The Vermont transcript. [volume] (St. Albans, Vt.) 1864-1870, 1867-05-31
The Old House OF WyehcOmbe.

The Old House or WychcOmbe.
In one of our fair southern English
counties, somewhere between the days
of Robin Hood and Dick Turpin, when
acorns had ceased to be the national
dish, and the Normans had introduced
beef and mutton, and had given their
sanction to Saxon ale somewhere in
those times, there lived in pomp and
dignity the proud family of the Wych-
combes in the beautiful manor-house
of Wychcombe Hall. 1t was in tie
days when the priesthood held sway,
and when their word was law.
The family consisted of Dame Wych-
combe, as she was styled, tall, gaunt
old lady of past seventy; her husband,
weak old man, who had evidently
been ruled through life by her stronger
will, and was little capable, if indeed
he had desired it of raising standard
of domestic rebellion now, in his
seventy-sixth year. For the dame was
the dread of her household; her
daughters, unmarried old maids of at
least fifty years, covered before her,
and obeyed her like children. Indeed
she had never ceased to consider them
as such, SO much so, that they them
selves had no will of their own and
were accustomed to be ruled and guild.
ed by her in the most trivial as well as
the most important things. And, alas
for them but one important thing had
happened to them in their lives, and
that was when the youngest and fair
est had, at the age of twenty, fallen in
love with young squire of low degree,
had dared to listen to his whispered
words OF love under the shade of the
kitchen-garden wall, and when taxed
with having stayed out beyond the
hour fixed for her return, had fallen
on her knees and implored her moth
er, though scarcely able to speak for
fright, to sanction her union with the
man to whom she had given her heart.
But she never ventured to name his
name again The few words her stern
parent returned in answer crushed her
hopes and hel heart for ever She left
her presence, feeling she must have
done deadly wrong III even thinking
that such marriage could be possible
for her
She never saw the squire of low de-
gree again; and dark suspicious were
atioat as to the cause of his entire and
sudden disappearance from his native
place. This event broke one sisters
heart, and was such a lesson to the
others that they hardly dared to utter
word or move a finger without first
endeavoring to read on their mothers
face whether they had her permission
to do SO.
They had had brother, but they
had known little of him, and now knew
not whether he were alive or dead.
Both sisters had clear recollection
of waking up one night in a long-by-
gone winter and hearing words of
fierce alteration in voices they knew,
one their mothers, the other their
brothers, and now and then another,
which they did not knows gentle
voice pleading, as it seemed, with both,
and ending with wild shrek. Then
door banged loudly, and all was still
The eldest sister stood shiyering and
trembling at her bedroom door for an
hour or more, till she heard her moth
er come up stairs with slow and
heavy tread, muttering to herself, and
the only words that could be distin-
guished were, "a girl like that my
/ daughter-in-law Never. Now No
one heard-not even the splash
though he tried-but am strong too
-ha hal" Shaking with terror and
frightened to death, the listening girl
retreated into her bedroom, the dark
ness concealing the fact OF her door
being ajar. The two sisters never
dared to ask an explanation OF what
had passed that night; but they never
saw their brother more
Neither was Dame Wychcombe in
good repute amongst her neighbors,
for there were dark stories OF her ear
ly life; and her tyranny to her hus-
band and daughters, remarkable even
in those stern days, was well known
abroad. But none dared demonstrate
and the power and wealth OF the fami'
" placed her in such Il position as to
be above feeling the dislike OF hel
neighbors, A distant respect was al
she sought, and that much they were
, Obliged, as far as appearances went
10 eoncede TO her. But in tie hearts
! of ali She was hated, and few, II any
knew how deeply that hatred was de
I served. For seventy years she ha1
. faced the world with uniiinching IN
|. difference; for seventy years she haC
+ borne the insinuations that she hearc
/, family murmured around her withou
changing muscle Of her hard counte
nance; for seventy years she haa s'oo'