Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1867-09-03
The Three Brides.
A TALE OF LOVE AND CRIME.

Tale OF LOVE AND CflME.
81 am no story-teller, sir I deal in fact-not
fiction. Y s, yes, could chronicle some very
strange events. But of all l know, there is
none stranger than the history OF the three
brides
1.-THE three brides p
cay. Do you see those three hilocks yon-
der, side by side. There they sleep, and will,
till the last trumpet comes wailing through the
| heart of these lone hills with tone so strange
and stirring that the dead will start from their
graves at its first awful note Then will come
| the Judgment and the retribution. But to my
| tale. Look there, sir on yonder hill, you may
observe little isolated house, with struggling
| fence in front, and few stunted apple trees on
the hills behind it. 1t is sadly out of repair
| now, and the garden is all overgrown with weeds
| and brambles, and the whole place has desc
late appearance. If the wind were high now
you might hear the old crazy shutters Tapping
against the sides and the wind tearing the gray
shingles off the roof
Many years ago there lived an old man and
his son, that cultivated the few acres of arabic
land that belongs to it. The father was a we'll
taught man deeply versed in the mysteries of
science, and as he could tell the name of every
flower that blossomed in the woods and grew in
the garden, and used to sit up late at night at
his books, or reading the mystic story of the
or bewitched, and avoided him. as the ignorant
ever shun and dread the enlightened. A few
there were, and among others, were the minis
ter, lawyer and physician willing to afford him
countenance, but they soon dropped their &C
quaIntance, for they found the old man morose
and reserved, and moreover their vanity was
wounded by discovering the extent of his knowl-
edge. To the minister he would quote the IA
theirs and the scriptures in the original tongue,
and showed himself well armed with the weap-
ons of poemical controversy He astonished
the lawyer with his profound acquaintance with
jurisprudence, and the physician was surprised
at his extent of medical knowledge So they
all deserted him, and the minister, for the old
man differed in some trifing points of doctrine,
spoke slightly of him; and by and by all looked
upon the selfeducated farmer with eyes of aver
sion. But he cared not for that, for he derived
consolation from loftier source, and in the I'M
tracked paths of science, found pleasure as in
the painless woods. He instructed his son in
all his lore-the languages, literature, history
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 a
storm convulsed the face of nature, when the
wind howled around his shattered dwelling. and
the lightnings played above the roof, and though
he went to heaven in faith and purity. the yuI-
gar thought and said the Evil one claimed his
own in the thunder and commotion of the ee-
mentS.
cannot paint to you the grief of the son at
his bereavement. He was for time as one
distracted. He thought to bury his GRIFFIN his
thirst for fame After this thirst was gratifed,
he began to yearn for the companionship of the
other sex to share the laurels he had won-to
whisper consolation in his ear in moments of
dependency, and to supply the void which the
death of his father had occasiened. He would
picture to himself the felicity of refined, in
tellectual woman, and as he had chosen for his
motto, what has to be done may be done, he
did not despair of success.
In this village lived three sisters all beauti-
full and accomplished Their names were Mary,
est, and fairer haired, more laughing damsel,
never danced upon green. Adelaide, few
years older, was dark and pensive; but of the
three, Madeline, the eldest, possessed the most
fire, spirit and intellectual ability Their father
was a man of taste and education and being
somewhat above the vulgar prejudice permit
ted the visits of the hero of my story. When
he found an affection sprnging up between
Mary and the young man, he did not withhold
his consent to their marriage, and the recluse
bore to his solitary mansion the bride of his af-
fections.
Oh, sir, the home assumed a new appearance
within and without. Roses bloomed in the
garden, jessamines peeped through the lattices,
and the fields about it smiled with the effects of
careful cultivation. Lights were seen in the
little parlor OF an evening, and many time
would the passenger pause by the garden gate
to listen to strains of the sweetest music breath
ed by choral voices from the cottage. If the
mysterious student and his wife were neglected
what care they? Their endearing and mutual
affection made their home little paradise
D,,t 70 fall III,
sick, and after few hours sickness, died in
the arms Of her husband This was the stu
dent S second heavy affection.
Days and months rolled on, and the only So
lace of the bereaved was to sit with the family
of the deceased, and talk of the lost one. At
length, to Adelaide he offered his widowed
heart She came to his lone home like the
dove bearing the olive branch Of peace and
consolation. But their bridal was not one of
revelry and mirth, for sad recollection brood
ed over the hour. Yet they lived happily; the
husband smiled, and with new spring, the
roses again bloomed in their garden When
the rose withered and the leaf fell, in the mel
low of the summer, Adelaide too, sickened and
died, like her younger sister, in the arms Of her
husband and Madeline
Perhaps you think it strange that the wretch
ed survivor stood at the altar again. But he
was mysterious being, whose ways were in
Scrutable, who, thlrSGlng tor domestic bliss, was
doomed ever to seek and never find it, His
third bride was Madeline. | well remember
her. She was beauty in the true sense of the
word. 1t may seem strange to you to hear the
praise of beauty from such lips as NINE but I
cannot avoid expatiating upon hers She was
a proud creature, with tall, commanding form,
with raven tresses which foated dark and cloud
less over her shoulders. She was singulary
gifted woman, and possessed of rare inspiration.
She loved the widower for his power and fame,
and she welded him. They were married in
that church 1t was on the summer afternoon
4 recollect it well. During the ceremony, the
blacklist cloud [ ever saw, overspread the heav-
ems like pail, and at the moment when the
bride pronounced her VOW, clap of thunder
shook the building to it's centre. All the fe-
males shrieked but the bride made her response
in firm voice as she gazed upon her bride
groom. He marked a kind of indifference Ill
her expression as they rode homeward, that
surprised him at the time. Arriving at his
house, she shrank from the threshold, but this
was the timidity of maiden. When they were
alone, he grasped her hand-it was as cold as
ice. He looked into her face Madam he
said, what means this? Your cheeks are as
pale as your wedding gown The bride utter
ed a frantic shrek. my wedding gown!'' she
exclaimed. No, no, this is my sister S shroud!
The hour of confession has arrived. It is God
who impels me to speak. To win you, [ have
lost my soul-yes, yes, am murderess! She
smiled upon me in the joyous affection Of her