The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1867-02-28

had won the love Of al those ignorant
creatures. and whose companionship hsd
transformed the gloomy lord Of the cha
team into a loving husband and gentle mas
Ter The old retainers forgot the unttmeiy
fate of nv cousin, and served me with cor
dial willingness for love Of their young
mistress.
There are no words which can tell the
pure and perfect happiness OF that Time;
/ felt like traveller who naa traVerseu
the frozen seas Of an arctic region, remote
from human love or human compromising,
to End himself, on sudden, in the bosom
of a yerdant valley, in the sweet atmos-
phere of home. The change seemed TOO
bright to be real; and strove In vain 70
nut away from my mind the vague suspi-
cion that my new life was but some fastass-
tic dream. ~ -,-;-.,- ~,
So brief were those halcyon hours, that
looking back on them now IL Is scarcely
strange if / am still half inclined to Fancy
the first DAYS Of my married life could
have been no more than dream. a,o, s
Neither in my days Of gloom nor In my
DAYS of happiness had been troubled by
the recollection of Andres blasphemous
oath. The words which with his last breath
he had whispered in my ear were vain and
meaningless to me. he had vented MS
rage in those idle threats, as he might have
in idle excavations. That he will haunt
the footsteps of his enemy after death is
the one revenge which dying man can
promise himself; and if men had power
thus to avenge themselves, the earth would
be peopled with phantoms.
had lived for three years at Puy Yer
dun; sitting alone in the solemn midnight
by the hearth where he had sat, pacing the
corridors that had echoed his football and
in all that time my fancy had never so
played me false as to shape the shadow OF
the dead. ~
Is it strange, then, if I had forgotten
Andres horrible promise
There was no portrait OF my cousin at
Puy Verdun. 1t was the age Of boudoir
art. and a miniature set in the lid Of gold
bonbonniore, or hidden artfully in mas
siye bracelet, was moro fashionable than
clumsy life-size image, fit only to hang on
the gloomy walls of provincial chateau
rarely visited by its owner. Ny cousins
fair face had adorned more than one bon
bonuiere, and had been concealed in more
than one bracelet, but it was not among
the faces that looked down from the pam
nelled walls of Puy Verdun.
In the library found picture which
awoke painful associations. 1t was the
portrait of De Brissac who had fourished
in the time of Francis l.; and it was from
this picture that my cousin Andre had
copied the quaint hunting dress he wore
at the Regents ball. The library was
room in which I spent good deal Of my
life; and ordered a curtain to be hung
before this picture.
We had been married three months
when Eveline one day asked:
"Who is the lord Of the chateau nearest
to this ?'. -.. .. ....
looked at her with establishment.
envy dearest" l answered, "do you
not know that there is no other. chateau
within forty miles of Puy Verdun p
"Indeed. !" she said "that is strange"
! asked her why the fact seemed strange
to her; and after much entreaty obtained
from her the reason of her surprise.
In her walks about the parks and woods
during the last month she had met man
who, by his dress and bearing, was obvi-
ously of noble rank. She had imagined
that he occupied some chateau near at
hand, and that his estate joined ours. l
was at loss to imagine who this stranger
could be; for my estate Of Puy Verdun
Law in the heart Of desolate region, and
unless when some travellers coach went
numbering and .iingling through the vii
lage, one had little more chance of en-
countering a gentleman than of meeting a
demi-god.
"Have you seen this man often, Eve
line 2" ! asked.
She answered, in a tone which had a
touch of sadness, 81 see him every day."
Where, dearest?"
"Sometimes in the park, sometimes in
the wood. You know the little cascade,
Hector, where there is some old neglected
rock work that forms kind of cavern. l
have taken fancy to that spot, and have
spent many mornings there reading. Or
late have seen the stranger there every
morning"
"He has never dared to address you ;"
"Never. I have looked up from my
book, and have seen him standing at lit
tie distance, watching me silently. have
continued reading; and when have raised
my eyes again / have found him gone. He
must approach and depart with stealthy
tread, for | never hear his football. Some
times have almost wished that he would
speak to me. 1t is so terrible to see him
standing silently there"
"He is some insolent person who seeks
to frighten YOU"
Nv wife shook her head.
"He is no peasant" she answered. " 1t
is not by his dress alone judge, for that
is strange to me. He has an air of nobility
which it is impossible to mistake"
"Is he young or old ~
"He is young and handsome
was much disturbed by the idea of this
strangers intrusion on my wife's solitude,
and l went straight to the village to in
quire if any stranger had been seen there.
could hear of no one. questioned the
servants closely, but without result. Then
| determined to accompany my wife in her
walks, and to Judge for myself of the rank
of the stranger.
For week | devoted all my mornings
to rustic rambles with Eveline in the park
a nd woods. and in all that week we saw