheerful female society, felt stealing |
over him a new and strange excitement of |
mingled joy and wonder. 1t is trite and tame
to say that for him there came new flowers in
all the fields and by all the road-sides, and |
hitherto unknown fragrance in the balmy
air; roster colors to the sunset, softer tints
to the yellow gray east at dawn; brighter
sparkle to the brooks, breezier glories to the
mOuntain-tops but, doubtless, this was
strictly true, as it has been many times be-
fore and since to many other men, but scarce
ever accompanied by so great and complete
a change.
LIS lutuSE nIBuI nave eApeCleu III duu
his mother have reckoned upon it, but no
thought Of love in connection with their
quiet and awkward son ever entered into
their minds, and so they put this sweet
creature into the youths way, not rejecting
that only one result-on his side, at least
could follow
They kept no watch upon the pair, and
knew not of the many meetings, accidental,
apparently, even to themselves, that took
place between the innocent youth and girl.
1t needs no reading of light books to make
successful lover, nor grace, nor elegant
carriage and nature points the way to the
most modest and unframed Wooer. So,
without word having been spoken on the
subject nor any caress exchanged except,
perhaps, an occasional momentarily clasped
hand. or the necessary and proper contact,
when Hannah rode, sometimes, behind Jason
on the pillion lone arm around him to keep
her in her seat,) they became lovers, and
none the less so that they had given no
verbal or labial utterance to their loves.
And the summer few by on wings of the
feetest, and Jason's twenty-frst birthday
approached.
1t fell this year upon Sunday. The
family had sheen to meeting" all the day
as usual, no reference being made to the fact
that the youth was now "free." (IIis father
had said TO him, as they MIXED the cows on
Saturday night, awe will put by your
Freedom Day till Monday.'") But all day
Jason had walked, and thought, and eaten,
and drunk, not to the glory of the Lord, as
his father and mother piously believed they
did, but to the glory of himself-no longer
child, but a man
1t lacked full half hour to sunset, and
there was no cooler res ting-pla that warm
summer afternoon than beneath the shade
Of thick-leaved grapevine that overspread
a stunted pear-tree some little distance in
the rear of the house. Hannah, with her
natural love for pleasant things and places,
had induced Jason, some time before, to
make seat for her in this charming spot.
1t was quite out Of sight from the house,
and the little bower the vine made could be
entered only from one side. In this bower
Hannah sat this sunny afternoon, wonder
ing if it would change Jason very much to
be boy no longer, and devoutly praying
in the depths Of her pure little heart that it
would not.
She sat, half sadly, and not very dis
tinctly, dreaming over this problem, when
the shade was deepened, and, looking up,
she was aware that Jason stood at the en-
trance to the arbor. Her heart stop ped
beating for half a moment, and she felt
quite faint and sick Then she said, with
smile, half sad, half jocose, "YOu are