The States and Union. [volume] (Ashland, Ohio) 1868-1872, 1870-02-23

/. multi; and every object was envelope
4 in cloud of sand and dust. Their
: was no trace of lie or vegetation
the tempest whistled through the air
the waves of, the ocean lashed -th
e shore; the thunder rolled in the. dis
!, tance; and the dull, lurid lightning
seemed as though it. could. sacarcel.
penetrate the air, thick with article;
of'the flying soil. The danger wa
imminent, when suddenly a heay.
thunder shower began to- fall anal et
fectualy laid the shifting Sand, ena
bling me, though thoroughly drench
ed, to find my way TO the little towa
1t was on this desolate tract o
country, about quarter of. mil'
from the shere, that the village o
Norwig was situate,la .aThe.sand ha.
long since destroyed all traces of hu
: man dwellings, and the inhabitants
principally, sailors and ti.hermen,
have long since removed :; to another
quarter. The church alone remains
standing solitary upon little emmi
neDce. and surrounded on all sides by
the melancholy and constantly shift
ing desert, 1t is the scene of the fol
flowing most mysterious occurrence;
4 /" It was during the early part Of the
last century that. the old and. venera-
bic pastor of the village. sat in his
lonely apartment, sunk in deep medi-
:tation. 1t wns midnight; the house
( lay Mt the extremity of the village /;
and, as the simple manners of the H.
habitants renders it unnecessary to
employ bolt or bag the doors all re-
inained open.ru The lamp was. burn
ing dimly, and the, solemn silence
was unbroken save by the ripling OF
tile sea-. in which the pale. moon he
held her. own reflection. Suddenly
the old man heard The doors beneath
opening, aud recognnel the heavy
footsteps of men upon the staircasc.-
He now looks up, expecting to receive
summons, in all probability, to , at
tend 4 dying person a:d administer
spiritual consolation, Two strange
looking men now entered the apart
mcnt, clad in white niantles, and ap-
preached him in the most courteous
manner. Pastor of Norwig," said
the first OF The intriiders, Eve request
you to follow us; thGEe is a wedding
to be solcmnizedr and the bridLl pair
arc already awaiting YOU IN The
church, lIe then showed the old
man heavy purse of gold, which he
promised. should he his, as q recon-
pense for the trouble and annoyance
such an i'll timid sunni ons might oc-
casion him. Tie pastor stared in as
tonishment at tie stranger, for there
was something in fis appearance
which seemed to him awful and al
most spectral; but the latter only re-
peated.his words. and that i'm a more
threatening and commencing Tone
When theold man began TO collect.
himself, he represented to the stran-
ger that his sacred office did not per-
nit him to perform the marriage SER
vice withoHt some previous knowledge
of the. individuals. besides going
through the furnialitiesn which the
Inv tequiredj The second stranger
now stepped forwafd.i :'tYou lave
the choice; 'said he, "of following us.
and receiving the preffDed sum of
money, or of remaining here 1nai
having a. bullet5i sgnta-t through your
head So-saying he held dlan pistol to
the pastors forohcurl3artl awaited his'i
answer. The old Clergyman turned
pale, ahtl'hating silently and hastily
risen up, and put on Il sort of upper
garment, replied, II am ready The
strangers, naeanwhile, h;tdn spoken
Danish, hut i,I' snch'a manner that it
was Impossible go .dbulS they were
foreigners They now pr5ce 5ded In
silence. through the village, md the
pastor f,llowed.ri ..i,c ..iDr .gyl. 4
!. 1t was a. completely dark autumn
night, for the moon Had already gone
down but as they left the village the
Old man perceived, TO his, surprise,
that tlie-cfiurch' was brilliantly illu-
Cnwartlg, however, in ST. /
lence strod5 his two companions,
wrapped in tiiair white lnhntIes, and
leaving the sandy plain between them
while with the utmost difficulty sue
eceded in keeping pace with them.
, Oa reaching the church, they bound |
a handkerchief over! lis eyes: ,imme
diately afterwards he, heard the we'll
known side-doors open, with a jarring
noise, AID he was forcibly thrown in
a dense crowd Of men. There
was . murmur Of many voices ,perya
ling the church !, and in his, immedi-
ate nei ghborhood he could distinguish
words of language totally unknown |
to him. 1t was Russian, as, he sus-
pected at tha, time. Whilst he was
yet standing, with bandaged eyes, /
pressed on every side, helpless, and
IN the greatest terror and confusion,
ne felt his hand suddenly seized, and
le was hurried through the midst Of
The throng, which appeared to give
way. At last the bandage was loos-
ened; he recognized one of his first
near him, and found
standing before the altar. =
It was decorated with a row. of enor-
nous wax candles, in. massive. silver
and the CHURCH itself
vas so brilliantly illuminated that the
most distant object was distinctly +
1erceptible. During the time that
lis eyes were bandaged, the noise of
he crowd had appeared to him .tre-
but the solemn stiffness Of |
he multitude had, if possible, on his
imid soul a still more appalling eff
ect. Although the seats and side
passages were crowded with men,
Tet the middle aisle was completely +
Empty, and the pastor distinguished !
n the midst of it a newly dug grave
he pavement stone, which, had cover !,